Meet Wesley Schulz

Wesley Schulz is widely recognized for his superb programming and spirited yet heartfelt music making with orchestras. At home with masterworks, contemporary music as well as pops, the Cultural Voice of North Carolina deems Schulz’s conducting “spectacular.” Schulz is Music Director and Conductor of the Auburn Symphony Orchestra (WA) and Principal Guest Conductor of the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Additionally, Schulz was the Associate Conductor of the North Carolina Symphony, a Conducting Fellow at the Seattle Symphony, Assistant Conductor of the Britt Festival Orchestra and Education and Family Conductor for the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Recent and upcoming guest conductor engagements include the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra, Canton Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony Tacoma among others.   As Music Director of the Auburn Symphony Orchestra, one of the Pacific Northwest’s finest regional orchestras, Schulz is committed to deepening the relationship between the symphony and the community. Recent projects include the formation of a commissioning consortium of eight American orchestras for a new piece by Jessica Meyer; an original staging of Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring; the creation of Rhythm and Rhymes, a music and literary program for young children; the implementation of Carnegie Hall’s Link Up and collaborations with artists such as Randall Goosby, Anton Nel, Bella Hristova, Dominic Cheli, Seattle Pro Musica, The Guild Dance Company and more.    Across four seasons as Associate Conductor of the North Carolina Symphony, Schulz conducted over 200 performances in all genres including Masterworks, Pops, Friday Favorites, Holiday, Family and Education concerts. Schulz made his Masterworks debut, with hours’ notice, conducting Bernstein’s Serenade, with superstar violinist Philippe Quint, as well as Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony. One reviewer wrote, “The North Carolina Symphony and Schulz definitely drew the utmost life out of Schubert.” Schulz has collaborated with Leslie Odom Jr., Pink Martini, Cirque de la Symphonie, Broadway By Request, Michael Cavanaugh, the Blind Boys of Alabama and more. Every season Schulz conducted the orchestra’s Opening State Tour as well as Opening Night at SummerFest, the orchestra’s summer home at Koka Booth Amphitheater in Cary, North Carolina.  Schulz is regularly on the podium with orchestras across the Pacific Northwest. At the Seattle Symphony Orchestra Schulz has led performances with Lindsey Stirling, Gregory Allan Isakov, Amos Lee, and Ben Rector. Also with the Seattle Symphony, Schulz has led Family and Education performances as well as the unique opportunity to prepare the orchestra for the Oscar winning conductor and composer, John Williams. At the Pacific Northwest Ballet Schulz leads annual performances of The Nutcracker and has also shared a run of performances of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. In 2026 Schulz served as Interim Director of Orchestras at Pacific Lutheran University.   Schulz graduated magna cum laude with Bachelor degrees in Percussion Performance and Music Education from Ball State University and Doctorate and Master’s degrees in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Texas at Austin. When not on the podium, Schulz enjoys spending time with his partner, Cameron, doing CrossFit, snowboarding, cooking and playing endless fetch with their two dogs, Chewbacca and Han Solo.