Yaniv Segal
Music Director Candidate
Yaniv Segal is a versatile conductor, composer, and artist who is “redefining classical music” (Esquire Magazine). In 2025, he was named Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Orchestra Indiana, while he also currently serves as Music Director of the Salina Symphony and Director of Orchestral Training at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings. A former Assistant Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Naples Philharmonic, Segal has assisted at the New York Philharmonic and collaborated with performers ranging from Yitzhak Perlman to the Beach Boys. Guest appearances include the Minnesota Orchestra, Kansai Philharmonic, Sinfonietta Cracovia, and Beethoven Academy Orchestra. Since 2023, Segal has been co-developing American Patriots, a new theatrical song cycle examining patriotism and the current lived American experience from Indigenous, Black, white working class, and new American perspectives.
What’s your proudest accomplishment?
Writing The Harmony Games and watching thousands of kids discover the orchestra through music and storytelling.
What makes you laugh the most?
When my boys are being silly.
What would you sing at karaoke night?
“Bohemian Rhapsody.”
What’s your favorite movie?
Tough one! Here are three of my favorites: Amélie, Shawshank Redemption, Princess Bride.
If you could spend a day anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Machu Picchu is at the top of my bucket list.
What’s your favorite childhood memory?
Family birthday parties in my parents’ yard.
What’s one thing people are surprised to learn about you?
People are often surprised to learn that English isn’t my first language even though I was born in New York City. They also don’t usually expect that I can juggle or that I played on my college tennis team.
What’s your go-to comfort food?
A simple roasted chicken is always good.
If you weren’t a conductor, what career would you have pursued?
I was always interested in computer science and anthro-linguistics, so probably something combining the two.
What book are you currently reading (or have read recently that you loved)?
Recent favorite: Daniel Mason’s North Woods (it even inspired a recent composition of mine).
Currently reading: Michaeleen Doucleff’s Hunt, Gather, Parent.
What piece of music never fails to move you?
The finale, especially when the chorus sings Aufersteh’n, of Mahler’s Second Symphony is the perfect combination of power and hope.
If it was your final moment on Earth and you had to pick one song to listen to, what would it be?
“Everything in Its Right Place” by Radiohead.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee. Smooth black double espresso or aeropress.
Morning person or night owl?
Definite night owl.
Beach or mountains?
Mountains!
Dogs or cats?
Cats.
Sweet or savory?
Savory.
Favorite season?
Fall. I love the sound of wind through the leaves and the crisp air.
Window or aisle seat?
Depends. Window for overnight and aisle for day flights.
Sunrise or sunset?
I’m not usually up for the sunrise, but when I see it, I love it. I’ll never forget the first sunrise from the east-facing hospital window after my first son was born. It felt like the beginning of a new world.
Favorite holiday?
New Year’s Day. My parents used to host an all-day, open-house chamber music party where friends and colleagues would drop in throughout the day to read chamber music together. There was always great food, wonderful company, and music filling the house. It was the perfect way to welcome a new year.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Every day, try to be better at something than the day before.