Jonathan Winkle
Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra Music Director Jonathan Winkle is an accomplished educator, performer, and arts administrator. Mr. Winkle is currently Director of the Jazz Ensemble at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was formerly Music Director and Conductor for the Carthage College Orchestra and has taught conducting, music education courses, and applied brass at UW-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside, Carroll University, and Carthage College. He was the Music Director and Conductor of the Brass and Percussion Ensemble at the University of North Texas during his doctoral studies. He has proudly served as a coach, adjudicator, and guest conductor for the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra ensembles for more than 30 years.
In addition to having performed regularly as a substitute/extra musician with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, he performed with Present Music for 20 years, and has held tenor trombone and bass trombone positions with the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, Breckenridge Chamber Orchestra, Waco Symphony Orchestra, Los Colinas-Garland Symphony Orchestra, East Texas Symphony Orchestra, Waukesha Symphony Orchestra, Music Under the Stars, Kenosha Symphony Orchestra, Racine Symphony Orchestra, and Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra. He was a member of the East Side Jazz Orchestra in Dallas-Fort Worth, Director of the Starliner Big Band, and performed regularly with the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra. In addition, he has performed for many of the touring Broadway productions as part of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts’ Broadway Across America series.
As an arts administrator, Mr. Winkle served as Executive & Artistic Director of Performance Santa Fe, President & CEO of the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, and Executive Director for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he has served as Vice President of Community Engagement for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Winkle currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Association of Wisconsin Symphony Orchestras and the Civic Music Association of Milwaukee. Previously, he has served on the Boards of the International Trombone Association, Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation, Arts Wisconsin, and Kenosha Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Winkle is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts and Carthage College.