About the Artist

Sensitive Conducting, Masterful Leadership, Passionate Educator

William James McClain is Music Director and Conductor of the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (IN). He has appeared in major venues across the United States and abroad including Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Sheremetev Palace in Saint Petersburg Russia. In the spring of 2006, he conducted Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite with the Macon Symphony Orchestra in Georgia as the 2005 winner of the International Conductors Workshop and Festival Competition. Since then, he has been awarded that distinction again and invited back to lead the Macon Symphony as a guest conductor. Maestro McClain was also honored by the International Academy of Advanced Conducting in Saint Petersburg Russia where he conducted the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic’s Congress Orchestra. Most recently Maestro McClain guest conducted the Gwinnett Symphony Chamber Orchestra on their January 2022 Concert Series and has also appeared as guest conductor with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (IN), Fort Wayne Philharmonic, West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted professional, community, and talented youth orchestras for over twenty years and continues to be passionate about the education of the next generation of musicians.