School of Music student Mica Weiland was recently named one of five finalists in a national conducting competition hosted by Symphony of the Americas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Weiland, a senior at the School of Music studying viola performance and orchestral conducting, was among five aspiring conductors selected to take part in the inaugural Pass the Baton Conductor Competition in Fort Lauderdale in April 2026.
“Mica most definitely deserves this opportunity, and we wish her the very best of luck," says David Alexander Rahbee, head of orchestral activities at the UW, who serves as a conducting mentor to Weiland in addition to directing her in the UW Symphony (Weiland is assistant principal viola).
Assistant conductor of several area ensembles, including Seattle Collaborative Orchestra and others, Weiland has further advanced her passion for conducting as founder and music director of the Leonore Chamber Orchestra, a wholly student-run ensemble at the UW that has presented more than a dozen performances since its founding in 2023.
As finalists in the Symphony of the Americas inaugural Pass the Baton competition for collegiate undergraduate conductors, Weiland and the other four finalists will conduct the orchestra in performance on April 28, lead rehearsals, and take part in a masterclass with Luke Frazier, artistic director and conductor of the Symphony. Winner of the competition, to be determined by a panel of three guest judges plus the audience, receives a cash prize and a paid opportunity to perform in the orchestra’s next season.
Along with Weiland, the other finalists are Aidan O'Shea: Concordia College, Moorhead; Gabriel Levy: Manhattan School of Music; Isaac Smith: Alabama A&M University; and Marina Elizondo Collado: University of Houston-Moores School of Music.
Congratulations, Mica!
Learn more about the competition and Symphony of the Americas
Read more about Mica Weiland and the Leonore Chamber Orchestra in the UW Daily