Evan Roider

Conductor

Conductor, Music Director and Pianist Evan Roider maintains an active schedule performing across the United States and abroad.  Equally at home on the symphonic stage and in the pit, he is quickly becoming known as a conductor of great versatility. Currently, he serves as Music Director/Conductor for the National Tour of Wicked, having toured with Les Misérables and Cats. The 2022-2023 season included appearances with Pacific Symphony and The Manhattan Transfer, Tucson Symphony and Pink Martini, and a return engagement with the Greensboro Symphony and Michael Feinstein, celebrating the Judy Garland Centennial. He recently assisted on Pops concerts with the Dallas Symphony, and in 2023-2024, assists on programs with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center and Wolf Trap.  This season, he returns to Tucson Symphony, makes his debut with Sarasota Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony, and Toledo Symphony, and continues to conduct Wicked across North America.

As a Music Director, Evan has led productions of Mack and Mabel, A Chorus Line, Company, Into the Woods, The Music Man, Avenue Q, Spring Awakening, and The Wizard of Oz, among others. He was the Assistant Conductor for Candide at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and in 2019, was awarded the Best Music Director award from Broadway World CT for his work on Evita (ACT of Connecticut).  Active in the development of new works, Evan spent two summers at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center as part of the National Musical Theater Conference as well as the Cabaret & Performance Conference.  In 2014, he served as music director and pianist for Broadway in Ravello (Italy), a production that was broadcast on Italian National Television, and in 2013, he premiered new arrangements of Leonard Bernstein works at Grand Performances Los Angeles.  At Barrington Stage, he was the Associate Music Director for the critically acclaimed production of The Pirates of Penzance, a production the New York Times called, “exhilarating”.

As a pianist, Evan is a strong advocate of new music, having worked with composers Jake Heggie, William Bolcom, Gwyneth Walker, and Ben Moore, among others.  In 2014, he made his debut in China with Cardiff Singer of the World Yang Guang and in 2015, he spearheaded a residency featuring Jake Heggie and Sister Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking).  He has performed at SongFest, Liederfest, the Indiana University Summer Music Festival, the Amalfi Coast Music Festival, and the New Orleans International Piano Competition Institute, having coached with Graham Johnson, Martin Katz, William Bolcom, Nelita True, John Perry, Margo Garrett, and Aldo Ciccolini, among others.

Evan is a graduate of the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, where he earned a Masters in Orchestral Conducting.  He received the Bachelor of Music from the Hartt School under the instruction of Anne Koscielny and David Westfall.

“Of all that abides here, it’s the consistency of the music direction that impresses the most.”      – Chicago Tribune

“Under the musical direction of Conductor Evan Roider, the orchestration is wonderful and well-balanced.” – MD Theatre Guide

“I am so proud when young musicians initiate a project that addresses the arts, politics and social justice. Evan is doing that.” – Jake Heggie