American conductor Michael Christie has been named Music Director of the New West Symphony Orchestra, a regional orchestra serving the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1995 and is based in Thousand Oaks, the second-largest city in Ventura County, California.
In December 2004, Christie was Music Director of the Phoenix Symphony from 2004-2013, and Music Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, from 2005-2010. Christie began his tenure as Music Director of the Minnesota Opera with the 2012–2013 season. In February 2014, Michael Christie’s contract with the Minnesota Opera was extended to the 2017–2018 season. Christie was the Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder from 2000 to 2013.
Outside of the USA, Christie was chief conductor of the Queensland Orchestra from 2001 to December 2004.