Leo Najar is an outstanding example of the modern American conductor, bringing energy and excitement to the wide range of music enjoyed by today’s audiences. Thoroughly grounded in the standard works of three centuries of European and American concert repertoire, he is equally at home with the varied traditions that comprise contemporary American musical life.

Ardent in pursuit of new audiences, his innovative concerts have been widely acclaimed. An accomplished arranger, he has written well over 100 works that combine the orchestra with a rainbow of groups that include traditional ensembles such as chorus, gospel choir, jazz and bluegrass quartets to steel drums, klezmer and zydeco bands. Collage programs such as Americans In Paris mix orchestral, chamber and solo pieces in multi-media concerts that place famil­iar and unfamiliar works in a perspective of time, place, and human experience.

Leo Najar has served in artistic leadership capacities with the Saginaw Bay Orchestra, Ballet Michigan and the symphony orchestras of Flint, Midland, Dearborn and Traverse City. In 2002 he served as a special advisor and principal guest conductor to the National Orchestra of El Salvador under the auspices of the American State Department. He has given important premieres including works by Astor Piazzolla and Philip Glass. His curiosity about less familiar European musical traditions led to the first American concert dedicated to the classical music of Slovakia in Severance Hall in 1999, and in 2003 he was awarded the prestigious Cikker Prize by the foundation of that name in Slovakia in recognition of his work to further interest in Slovak music.

In spring, 2003, he realized that the immense repertoire for the American theater orchestra and its intimate scale presented the perfect vehicle to pursue his programming interests. This led to the creation of The Bijou Orchestra; an ensemble that will present a wide range of programs in a format that was the primary American orchestral fashion for nearly 100 years.