About William

William Waag is a passionate conductor and music educator in northern New Mexico and has led the Santa Fe Youth Symphony since 2014. He is the Santa Fe Symphony’s Associate Artistic Director of Youth Programs, and is also the Principal Conductor of the Santa Fe Community Orchestra and the Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his roles with local ensembles, William is a frequent guest conductor and clinician across the nation.

As a guest conductor, William has lead the Santa Fe Symphony, the Albuquerque Philharmonic, Seattle Rock Orchestra, Santa Fe Community Orchestra, Los Alamos Symphony, Mobile Symphony Youth Orchestra, El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestra, Albuquerque Youth Symphony, and All-Region Honor Orchestras in Texas, Alabama, and New Mexico.

William has held a variety of conducting and teaching positions at elementary, middle, and high schools, colleges, public and private institutions, and four states across the western United States. He has led wind and jazz ensembles, symphony orchestras, drumlines, classes in music education, music theory, music for students with special needs, and pre-school music. Above all, William’s deepest passion is for conducting youth symphonies and leading young musicians’ exploration of the symphonic world. Previously with youth orchestras in Washington and Alaska, William is elated to be leading both youth and adult symphonies in New Mexico.

William received a MM in Orchestral Conducting from Central Washington University, and a BM in Music Education from Boise State University. Originally from Boise, he lived in Washington state and Alaska before moving to Santa Fe. A Pacific-Northwesterner at heart, William loves exploring and climbing mountains in all seasons and traveling the highways slowly in his 1972 Volkswagen bus