Abbie Eads

A "versatile and passionate musician”, Abbie Eads captivates audiences nationwide as both a conductor and cellist. Praised for her clarity and consistency, Abbie “brings out the best from all those under her baton” delivering performances that resonate with the composer's true intent. Abbie has garnered the respect of conductors, singers, and instrumentalists throughout the world.

This season, she will collaborate with various ensembles including Western Plains Opera, Missouri Valley Chamber Orchestra, Minot Symphony Orchestra, Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra, and Dakota Pro Musica. Abbie's role as Development Officer at Minot State University's Foundation also allows her to foster greater support for the arts.
 
Her previous appointments include Conductor-in-Residence of the NW Edvard Grieg Society, Director of Music and Liturgy at Seattle’s Our Lady of the Lake Parish, and Director of Orchestras and Adjunct Professor at Pierce College in Puyallup, WA. Abbie earned her Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Washington, studying under Seattle Symphony Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot and David A. Rahbee, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Minot State University where she studied cello with Erik Anderson.

Abbie has performed with numerous orchestras and at various festivals around the globe, including the International Conducting Workshop & Festival (Bulgaria), the Telemark Symfoniorkester (Norway), the Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra (Ukraine), and the Pierre Monteux Festival Orchestra (Maine). As a cellist, she was a soloist with the Minot Symphony Orchestra as the winner of their 2014 MSO Concerto Competition.