David Neely

Conductor David Neely has been described by Opera News as “a ninja warrior with a baton’.  He maintains an active career in symphonic, opera, ballet, and educational settings. As  Music Director  and Principal  Conductor of  Des Moines Metro  Opera  since  2012,  Neely  has elevated  the  company’s  musical profile and  developed one  of  the  nation’s  finest  opera orchestras, leading  over  35 critically-acclaimed productions  in  a  broad range  of  new  and traditional repertoire,  including  the  world  premieres  of  Kristin Kuster  and  Mark Campbell’s  A THOUSAND  ACRES  and  Damien  Geter  and  Lila  Palmer’s AMERICAN APOLLO.  Other productions conducted at DMMO include  SALOME, ELEKTRA,  THE  FLYING  DUTCHMAN, WOZZECK, PIKOVAYA DAMA,  YEVGENY ONEGIN,  RUSALKA,  JENŮFA,  THE  CUNNING  LITTLE  VIXEN, FALSTAFF,  PETER GRIMES, DEAD  MAN  WALKING, FLIGHT,  MACBETH,  DON  GIOVANNI, CANDIDE,  LA FANCIULLA DEL  WEST, TURANDOT,  BLUEBEARD’S  CASTLE, THE LOVE  FOR  THREE  ORANGES,  and  Emmy award-winning productions  of MANON  and  BILLY  BUDD for  Iowa  Public  Television.

Neely has spearheaded productions with Atlanta Opera, Sarasota Opera, Intermountain Opera, and numerous European opera houses, including Theater Bonn and Theater Dortmund.  His performances have been praised in the New York Times, The New Yorker, Opera News, Opera Today, Opernwelt, the Chicago Tribune, and The Wall Street Journal. Neely  has  conducted  symphonic programmes  with  the  Bochumer Philharmoniker,  Bregenz Symphony Orchestra,  Dortmund  Philharmonic,  Eutin  Festival  Orchestra,  Memphis Symphony  Orchestra, Portland  Symphony  Orchestra,  and  Washington,  D.C.’s  Apollo  Orchestra,  as  well  as the orchestras  of  the University  of  Texas,  University  of  Kansas,  Chicago  College  for  the  Performing Arts  at Roosevelt  University, the  Indiana  University  Jacobs  School  of  Music,  and  the  University of  Maryland School  of  Music.  He has also led ballet performances in Dortmund and at the Indiana University Ballet Theater.

Neely is an experienced educator in opera and symphonic repertoire, as well as a sought-after conducting teacher and respected vocal coach.  Currently Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Maryland, he is a frequent guest conductor and guest conducting teacher at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he previously served on faculty.  He has been a guest teacher and guest conductor with the Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artists, leading WNO’s American Opera Initiative in 2021 and a gala concert in 2026.  He has appeared as a conductor with the American Lyric Theater in New York and with the National Orchestral Institute & Festival.

Concerto soloists with whom Neely has collaborated include Benjamin Beilman, Nicholas Daniel, Roberto Diaz, Marc-André Hamelin, Rainer Honeck, Bella Hristova, Eric Kutz, Ben Lulich, Delfeayo Marsalis, Ricardo Morales and Joshua Roman.  He has appeared as a collaborative pianist with numerous vocalists, including a recent recital with Joyce Castle and Schubert Winterreise with David Adam Moore. Slavic-language opera occupies much of Neely’s recent and upcoming work, including Szymanowski KRÓL ROGER with the Des Moines Metro Opera, JENUFA with the Sarasota Opera in their 2026-2027 season and four different productions of YEVGENY ONEGIN.  A fluent German speaker, his production of d’Albert TIEFLAND with Sarasota Opera is available for viewing on Deutsche Grammophone’s Stage & Classical music streaming service. Neely resides in the greater Washington, D.C.  area. He holds degrees in piano performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and later went onto further study at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.  His conducting teachers included Thomas Baldner and Gerhard Samuel, and he studied piano with Zadel Skolowski and Leonard Hokansen.