Music Director

Nicholas L. Wallin is a Professor of Music at Lake Forest College where he conducts the orchestra and teaches other courses, primarily in music theory. In addition to his faculty position at Lake Forest College, Wallin recently stepped down after serving for 17 seasons as the Music Director and Conductor of the Mid-Columbia Symphony in Richland, WA. He holds degrees from Northwestern University, the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and the University of Minnesota.

Wallin has conducted numerous ensembles across the country including the Spokane (WA) Symphony and Hartford (CT) Opera Theater. He has served as guest conductor or adjudicator for orchestras and music festivals across Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan. His conducting teachers have included Gustav Meier, Markand Thakar, Akira Mori, and Craig Kirchhoff, and he has conducted in workshops and masterclasses for numerous leading conductors, including Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman, and Gunther Schuller.

He lives in Evanston, Illinois with rescue dogs Bella and Milo.