Orchestra Indiana Appoints New Principal Conductor and Artistic Director

American conductor Yaniv Segal will assume both roles, effective immediately

Yaniv Segal has now begun his Artistic Director duties at Orchestra Indiana and will be conducting most of its performances next season. 

Formed from the merging of the Muncie Symphony and Marion Philharmonic in 2022, Orchestra Indiana is dedicated to enriching communities with innovative concerts and events. 

Already involved in the concert programming, Segal will lead a Labor Day concert and performances in city parks throughout the summer in partnership with the City of Muncie. 

More projects will include presenting a rap artist, a magician performing with live music, and six mainstage events between October 2025 and May 2026.

Presently, Segal is also Music Director of the Salina Symphony, conductor of the Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra, and Musical Artistic Director and co-creator of “American Patriots,” a theatrical song cycle examining patriotism and the current lived American experience from Indigenous, Black, white working class, and New American perspectives.

Segal is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he earned his degrees in conducting and composition studying with Kenneth Kiesler and Bright Sheng. 

“Regional orchestras are at a crossroads,” Segal said in the Muncie Journal. “Symphonic music and putting on concerts alone isn’t enough of a presence any longer. Orchestras have to take more of a meet-the-people-where-they-are approach now,” he continued. “There’s a real opportunity with Orchestra Indiana to shape what an orchestra and the arts look like. My goal is to conduct inspiring concerts while increasing the visibility of the organization and the arts in general. I have lots of ideas and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can experiment with and bring to the community.”

“We were looking for a visionary leader, not just a conductor,” added Orchestra Indiana’s Board President Bill Reece. “Someone who not only has the technical skills to conduct an orchestra, but an artist that has the vision and ability to transform what the orchestra experience typically is. Someone who will build on our orchestral foundation and help us evolve into a groundbreaking, broad-based arts organization throughout east central Indiana.  

“Whether it is blending symphony with rap, collaborating with a wide range of creators from mural artists to performance artists, or bringing orchestra back into schools, Yaniv is the ideal person to lead the way,” Reece said. “And, of course, he will continue to build on the core excellence of our classical music performances that the Muncie Symphony and Marion Philharmonic have been delivering for over 75 years.”