Foster Beyers is very happy to return to Concordia College as the interim director of orchestral activities for the 2026-27 academic year. Beyers is currently the conductor of the University Orchestra at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla. Previously, he served as the director of orchestras at James Madison University, where he led the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, conducted the fall opera productions, and mentored students in the master’s and doctoral programs in orchestral conducting. From 2011-16, Beyers was the director of orchestras at Concordia College, where he led The Concordia Orchestra in challenging repertoire not typically undertaken by undergraduate ensembles, such as Stravinsky’s “Petrushka” and the “Violin Concerto” of Alban Berg. Under his leadership, The Concordia Orchestra performed in six states during its annual regional tours. The ensemble also embarked on a historic international tour to the Holy Land in 2014, where they played concerts in Jerusalem, I’billin, Bethlehem, and Ramallah.
Prior to Concordia, Beyers served as interim director of orchestra at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University near St. Cloud, Minnesota, for the 2010-11 academic year. From 2008-2011, he was a James Sample Fellow in conducting at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, where he led the Campus Orchestra and String Orchestra while studying with former Richmond Symphony music director Mark Russell Smith. Beyers holds a Master of Music in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University, where his principal teacher was Victor Yampolsky. Additional conducting studies have been with Osmo Vanska, Henry Charles Smith, Markand Thakar, Kenneth Kiesler, Robert Hasty, Mallory Thompson, and Nobuyoshi Yasuda.
Beyers is a committed advocate for and partner to music educators at every level. He began his career in the public schools of Green Bay, Wisconsin, teaching orchestra and band while also serving as music director of the Green Bay Symphony Youth Orchestras. As an educator, he has conducted the Merit School of Music Symphony Orchestra in Chicago and the Jugendorchester Stuttgart, as well as numerous regional honors orchestras, including the 2017 Alabama All-State Sinfonia Orchestra, the 2019 All-Virginia Orchestra, and the 2020 North Carolina Eastern Regional Orchestra. For the 2023-24 season, he served as interim conductor of the Youth Orchestras of Central Virginia in Charlottesville.
Beyers has been invited to conduct numerous regional orchestras, including the Waynesboro Symphony, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, North Shore Chamber Orchestra, Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra. In December 2023, Beyers made his debut with the Fargo-Moorhead Ballet, leading four sold-out performances of the “Nutcracker.” Beyers previously served as music director for the Ravenswood Community Orchestra in Chicago and the Buffalo Community Orchestra in Minnesota, as well as the Seward Concert Band in Minneapolis. Beyers currently lives in Springfield, Missouri, where he serves as co-artistic director of the Galloway Chamber Orchestra alongside his wife, conductor Yi-Ping Chen.