Gerard Schwarz, conductor, is marking his 21st year with the Seattle Symphony. A frequent guest conductor with Music of Remembrance, he was a founding member of MOR's Advisory Board. Schwarz's concert prelude, "In Memoriam," commissioned by MOR, was composed in 2005 for his son Julian Schwarz, as first recipient of the David Tonkonogui Memorial Award. Seattle Weekly Music Critic Gavin Borchert voted the piece "Best New Work of 2005."A graduate of The Juilliard School, Schwarz began his conducting career in 1966. Within 10 years he was appointed Music Director of the Erick Hawkins Dance Company, the Eliot Feld Dance Company, the Waterloo Festival and the New York Chamber Symphony, as well as the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. In 1981 he established the Music Today contemporary music series in New York City, and served as its Music Director through 1989. In 1983 Schwarz came to the Seattle Symphony as Music Advisor; the following year he was appointed Principal Conductor. He has held the post of Music Director since 1985. Maestro Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony have released more than 80 compact discs for Delos, EMI, Koch International, New World, Nonesuch, Reference Recordings, RCA, Master Musicians Collective (MMC) and Artek. He was named 1994 Conductor of the Year by the Musical America International Directory of the Performing Arts. He has also received the Ditson Conductor's Award from Columbia University, an honorary Doctorate of Music from The Juilliard School, as well as honorary doctorates from Fairleigh Dickinson University, the University of Puget Sound, and Seattle University. In May 2002 ASCAP awarded special recognition to Maestro Schwarz for his efforts in championing the works of American composers and the music of our time.