ABOUT

A Visionary Conductor

American conductor Gregory Wolynec has energized professional stages for nearly 20 years. His vast repertoire ranges from acclaimed interpretations of Baroque and First Viennese classics through emotional renditions of Romantic and 20th century masterworks, to genre-defying works by today’s leading voices. Merging his passion for energetic and captivating performances with a committed ensemble of world-class artists, he founded and led the Gateway Chamber Orchestra from 2008 to 2025. Together, they developed pioneering approaches to programming and audience engagement that were recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and featured on a GRAMMY award-winning recording. With GCO, Wolynec also established a record of successfully assessing and fulfilling his community's cultural needs. He has now brought this acclaimed approach to his new positions as Music Director of the Southern Miss Symphony Orchestra and Resident Conductor for the Vienna Summer Music Festival.

An Entrepreneur

Capitalizing on the Gateway Chamber Orchestra’s celebrated approach to works by classical master Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolynec launched ‘America’s Haydn Festiva’l in 2019 with multiple programs dedicated to the father of the string quartet and the symphony. He spearheaded the creation of the ‘Sounds of Home Chorus’ that brought together active-duty military, veterans and their families in the shared art of music making as at outlet for expression, opportunity for socialization and vehicle for healing. He pioneered the casual ‘BBQ, Brews and Beethoven’ series of performances in unusual settings to better engage new listeners. Wolynec has conducted and overseen four recordings. Two of these, ‘Wind Serenades’ and ‘Chamber Symphonies’ (Summit Records in SACD format), received GRAMMY nominations for audio engineer Blanton Alspaugh with ‘Chamber Symphonies’ garnering a GRAMMY (Classical Producer) in 2013 for Alspaugh. ‘Reinecke: Cello Concerto’ with emerging soloist and Gateway principal player Michael Samis, was picked up by Delos in 2014. 2025’s Summit release of ‘Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos - Live at 25’ reintroduced a modern masterpiece on audio, video and augmented reality platforms. These recordings received critical acclaim in publications such as Gramophone, American Record Guide, and Fanfare and have been featured on numerous public radio broadcasts in the United States and abroad. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Wolynec directed an online performance series that included host Bill McGlaughlin as well as guest artists St. Lawrence String Quartet, pianist Henry Kramer and author Anna Celenza. He also partnered with composer Cristina Spinei to release the first commissioned orchestral work by an American composer as an NFT, which was profiled nationwide on NPR’s ‘Marketplace Money’. He also directed the ‘Magical Music & Timeless Tales’ video series that provided free educational content to over 20,000 students. More recently, he launched ‘Haydn in Hattiesburg’ as a training ground for emerging professionals and advanced students.

A Creative Director

Wolynec focuses programming on sharing rediscovered musical gems, collaborating with contemporary composers, and delivering distinctive readings of classic works. Performances have been touted as "world class," "flawless," and "big, bold, American." Wolynec has been praised for his interpretations by a diverse list of leading composers including Julia Wolfe, Osvaldo Golijov, Conni Ellisor, Jeffrey Wood, Kareem Roustom, Cristina Spinei and Lee Hoiby. He has also collaborated with internationally acclaimed soloists such as flutist William Bennett, clarinetist Charles Neidich and pianist Jeffrey Biegel as well as principal players from the world's leading orchestras such as the Boston Symphony's flutist Lorna McGhee and Los Angeles Philharmonic's clarinetist Boris Allakhverdyan. He also has a passion for collaborations with genre blending voices such as jazz pianist Aaron Diehl and mountain dulcimer performer Stephen Seifert. Wolynec’s vision for innovative family concerts includes projects with visual artists, authors, and other artists to help the orchestras reach new audiences and listeners.

A Dedicated Educator

Wolynec is the newly appointed Director of Orchestral Activities at The University of Southern Mississippi where he directs the nationally recognized Symphony Orchestra and oversees the MM and DMA program in Orchestral Conducting. He previously served as Director of Instrumental Ensembles at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn. He holds degrees from SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music and Michigan State University. The sole musical recipient of a Fulbright Grant in the 2001-2002 academic year to Prague, Czech Republic, Wolynec studied conducting at the Prague Conservatory. His success there resulted in an acclaimed performance of Debussy's "Afternoon of a Faun" with the Karlovy Vary Symphony.