American conductor and composer Efraín Amaya was born in Venezuela, where he began his musical training. Continuing his studies in the United States, he earned two Bachelors of music degrees in composition and piano from Indiana University, and a Master’s degree in orchestral conducting from Rice University.

After returning to Venezuela, Maestro Amaya became the Music Director & Conductor for one of “El Sistema” Youth Symphony Orchestras based in the “Núcleo La Rinconada” in Caracas. He then returned to the USA where he held the position of Resident Conductor and Artist Lecturer in Music Theory at Carnegie Mellon University from 1993 to 2009. He also served as Associate Conductor with the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra from 1994 to 2007. In addition he has been the Music Director & Conductor to the Greensburg American Opera, the Three Rivers Young People’s Orchestra, the Westmoreland Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Carnegie Mellon Summer Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, and the Carnegie Mellon Contemporary Ensemble.

As a guest conductor Mr. Amaya has appeared with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela, the Orquesta Sinfónica Municipal de Caracas, the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar del Táchira, the Jóvenes Arcos de Venezuela, the Sinfónica de Maracaibo, the Giovane Filarmonica Del Veneto, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tucumán (Argentina), the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de Veracruz (Mexico), the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra, the McKeesport Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Symphony Orchestra, the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra, the SOS Venezuela Concerts Symphony Orchestra and several youth symphonies.

Mr. Amaya’s compositions have been selected for performance at major international festivals. His latest CD of his chamber opera Constellations was released on December 15, 2020 with Albany Records label. Other recent CD releases include virtuoso flutist Alexa Still CD release of an all Amaya flute music CD called “Syzygy” in January 2018 with the Oberlin Music Record label and The Jano Duo with his piece “Pres-ent” for flute and cello in their CD “Dreaming in Color” released in August of 2017, also with Albany Records label.

Mr. Amaya is in the faculty at Minot State University as well as Western Plains Opera General Co-Director (2017-present) and the Music Director for the Minot Symphony Orchestra since the 2015-16 Season.