about
Max Deger (b. 1994, he/him) is a conductor, composer, producer, and educator based in Los Angeles.
As a conductor, Max has worked with groups such as the Nevada Wind Ensemble, the New York All-City High School Jazz Ensemble, and Brooklyn Wind Symphony, where he also performed on trumpet. His focus is on contemporary music, and he maintains active relationships with working composers. He also serves on the Board of Directors with reNEW Music, where he is currently working to found a large contemporary ensemble. He has conducted ensembles at venues such as the Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, Power Station NYC, and SoFi Stadium, performing with notable artists such as the Black Eyed Peas and Joe Lovano.
Max’s compositions span across the borders of genre and tradition, reflecting his own musical experiences performing in symphony orchestras, wind ensembles, big bands, jazz combos, and rock and R&B bands. He has written music for strings, winds, percussion, vocalists, and electronic media, and his piece Cosmograph recently premiered at the Shadows Contemporary Art Festival in Reno. His album Retrospect, an instrumental hip hop album paying homage to the great producers of the genre is available to stream.
Max spent over ten years as a public educator in the New York City and Los Angeles public schools. Most recently, Max has served as Director of Bands at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, where oversaw all concert and marching band activities, facilitated a large program transition into a new performing arts center, developed and maintained relationships with community partners, and also taught a digital music production course.
He was a previously a middle school band and choir director in Brooklyn, New York, where his students performed across the tri-state area and participated in the consortium for a new developing wind band work by a local composer. During that time, he served on the steering committee for the New York City High School Honors Music Festival. Focused on delivering equitable instruction and equipping others to do the same, Max has given clinics at state music education conferences in California and Nevada.
Max holds a Master of Music degree in wind conducting and composition from the University of Nevada, Reno and a Bachelor of Music degree from Ithaca College. He is a member of ASCAP and Society of Composers, Inc.