Abbie Eads

Abbie Eads is a "versatile and passionate musician" who captivates audiences across the country as both a conductor and cellist. Known for her clarity and consistency, she "brings out the best from all those under her baton," delivering performances that truly reflect the composer’s intent. Abbie is highly respected by conductors, singers, and instrumentalists worldwide.

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Equally at ease performing both early music and contemporary works, Abbie effortlessly blends tradition and innovation in her performances. This season, she is collaborating with several ensembles, including the Western Plains Opera, Missouri Valley Chamber Orchestra, Minot Symphony Orchestra, Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra, and Dakota Pro Musica. Alongside her musical engagements, Abbie serves as Development Officer at Minot State University's Foundation, where she fosters stronger support for the arts.

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Beyond her classical and orchestral pursuits, Abbie’s recent projects include recording for Bloom, the latest EP by Raynes, a British-American trio signed to Sony Music Publishing. As a cellist, she contributed to the EP's lush chamber pop arrangements, which beautifully blend folk, pop, and world music influences. The full EP was mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Chris Sclafani, known for his work with artists like Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, The Weeknd, and Ariana Grande.

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Her past roles include serving as Conductor-in-Residence with the NW Edvard Grieg Society, Director of Music and Liturgy at Seattle’s Our Lady of the Lake Parish, and Director of Orchestras and Adjunct Professor at Pierce College in Puyallup, WA. She holds a Master’s in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Washington, where she studied under Seattle Symphony Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot and David A. Rahbee, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Minot State University, where she studied cello with Erik Anderson.

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Abbie’s performance experience spans the globe, having worked with numerous orchestras and at festivals, including the International Conducting Workshop & Festival (Bulgaria), the Telemark Symfoniorkester (Norway), the Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra (Ukraine), and the Pierre Monteux Festival Orchestra (Maine). She was also a soloist with the Minot Symphony Orchestra, having won their 2014 MSO Concerto Competition.