Russell Vinick serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Chicago Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Lake Shore Symphony Orchestra (Chicago), and as a music faculty member at Columbia College of Chicago.  Vinick was awarded the 2010 “Conductor of the Year” Award and Programming of the Year 2011 Award by the Illinois Council of Orchestras.

Vinick has been a guest conductor in concerts with the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra (China), Shandong Symphony Orchestra (China), Kunming Symphony Orchestra (China), Virginia Symphony, Missouri Chamber Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra, Manchester (CT) Symphony Orchestra, University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra, and faculty members of Northeastern Illinois University for the Henry Cowell Music Festival sponsored by Mostly Music, and for the opera, Hansel and Gretel, with the Petite Opera.  He was the conductor for the world premiere recording of Martin Blazevich’s Concerto Rustico for Marimba and String Orchestra that was released commercially.

Vinick was one of seven people internationally selected to participate in the conducting program at the Cabrillo Contemporary Music Festival in Santa Cruz, California studying under Marin Alsop and Gustav Meier.  He has served as Assistant Conductor at the Pacific Music Festival (founded by Leonard Bernstein) in Sapporo, Japan, under Christoph Eschenbach and Michael Tilson Thomas.  He has also been a participant in the conducting program at the Aspen Music Festival.  He has served as Apprentice/Assistant Conductor for the Knoxville (TN) Symphony and Chamber Orchestras and Interim Music Director for the Kingsport (TN) Symphony Orchestra.

Vinick earned a bachelor's degree in Music Education from the University of Connecticut where he received the Lottie Green Conducting Scholarship and studied with Peter Bagley, Gary Green, and Paul C. Phillips.  He earned a master's degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles under Daniel Lewis where he received the Conducting Departmental Award and music scholarships.  Vinick has also been a student of Kirk Trevor, Cliff Colnot, and Eiji Oue.