Michael H. Coelho is currently the Director of Fine Arts for the Ipswich Public Schools, where he oversees all art and music educators in the district. In addition to his department chair duties, Mr. Coelho is serving in his ninth year as Director of Orchestras where he is responsible for five ensembles ranging from grades 6-12. Mr. Coelho is also part of the music education faculty at Longy School of Music of Bard College, as well as the conducting staff for the Northeastern Massachusetts Youth Orchestras (NYMO). Synthesizing traditional orchestral performance with a modern approach, Coelho’s unique educational methods and conducting frequently lead his ensembles to statewide and national recognition.
In 2017 Coelho’s Honors High School Chamber Orchestra was invited to perform Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony for Strings at Carnegie Hall to which they were expressly complimented by four of the country’s leading conductors; Frank Battisti, New England Conservatory; Craig Kirchhoff, Univ of MN; Robert Reynolds, Thornton School of Music at USC; and Charles Peltz, New England Conservatory.
“We often hear the pursuit of excellent teaching, but there were clearly things thought and done in the moment on the podium indicative of an exceptional musician,” says Charles Peltz.
At the core of Mr. Coelho’s artistry is a philosophy rooted in the power of music as a source of strength and healing. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, his high school chamber orchestra students collaborated with Massachusetts General Hospital and the Voices of Hope adult choir for a fundraising gala video that helped raise over 1.1 million in support of the Cancer Center's most urgent clinical and research priorities. In 2012, Coelho founded the non-profit organization Concert for Hope, Inc. dedicated to promoting disease awareness and support through the production of annual concerts by an all-volunteer ensemble. The orchestra comprised amateur and professional musicians from across New England and has raised over $10,000 for charities like the Breast Cancer Institute of America, and the FLY Foundation.
An avid arranger, Mr. Coelho annually orchestrates the Ipswich Middle School Theatre Company’s musical to provide Ipswich High School musicians with an authentic pit orchestra educational experience. He serves as Co-Director for the musical theatre program which has won state recognition including a nomination for best overall musical in 2018 by the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild for Peter Pan, Jr.
Mr. Coelho is often seen as adjudicator, manager and conductor for district festivals throughout the state of Massachusetts, for which he has been a member and volunteer for over ten years. In 2018 Coelho had the honor of serving as the first conducting fellow for the Cape Ann Symphony, a professional regional orchestra located in Northeastern Massachusetts where he conducted alongside maestro Yoichi Udagawa and lead the pre-concert lecture series. He has also had the honor of conducting the SEMSBA, Southeastern School Bandmasters Association, Senior Orchestra twice and conducted both the Southeastern Massachusetts Junior District Orchestra and Central Massachusetts Junior District Orchestras in 2019. Most recently Mr. Coelho was appointed conductor for the Eastern Massachusetts Junior District Orchestra in 2020 which was postponed due to COVID-19.
In 2020, Mr. Coelho was recognized for outstanding teaching during COVID-19 by the Boston Globe’s Fenway Bowl Honor Roll, and in 2022 he was announced as one of ten finalists in the United States for the Music Educator of the Year Award by the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum.
In addition to teaching, conducting, and arranging, Mr. Coelho enjoys an active freelance career in both violin and viola. He has performed with notable artists including the Hanson Brothers, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Sarah Brightman, Josh Groban, IL Divo, Itzhak Perlman, Denée Benton, Rita Wilson, and Cyndi Lauper throughout the east coast and has performed at venues such as Boston Symphony Hall, Tanglewood's Seiji Ozawa Hall, and New York City's Radio City Music Hall.