American conductor Chelsea Tipton II has won over audiences and critics alike with his vibrant musicality, accessibility, versatility, and extraordinary commitment to education.  Tipton is now celebrating his fourth season as Music Director of The Symphony of Southeast Texas in Beaumont.  As a sought-after guest conductor, Tipton has appeared with numerous major orchestras in the United States, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and San Antonio Symphony Orchestra among others.  During the summer of 2011, Tipton was part of an extensive European tour with pop artist Sting that took him to 15 countries and working with 19 different European orchestras.  He prepared orchestras for the concerts and performed with Sting in concert in the Canary Islands, Granada and Cap Roig Spain.

The 2012-13 season sees Tipton working with the Dohnanyi Orchestra Budafok (Budapest), Hilton Head Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, New Haven Symphony, North Carolina Symphony and will be conducting Georgia All State Orchestra in Savannah. Tipton has conducted in Carnegie Hall conducting the Sphinx Competition Showcase gala concert that was the culmination of a ten city tour with the orchestra. Other highlights include a last minute replacement for Robert Spano to conduct an all-Gershwin season finale with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. The New York Times applauded Tipton for “[leading]sweeping and vibrant performances of “Rhapsody” and “An American in Paris.”

Tipton earned a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from Northern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance from the Eastman School of Music, with additional studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, the Conductors Retreat at Medomak and the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors in Hancock, Maine.