Since 2020, Michael Sakir has served as as Artistic Director of Opera Montana where the company has transformed into a thriving, mission-driven organization recognized for innovation, community impact, and growth. Sakir previously served as Music Director of Opera Memphis with whom, in addition to conducting nearly two dozen productions, he was deeply involved in the company's groundbreaking civic practice programs, commissioning projects, and the creation of the Handorf Company Artist Program.

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As a conductor, Michael Sakir has been praised for his "artistic authority," "fluidity of expression," and "great delicacy of feeling." Recent conducting engagements include Seattle Opera and Arizona Opera (The Falling and the Rising), Des Moines Metro Opera (Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges, Philip Glass’s Galileo Galilei, and Laura Kaminsky’s As One), Opera Baltimore (The Turn of the Screw), Opera Idaho (Carmen), and the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music Center (Madama Butterfly, Candide, Susannah, Die Fledermaus).

Sakir holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and The Boston Conservatory, as well as a certificate in Nonprofit Financial Management from Cornell University. He was a participant in OPERA America’s 2017 Leadership Intensive. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Teri, a leadership coach and change management consultant at Deloitte, and their four-year-old son, William.