Michael Roest is a conductor, educator, and arts leader whose work centers on building inclusive musical communities and championing new voices in classical music.

As Founder and Director of the International Pride Orchestra (IPO), he has created a platform for LGBTQ+ musicians worldwide to perform, connect, and advocate. IPO has presented concerts in San Francisco, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Houston, collaborating with drag artists Peaches Christ and Thorgy Thor to raise funds for organizations including LYRIC, SAGE, Whitman-Walker, and the Montrose Center.

Roest's conducting and teaching have taken him across a range of institutions and ensembles. At the University of Michigan, he serves as Associate Music Director of the Michigan Pops Orchestra and Music Director of the Life Sciences Orchestra. He served on the conducting faculty of the San Jose Youth Symphony and created the first Pre-College Contemporary Music Ensemble at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. At the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, he taught brass studies and directed the Oberlin Brass Ensemble. He also served as Executive and Artistic Director of the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra. His administrative roles include Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Dean and Executive Director of Pre-College and Continuing Education at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Roest holds degrees from The Juilliard School, Oberlin Conservatory, and University of Michigan. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Michigan with Professor Kenneth Kiesler.