Caleb Wenzel’s artistic life lives at the crossroads of performance disciplines and stylistic genres. Winner of the 2019 Respighi Prize in Conducting, Caleb's vibrant and collaborative energy on the podium is equally at home with symphony orchestras, choral ensembles, opera, and musical theater. A specialist in new music and interdisciplinary performance, he keeps an active performance schedule as both a conductor and pianist, regularly crossing genres and styles both on the podium and at the keyboard.
 
Caleb has led performances on three continents, leading performances with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Chicago Latino Music Festival, American Bach Society, London Classical Soloists, Ritornello Chamber Orchestra, and at the University of British Columbia Chamber Orchestra Festival. In June 2019, Caleb made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting Chamber Orchestra of New York. He returned to CONY as the 2021/22 Apprentice Conductor, which culminated in assisting CONY on their recording of Respighi songs for NAXOS Records. In August 2024, Caleb made his debut with the Tokyo Sinfonia, for which he already received a return invitation. He currently serves as lead Répétiteur and staff Assistant Conductor for Opera Grand Rapids and has held previous professional positions as Conducting Area Coordinator and Principal Conductor of the American Creators Ensemble at the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium and held a four-year tenure as Associate Conductor of Ensemble CONCEPT/21.

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A passionate performance pedagogue, Caleb has been involved in performance education at all levels of training, serving as Music Director of the Elkhart County Youth Honors Orchestra and Conducting Fellow of the South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has served on the faculty of Grand Rapids Community College, Indiana University South Bend, and University of Notre Dame. At Grand Rapids Community College, he oversaw one of the most active and comprehensive undergraduate choral programs in Michigan. Just between 2021 and 2024, the GRCC choral ensembles performed Carmina burana, Little Match Girl Passion, Mozart’s Requiem, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, and the Michigan Premiere of Emerson Eads’ Mass for the Oppressed. At Notre Dame, he served as Music Director for Our Lady’s Consort, Artistic Director of Gold & Blue Co., and as the inaugural Staff Music Director for the University’s new Musical Theatre program. He continues his work as a performance pedagogue through masterclasses, private coachings, and clinics.

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An accomplished pianist, Caleb has presented performances in every region of the United States in venues ranging from a former furniture factory in Indiana, to college and university concert halls, to the historic Atlas in Washington DC. His repertoire encompasses solo, chamber music, and concertos, with an emphasis on music of the Americas. He has appeared as a featured soloist with Great Noise Ensemble, South Bend Symphony, and at the Walden Chamber Music Society. His scholarly work examines the intersection between music, ritual, and cultural identity and has received grant funding to conduct research at Oxford University.

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Caleb is a graduate of University of Notre Dame where he completed a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting under the mentorship of renowned Venezuelan conductor Carmen-Helena Téllez. He previously studied at The Catholic University of America, where he served as University Organist, and at Saint John’s University (Minnesota), where he was a Theodore Presser Scholar. He is currently based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.