All-Time Influential - John V. Sinclair Professor of Music, Rollins College Artistic Director and Conductor, Bach Festival Society of Winter Park John V. Sinclair—“Doc” to his friends and colleagues—is perhaps the most recognizable figure in the regional cultural community. He made Winter Park significant in the classical music universe and, over the course of 35 years, transformed the local Bach Festival—founded in 1935 as a weekend event—into an eclectic, monthlong extravaganza with renowned guest artists who perform on their own or in elaborate productions with the festival’s 50-member orchestra and 175-member choir. In fact, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park operates year-round with concerts and educational programs. Sinclair most recently established the Bach Vocal Artists, an elite chamber ensemble, and initiated the inaugural American National Oratorio Competition, which took place during this year’s Bach Festival. The down-to-earth maestro—whose graduate degrees in music education and conducting are from the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music and Dance—also helms performances by both the International Moravian Music Festivals and Orlando’s Messiah Choral Society. Plus, he has notched more than 1,000 trips to the podium to conduct the holiday Candlelight Processional at Epcot. A master teacher, Sinclair holds the John M. Tiedtke Endowed Chair of Music at Rollins College and, until he recently decided to put aside his administrative duties, headed the college’s Department of Music. “I subscribe to Thomas Jefferson’s quote, ‘I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it,’” says Sinclair, whose seemingly boundless energy delights and confounds his admirers. But he’s not ready to take it easy just yet. After all, he’s still having fun: “I always say our seats should be reserved, but we shouldn’t be.” #Winterparkmagazine #rollinscollege #bachfestivalwp #mostinfluential #winterparkfl