ORLANDO, FL – After an extensive search, Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras’ (FSYO) Board of Directors is honored to appoint teacher, composer, and conductor, Dr. James O. Welsch, as Music Director and Symphonic Orchestra Conductor, effective November 21, 2021.
“We are thrilled to officially welcome Dr. James Welsch to the FSYO team as Music Director and Symphonic Conductor! James is an FSYO alumnus and in his recent audition, he quickly developed a rapport with the Symphonic students that we are excited to see him build upon over the coming months and years. We are confident that the combination of his history with FSYO and the local arts community, broad experiences in high-level music education, and artistic vision and charismatic energy will be of great benefit as we move forward.”
-Eddie Fee Jr., Board of Directors President
Dr. Welsch is an experienced educator who is dedicated to the development of the whole student through the nurturing of each musician’s unique talent. He has held the dual positions of Associate Conductor of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and Music Director and General Manager of the El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestras, where he conducts their premier ensemble. In his role with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, he has conducted the professional musicians in a variety of Pops and educational concerts, including Carnegie Hall’s Link Up program. Dr. Welsch is the founding Music Director/Principal Conductor of Orquesta Filarmónica Juvenil México-USA “The Bridge.” This binational youth program validates his belief in the universal power of symphonic music to create bonds among people in diverse communities. The initiative brings together talented musicians from Ciudad Juarez and El Paso for orchestral performances on both sides of the border.
An active adjudicator, master class teacher, and festival conductor, Dr. Welsch has considerable experience arranging music. He received a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the Setnor School of Music at Syracuse University, and a Bachelor of Music in Theory and Composition from Stetson University.
"It is an extreme honor to return to the Central Florida region - my past experiences and education all seem to have been leading me right back home again to the orchestra that was so important to me in my formative musical life. I look forward to working with the artistic and administrative teams, as well as the talented young musicians a part of the FSYO in continuing their connection to their community and finding new and exciting ways of experiencing music together."
-Dr. James O. Welsch
FSYO is grateful for the Artistic guidance and leadership of Interim Symphonic Orchestra Conductor Dr. Raymond Chobaz, and he will continue his position until November 20, 2021. Dr. Chobaz has been the Professor of Music and Conductor Laureate of the Gainesville Symphony Orchestra since 1982 and the Gainesville Symphony Orchestra from its inception in 1983 to 2001. He studied at the Basel Conservatory and Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Switzerland, where he obtained a Master of Arts degree Summa Cum Laude in Music Theory. As an International Rotary Scholar at the University of Utah, he received both a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting under Joseph Rosenstock and a Ph.D. in Music Composition and Electronic Music under Vladimir Ussachevsky.
ABOUT DR. JAMES O. WELSCH: Dr. James O. Welsch has extensive experience preparing and conducting orchestra, opera, musical theater, and ensemble performances.
He has held the dual positions of Associate Conductor of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and Music Director and General Manager of the El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestras, where he conducted the premier ensemble. In addition to serving as cover conductor for the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, he also conducted the professional musicians in a variety of Pops and educational concerts, including Carnegie Hall’s Link Up program.
Dr. Welsch is the founding Music Director/Principal Conductor of Orquesta Filarmónica Juvenil México-USA “The Bridge.” This binational youth program validates his belief in the universal power of symphonic music to create bonds among people in diverse communities. The initiative, which brings together talented musicians from Ciudad Juarez and El Paso for orchestral performances on both sides of the border, has been widely hailed by public media in Mexico and the United States and by professional musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma.
While earning his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Welsch focused on orchestral conducting under the mentorship of Maestro Gerhardt Zimmermann. He gained experience in a variety of genres through study and collaboration with established practitioners, including Kelly Kuo, University of Texas Butler Opera Center; Jerry Junkin, Director of Bands, Butler School of Music, and Peter Bay, Austin Symphony Orchestra.
He also studied conducting with James Tapia and John Laverty at Syracuse University, where he earned a Master’s Degree; and Bobby Adams, Anthony Hose, and Duncan Couch at Stetson University, where he earned his undergraduate degree. In master classes and workshops, he studied with Jorma Panula, Raffi Armenian, James Croft, Timothy Reynish, and Joseph Kreines.
Primary teachers of Composition Studies include: Kari Juusela, Sydney Hodkinson, Daniel Godfrey, and Joseph Kreines. He participated in master classes and seminars offered by John Harbison, Steven Stucky, Judith Weir, Pauline Oliveros, Robert Ashley, Robert Ward, and Larry Austin.
Dr. Welsch is an experienced educator who is dedicated to the development of the whole student through the nurturing of each musician’s unique talent. Immediately after earning a Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting at the Setnor School of Music at Syracuse University, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Music there, where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses; conducted orchestras and ensembles; was Music Director/Conductor for fully staged operas, and performed all faculty responsibilities, including student recruitment and committee work. He was honored as the Outstanding Music Faculty Member in 2008.
With a commitment to broadening the experience of symphonic music for performing artists and audiences, Dr. Welsch has developed an extensive, eclectic conducting repertoire that includes not only the established canon, but also extraordinary works by under-represented composers. His focus on literature analysis, developed during his post-baccalaureate education, continues as he studies and shares with his orchestras and ensembles the works of the masters as well as those by new and overlooked composers.
Dr. Welsch is an active adjudicator, master class teacher, and festival conductor. He has considerable experience arranging music.
Delighting in the collaborative experiences that his art affords, Dr. Welsch welcomes opportunities to work with others, whether for a session of score study, an impromptu ensemble where he plays French Horn, his principal instrument, or a public performance. He especially values the creative experience of working with and hosting guest artists. In El Paso, he has conducted concerts featuring award-winning violinist Andrew Sords; vocalists from the USO Show Troup, and world renowned concert pianist Robert Auler.
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