Artistic Direction

Artistic direction is critical to the success of a youth orchestra, and the Florida Young Artists Orchestra is blessed with exceptional talent in this regard. Our Artistic Director, in conjunction with our artistic staff, works to

• define educational requirements for the orchestras
• assess the skills and abilities of our members
• select a diverse variety of challenging and interesting music appropriate to our members
• teach our members proper orchestral methods and nuances

Our staff has compiled quite a track record of first class education and performance with youth orchestras and music organizations. Please see for yourself:

Mr. Jonathan May, Artistic Director

Jonathan May is currently in his ninth season as Artistic Director of the Florida Young Artists Orchestra. He has worked with young musicians for the past 22 years and has developed orchestras throughout the United States including Minnesota, Colorado, Tennessee, and Florida. In the summer of 2001 he conducted the Florida Young Artists Orchestra in a successful tour of Italy which featured performances in Milan, Fiesole and the Academy of Music at Santa Cecilia in Rome. He also led young musicians in concert tours of England, Scotland, Australia and Austria.

An active clinician, he is regularly featured as an All-State conductor, and is a frequent conductor of large regional string festivals. This past January he conducted the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Prague which will be featured on an upcoming CD release.

Mr. May has received many awards for his work on behalf of young musicians, including:

• Teachers Who Make A Difference award in Denver, Colorado
  
• Faculty Merit Award from Moorhead State University
  
• Bryan Symphony Award from the Bryan Symphony in Tennessee
  
• ASCAP Award (1997) for the programming of Twentieth Century music

Mr. May is an active advocate for arts education and has served on the National Board of the Youth Orchestra Division of the American Symphony Orchestra League. In addition, he has served on the Board of the state chapters of the American String Teacher's Association in Minnesota, Tennessee and Florida. Mr. May maintains a busy teaching schedule and is currently developing string programs at Trinity Preparatory School, Park-Maitland Elementary School and Daytona Beach Community College. In addition to his exceptional work in the Orlando area, he is also the Music Director of the Central Florida Youth Orchestra in Lake County and the Daytona Beach Youth Orchestra in Daytona Beach.

Mr. May holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Augustana College. He holds a Master of Music degree in violoncello performance from Colorado State University, and has done additional graduate work toward the Doctor of Music Arts degree in orchestra conducting from the University of Washington.

Mr. Michael Miller, Associate Conductor

Michael Miller was born in Cleveland, Ohio. At the age of two, his family moved to Calgary, Alberta and they remained in Canada through his high-school years. Michael recalls that while his family maintained a healthy interest in music, they were not terribly sophisticated.

“The only recording of an orchestra that I can remember us having was a record of Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. It was through piano lessons that the world of classical music gradually opened up to me. Canada has great radio, too. I remember hearing the Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary Symphony Orchestras on CBC-it was wonderful.”

During his sophomore year of high school, Michael’s family moved to Thunder Bay, Ontario. There he attended Fort William Collegiate Institute and became involved in the band and orchestra programs. Mrs. Diane Garrett, a cellist in the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, was head of the music department. She became a mentor to him and challenged him to develop his musical skills.

“Mrs. Garrett taught me to view music as a craft, not just a hobby.”

After graduating from Fort William Collegiate Institute, Michael attended Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, MI where he earned a Bachelor of Music in Theory and Composition. During his college years he played trumpet in the Watchmen Brass Quintet, which traveled throughout the Midwest and Eastern United States and Europe. In 1993, he received the Alpha Chi Fine Arts Award for his composition Caution: Children at Play.

After graduating from Cornerstone, Michael began working as a church musician and commenced graduate studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI. A move to Orlando in 1997 delayed completion of his degree, but he eventually completed his thesis composition-a setting of the Mass Ordinary-and was awarded a Masters of Music in Composition.

Michael joined the FYAO as Associate Conductor in August of 2000. He is delighted to work with such gifted students and views each rehearsal as a musical treasure. In addition to the standard symphonic repertoire, he tries to challenge the players with works from the twentieth century. As a composer he understands how vital it is that we cultivate a generation of educated, thoughtful listeners.

Michael is extremely proud of his wonderful family. Wendy, his wife, is also a trained musician and is the director of choral activities at Trinity Prep. They both enjoy singing in the Cathedral Choir at St. Luke’s Episcopal Cathedral. Michael and Wendy are the proud parents of two beautiful children, Creed and Madeline.

When he is not teaching, conducting or composing Michael enjoys spending time with his family, reading, riding his bike, and giving the hammock a good workout.

Mr. Greg Barker, Associate Conductor / Brass and Wind Coach

Mr. Barker works closely with our Brass and Wind players, and was instrumental in preparing our Symphony Brass to play the National Anthem during an Orlando Magic game. Greg holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Instrumental Music and a Master of Science degree in Secondary Education from Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana. He is an accomplished trumpet player and member of a Tapestry Brass, an Orlando based brass quintet. He is a former high school and middle school band director; a published composer and arranger; and an adjudicator for area solo and ensemble festivals. He currently teaches private music lessons at Trinity Preparatory School, and his studio in Sanford, Fl. He is a piano tuner and serves as the road representative for Allegro Music in Casselberry, Fl. He is frequently a guest conductor, clinician, and soloist for area schools and churches. Greg also prepare the arrangement of the anthen played during the Magic game.