Conductors

CYNTHIA KATSARELIS  is Music Director and Conductor of Lafayette Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, a professional ensemble, as well as Youth Orchestra of the Rockies . She has conducted excellent professional, conservatory, youth and training orchestras. As Conducting Assistant with the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops, Ms Katsarelis worked with top conductors and guest artists. Among the orchestras she has conducted include the Colorado Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Bourgas Philharmonic (Bulgaria), Spokane Symphony, the New World Symphony, and the Detroit Civic Orchestra. Critical reviews have praised her work as “a model of precision and spirit.”

A pioneer for professional women conductors, Ms. Katsarelis served as Associate Conductor with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra ( North Carolina ) and Music Director of the Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra. There, she was a dynamic force for education, implementing innovative musical programs for economically challenged children, public school students, and gifted young musicians. Having a passion for working with young musicians, Ms. Katsarelis led the Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra to a high level of artistic achievement, produced a CD, sent handfuls of students to major conservatories, and received an invitation to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Ms. Katsarelis charmed audiences in her appearances leading the Greensboro Symphony Pops and the Greensboro Ballet’s production of the Nutcracker and their parody “the Cracked Nut.”

In Colorado , Ms. Katsarelis was recently invited to assist the Colorado Music Festival and conduct the offstage brass in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, the “Resurrection.” She has conducted the Young Artist Seminar at Rocky Ridge Music Center for the past two summers. She has conducted clinics and sectionals at numerous Colorado high schools, including Fairview in Boulder , Thompson Valley in Loveland and Rocky Mountain high school in Fort Collins . In February of 2006, Ms. Katsarelis guest conducted the University of Nebraska ( Omaha ) Honors Orchestra.

Ms. Katsarelis’ commitment to working with young musicians took her to Haiti in the Spring of 2004 to guest conduct the Haiti Philharmonic and youth orchestras at the Holy Trinity School of Music in Port-au-Prince , as part of the Colorado Haiti Project.

Ms. Katsarelis studied Violin and Conducting at the prestigious Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University , earning her Bachelors and Masters of Music degrees. At the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati , she worked on a doctorate in music, majoring in Orchestral and Opera Conducting. There she served as assistant conductor for both conservatory orchestras and the Opera Theater. She began her professional career at the age of 18 as a section violinist in the Florida Orchestra and currently plays in the Fort Collins Symphony.

Bennett Stucky
Receiving his Bachelor’s of Music Education from the University of Northern Colorado , Bennett Stucky is currently the director of orchestras at Poudre High School and Cache La Poudre Junior High in Fort Collins . Bennett Stucky began violin at the age of 5 through the Suzuki program and was an active youth orchestra member as a young musician. Bennett performs as a regular violinist with the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra.

Becky Kutz Osterberg  received her Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from the University of Southern California as a student of Ron Leonard, former principal of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She earned a Master of Music in Cello Performance and completed the coursework for a Master of Music History from the University of Akron, Ohio. Becky has performed with over 15 professional orchestras throughout North Eastern Ohio, Pennsylvania , West Virginia and Southern California and is currently a member of the Fort Collins Symphony and the Greeley Philharmonic. She also performed in over 60 different cities in the United States on John Tesh’s National Discovery Tour, concluding in the taping of a PBS special broadcast performance. Becky has been teaching and working as a cello coach for over 15 years. In California , she taught Cello and Music History at Bethesda Christian University and is currently teaching privately in her studio in Fort Collins .

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