Los Angeles-born conductor Emmanuel Rojas served as an assistant conductor of the USC Thornton Symphony for music director Carl St. Clair and resident conductor Sharon Lavery. He also presented concerts with members and alumni of the USC Symphony Orchestra. In Spring 2024, Emmanuel served as a conductor for the Bard Opera Workshop and assisted maestro James Bagwell for the Bard Vocal Art Program’s production of Jacques Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers. He also presented scenes from Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier with singers of the Bard Vocal Arts Program and the Orchestra Now (TŌN) as part of his graduation recital. Emmanuel is currently assistant conductor of the Santa Clarita Symphony.

Emmanuel was a participant in the 2025 Spokane Symphony International Conducting Workshop with Johannes Schlaefli and James Lowe, the International Conducting Workshop & Festival with Larry Rachleff and Donald Schleicher, the Winter/Summer Baltimore Chamber Orchestra Conducting Workshop with Markand Thakar, and the Conductor’s Institute at Bard with Harold Farberman. At the USC he studied opera conducting with Brent McMunn, orchestral conducting with Larry Livingston and choral conducting with Tram Sparks. At the Bard Conservatory of Music, Emmanuel studied with James Bagwell and Leon Botstein.

As a bass trombonist, Emmanuel has performed with the American Symphony Orchestra for the 2022 Bard SummerScape production of Richard Strauss’ Die schweigsame Frau, the Burbank Philharmonic, the Downey Symphony, and the Santa Monica Symphony. Also, as guest artist of the Bard College Conservatory Orchestra, Emmanuel has worked with Grammy/Academy Award winner and Dean of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, Tan Dun. He also performed with Bill Cunliffe’s BACHanalia Big Band and was part of the US-premiere of Bob Mintzer’s People Music with the USC Thornton Jazz Orchestra, commissioned by the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern of the Vienna Philharmonic. Emmanuel studied with John Lofton of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at CSULB and Terry Cravens of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra at USC.

Emmanuel received a BM in Bass Trombone performance from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach in 2015. He later went on to earn his MM in Bass Trombone performance at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California in 2017. He stayed at the Thornton School of Music to pursue a DMA by majoring in Bass Trombone performance, with elective concentrations in Opera Conducting (opera conducting with Brent McMunn, choral conducting with Tram Sparks, stage direction with Ken Cazan, and voice with Rodney Gilfry), Arts Leadership (with Kenneth Foster), and Music Theory/Analysis (with Ted Hearne). After finishing his doctoral coursework, Emmanuel went on to receive a MM in Orchestral Conducting from the Bard College Conservatory of Music in the Spring of 2024.

Emmy-nominated conductor Troy Quinn has quickly established himself as one of his generation’s most versatile young artists. Lauded for his energetic and riveting, yet sensitive conducting, Quinn is in his eighth season as Music Director of the Owensboro Symphony in Kentucky. He is also in his seventh season as Music Director of the Venice Symphony in Florida and serves concurrently as the Pops Conductor of both the Santa Rosa Symphony in California and the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Quinn’s engagements have included performances with many prestigious orchestras in the United States, including the Boston Pops, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.

Equally at home in the pops and commercial world, Quinn has performed and recorded with some of the most popular artists of our time, including The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Barry Manilow, Lee Greenwood, Josh Groban, Jennifer Hudson, Michael Feinstein, Tower of Power, The Indigo Girls, and Nas. As an accomplished vocalist, Quinn has also collaborated with such prominent maestros as Helmuth Rilling, Carl St. Clair, and Dan Saunders of the Metropolitan Opera. In addition to his concert work, Quinn has worked extensively in the television and recording industry, earning an Emmy nomination for the PBS special A Night at the Oscars with the Owensboro Symphony. He has made appearances on such hit television shows as Fox’s GLEE, NBC’s The Voice, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno while recording on films like The Call of the Wild and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He has also appeared at many of the world’s major music centers and at such famed venues as the Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Tanglewood, where Quinn conducted the BUTI orchestra.

A native of Connecticut, Quinn pursued a bachelor of arts degree from Providence College where he was the recipient of the Leo S. Cannon award for superior achievement in the music field. He went on to earn his master’s degree with honors from the Manhattan School of Music, studying conducting with David Gilbert and voice with highly acclaimed Metropolitan Opera singer Mark Oswald. He completed his doctorate in conducting at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, where he studied with Larry Livingston and Jo-Michael Scheibe and was named the outstanding doctoral graduate of his class. Quinn has participated in numerous masterclasses as a conducting fellow, attending conducting institutes at the Royal Academy of Music, Eastman School of Music, and Bard Conservatory of Music. He has been mentored by such renowned conductors as Benjamin Zander, Neil Varon, and Leon Botstein. Quinn serves on the conducting faculty at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and has previously served as a faculty member at Providence College.

Known for his clarity, attention to detail, advocacy of new music by living composers, interpretations of the classics as well as comfort with crossover symphonic concerts and popular music, Martin is a versatile and wide-ranging conductor who has appeared as guest conductor with symphony orchestras in North America, Europe, and Australia. Recent engagements include the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Utah Symphony as part of their Deer Valley Music Festival, the Tucson Symphony Cirque de la Symphony “Holiday Magic” concerts, and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Botanic Garden concert series. He has also recently guest-conducted Das Sinfonie Orchester Berlin at the Berlin Philharmonic Chamber Music Hall.

Martin served as music director and conductor with Downtown Opera in Long Beach, California, conducting premieres of new operas in the U.S. and the Czech Republic and was conductor and music director at LaMaMa Theatre in New York City where he led performances of his one-act opera, The Doctor. He also served as assistant conductor with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and was conductor of the Berkeley Young Musicians Program Orchestra and Berkeley Summer Orchestra. He has toured extensively as conductor with Windborne Music’s repertory of symphonic rock concerts and served as orchestra conductor for the tour of Marie Osmond’s show, “Marie”, featuring Marie Osmond performing with symphony orchestras and her band throughout the United States. He was also arranger and conductor for Flying Music Inc., London in tours with orchestra and band throughout the United Kingdom. Martin has been arranger and conductor for “Classical Mystery Tour” Music of the Beatles in well over a hundred concerts with symphony orchestras nationally and internationally since its inception, having toured with them throughout the US, Europe, Australia and Canada.

Martin studied conducting and composition at Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of California, Berkeley and spent two years in Paris, France on a Fulbright Grant and U.C. Berkeley Ladd Prix de Paris where he worked as a conductor and composer. He has received recognition for his work in the promotion of international cultural exchange from the Trust for Mutual Understanding, New York City.

Lucas Waldin is a dynamic and versatile conductor whose performances have delighted audiences across North America. He has collaborated with some of today’s most exciting artists including Carly Rae Jepsen, The Barenaked Ladies, Crash Test Dummies, Ben Folds, The Canadian Brass, and Buffy Sainte-Marie, in addition to conducting presentations such as Disney in Concert, Blue Planet Live, Cirque de la Symphony, and the groundbreaking symphonic debut of R&B duo Dvsn as part of the global Red Bull Music Festival.

 Waldin has been a guest conductor for numerous orchestras in the U.S. and Canada, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Grant Park Festival Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

 A native of Toronto, Ontario, Waldin holds degrees in flute and conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Conducting Fellow – Oliver Chan earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where he studied under the tutelage of internationally acclaimed pianist Walter Ponce. Oliver has been a featured pianist, conductor, and music educator throughout the Greater Los Angeles Area. Oliver is the music director of Opera Italia, an opera company based in Los Angeles, and a staff accompanist at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where he works closely with renowned baritone Vladimir Chernov. He has also worked as the assistant conductor at La Sierra University Opera Theatre, an accompanist at Santa Monica College, and the chorusmaster at Numi Opera. At the BCCM, Oliver conducts the Bob Cole Conservatory Symphony Orchestra and coaches voice students in the Opera Institute while pursuing his master’s degree in orchestral conducting. He currently studies with Dr. Johannes Müller Stosch and has studied with Dr. Jacob Sustaita and Dr. Dean Anderson.

Conductor, Music Director and Pianist Evan Roider maintains an active schedule performing across the United States and abroad.  Equally at home on the symphonic stage and in the pit, he is quickly becoming known as a conductor of great versatility. Currently, he serves as Music Director/Conductor for the National Tour of Wicked, having toured with Les Misérables and Cats. The 2022-2023 season included appearances with Pacific Symphony and The Manhattan Transfer, Tucson Symphony and Pink Martini, and a return engagement with the Greensboro Symphony and Michael Feinstein, celebrating the Judy Garland Centennial. He recently assisted on Pops concerts with the Dallas Symphony, and in 2023-2024, assists on programs with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center and Wolf Trap.  This season, he returns to Tucson Symphony, makes his debut with Sarasota Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony, and Toledo Symphony, and continues to conduct Wicked across North America.

As a Music Director, Evan has led productions of Mack and Mabel, A Chorus Line, Company, Into the Woods, The Music Man, Avenue Q, Spring Awakening, and The Wizard of Oz, among others. He was the Assistant Conductor for Candide at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and in 2019, was awarded the Best Music Director award from Broadway World CT for his work on Evita (ACT of Connecticut).  Active in the development of new works, Evan spent two summers at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center as part of the National Musical Theater Conference as well as the Cabaret & Performance Conference.  In 2014, he served as music director and pianist for Broadway in Ravello (Italy), a production that was broadcast on Italian National Television, and in 2013, he premiered new arrangements of Leonard Bernstein works at Grand Performances Los Angeles.  At Barrington Stage, he was the Associate Music Director for the critically acclaimed production of The Pirates of Penzance, a production the New York Times called, “exhilarating”.

As a pianist, Evan is a strong advocate of new music, having worked with composers Jake Heggie, William Bolcom, Gwyneth Walker, and Ben Moore, among others.  In 2014, he made his debut in China with Cardiff Singer of the World Yang Guang and in 2015, he spearheaded a residency featuring Jake Heggie and Sister Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking).  He has performed at SongFest, Liederfest, the Indiana University Summer Music Festival, the Amalfi Coast Music Festival, and the New Orleans International Piano Competition Institute, having coached with Graham Johnson, Martin Katz, William Bolcom, Nelita True, John Perry, Margo Garrett, and Aldo Ciccolini, among others.

Evan is a graduate of the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, where he earned a Masters in Orchestral Conducting.  He received the Bachelor of Music from the Hartt School under the instruction of Anne Koscielny and David Westfall.

“Of all that abides here, it’s the consistency of the music direction that impresses the most.”      – Chicago Tribune

“Under the musical direction of Conductor Evan Roider, the orchestration is wonderful and well-balanced.” – MD Theatre Guide

“I am so proud when young musicians initiate a project that addresses the arts, politics and social justice. Evan is doing that.” – Jake Heggie

Conductor Herb Smith is widely known in both the classical and jazz worlds as an exciting performer who inspires musicians and audiences wherever he goes.  Whether he is performing, conducting, teaching or composing, Herb’s expression of music draws from his multifaceted and dynamic musical experiences from around the world.

Voted “Best Instrumentalist” of Rochester 2022 by City Magazine, Herb currently holds the third trumpet position in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the principal trumpet position in the Gateways Festival Orchestra which made their Carnegie Hall debut in April 2022. Herb also serves as principal trumpet in the Gateways Brass Collective, a nationally touring professional brass quintet, sponsored by Conn-Selmer. Being a highly sought after lead trumpeter has afforded Herb the opportunity to play with such notable musicians as Jeff Beck, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, the O’Jays, Johnny Mathis, and Doc Severinsen, to name but a few. He has been a frequent guest soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Rochester Philharmonic.

Herb’s Freedom Trio (composed of trumpet played through electronics, bass and drums) can be seen in performances around the country. This funky, eclectic group, a frequent guest at the Rochester International Jazz Festival, offers its “idiosyncratic yet charming melodies” (City Magazine) in concerts and festivals around the world.

As a composer, Herb has been commissioned by brass ensembles, high school choirs, jazz ensembles and trumpet ensembles in addition to writing for his jazz trio and the Gateways Brass Collective. Herb’s “The Twelve Tones of Christmas,” composed for trumpet, piano and voice, premiered in Carnegie Hall in 2008. Tony Award winning choreographer Garth Fagan commissioned Herb to write a ballet for his Children’s Ensemble. The resulting forty minute, six part work ranged across many styles, including reggae, classical, jazz and funk.

Herb is a regular guest conductor with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He frequently conducts the Symphoria orchestra based in Syracuse, NY and currently directs the Eastman Youth Jazz Ensemble. He also guest conducts for All-State and All-County Bands, Orchestras and Jazz Ensembles all across New York State. Herb recently conducted and curated a Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Brass performance of Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” at a Black Lives Matter rally and a concert honoring Harriet Tubman. This performance united the City of Rochester, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and neighborhood churches in honor of Tubman’s bicentennial celebration.

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Herb is a trumpet instructor at the Eastman Community Music School. He also leads masterclasses and offers lectures on trumpet technique, endurance and sound production. From universities to elementary schools, Herb is frequently invited to serve as teacher, teaching artist and clinician. He co-founded Herb’s City Trumpets, a program that mentors and teaches trumpet to Black students aged 8 to 17, in partnership with the Rochester City School District.

Pola Benke is a distinguished conductor and cellist, recognized for her dynamic approach and deep commitment to musical excellence. Currently serving as Assistant Conductor for both the Long Beach Symphony and the Riverside Philharmonic, she has quickly risen in the world of conducting, combining her talent and dedication with a profound understanding of musical intricacies.

Born in Poland, Pola’s early immersion in music led her to pursue Master’s degree in cello performance and later, orchestral conducting. This solid foundation, coupled with her passion for music, has shaped her unique artistic vision.

Her early career was marked by significant opportunities, including selection for a prestigious summer program with Maestro Neeme Järvi. This experience was a key milestone, allowing her to further hone her craft. She was also invited to the Dartington Music Festival in England as a Fellow Conductor, where she worked under Sian Edwards, and participated in the esteemed Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, collaborating with Cristian Macelaru. Her recent participation in the Järvi Academy in Estonia, under the direction of Paavo Järvi, further solidified her reputation as a rising star in the classical music community.

As an accomplished cellist, Pola Benke understands the intricacies of musical performance and how to communicate with musicians to achieve the desired artistic interpretation. Her background as a musician has also given her the ability to analyze and interpret scores with a high level of detail, enabling her to lead ensembles with precision and nuance. This knowledge and experience are invaluable assets in the craft of conducting and allow her to bring a unique perspective to her work as a conductor. ”Her leadership results in performances that are both precise and emotionally compelling”.

Pola is also a passionate advocate for contemporary music and frequently collaborates with living composers to premiere new works. She is committed to promoting female artists and often features their compositions in her programs. Her musical influences include Krzysztof Penderecki, Igor Stravinsky, Thomas Adès, Jennifer Higdon, and the renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. She is currently living in Redondo Beach with her husband and their dog, Bobby.

Southern California native Mark Alpízar has enjoyed a multifaceted career as a conductor, clarinetist, and music educator throughout the United States. He is the music director of the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association and is currently a regular guest conductor of the Holland Symphony in Michigan, the conductor for Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar, and the cover conductor of the Alabama Symphony. Prior to his move to Vermont, he was the assistant conductor of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Cleveland Pops Youth, the American Youth Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra, and your Long Beach Symphony Orchestra. He holds a doctorate in orchestra and opera conducting from Arizona State University as well as masters and bachelors degrees from the Cole Conservatory of Music.

Berklee-trained arranger/conductor Brent Havens has written music for orchestras, feature films, and virtually every kind of television. His TV work includes movies for networks such as ABC, CBS, and ABC; Family Channel Network; commercials; sports music for networks such as ESPN; and even cartoons. Havens has also worked with the Doobie Brothers and the Milwaukee Symphony arranging and conducting the combined group for Harley Davidson’s 100th Anniversary Birthday Party Finale attended by over 150,000 fans. He has worked with some of the world’s greatest orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London; the CBSO in Birmingham, England; the Malaysian Philharmonic; the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; the Minnesota Orchestra; the Pittsburgh Symphony; the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra; the Houston Symphony; the Atlanta Symphony; the Baltimore Symphony; the Dallas Symphony; the Fort Worth Symphony; the Nashville Symphony; Orchestra of Opera North in Leeds, England; and countless others.

Havens recently completed the score for the film “Quo Vadis,” a Premier Pictures remake of the 1956 gladiator film. In 2013, he worked with the Baltimore Symphony and the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens to arrange and produce the music for the Thanksgiving Day halftime show between the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers adapting both classical music and rock songs into a single four-minute show. Havens is Arranger/Guest Conductor for all of the symphonic rock programs for Windborne Music.