Youth Orchestra set to welcome new director

ArtBeat by Thomas B. Harrison Arts & Entertainment Editor

April 27, 2008   Press Register

The Mobile Symphony Youth Orchestra has a new director:  Rob Seebacher, who will take the reins in August. 

Seebacher, a native of Pittsburgh and a recent graduate of the University of Kentucky, will be in Mobile the week of May 5 to look around and get a feel for the community.  As MSYO director he will oversee the training orchestras that feed the youth orchestra: strings programs in schools; String Academy (intermediate string ensemble under the direction of Guo Sheng Huang); and Afternoon Strings (beginner string ensemble).

Seebacher, currently assistant conductor of orchestras and opera at the University of Kentucky, was chosen from 28 applicants nationwide.  He earned rave notices from the Alabama All State Orchestra Festival, where he was a clinician in  2006, and from colleagues at the Pennsylvania Governor's School of the Arts where he is a member of the faculty.

He succeeds retiring MSYO conductor Orland Thomas, longtime music educator, who was inducted into the Alabama Music Educators Association's inaugural class of the AMEA Hall of Fame.  Thomas was cited for his excellence in teaching, his contribution to music education, exemplary service and academic integrity.

ArtBeat will have much more on Seebacher in an upcoming edition of Living Arts.

Meanwhile, the MSYO wraps up its season with two free concerts.  The 50-member ensemble will perform  a  one-hour concert of classical and contemporary works under the direction of veteran conductor Thomas.  The schedule: 2 p.m. May 4, Laidlaw Recital Hall, University of South Alabama; and a Mother's Day special, 5 p.m. May 11 at Bellingrath Gardens.  Both Concerts are free.

Info, contact Sarah Wright, education director of the MSO: (251)432-2064; or e-mail This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it