Festival Orchestra Conductor

Fawzi Haimor

The "energetic and enthusiastic conductor," Fawzi Haimor was raised in the Middle East and California. He began playing the violin at the age of 6 and had his first conducting opportunity at the age of 16, premiering his own work for string orchestra which began his path towards a conducting career. In 2005, Mr. Haimor began his studies at the University of California-Davis where he conducted numerous performances of symphony and opera and was also the founder and first music director of the Davis Summer Symphony, an organization geared towards the education and outreach of classical music to residents of the Davis community.

In 2007, Mr. Haimor was accepted into the conducting program at the prestigious Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. During his residency at Indiana University, Mr. Haimor, a strong advocate of new music, premiered over 20 works by faculty and student composers. In addition, he has conducted numerous orchestral concerts and was appointed the Assistant Conductor for the IU Opera and Theater Department covering rehearsals for cast and orchestra.

Mr. Haimor has also served as an assistant for many conductors including Robert Spano, Uri Segal, David Effron, and Arthur Fagen. In addition, Mr. Haimor has worked with Herbert Blomstedt, Leonard Slatkin, Gustav Meier, Mark Gibson, and Jorma Panula and has appeared on podiums in Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. In addition to his duties with the Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra and Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Haimor has appeared with the Orquestra Nacional do Porto, the Amman Symphony and the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.

Sinfonietta String Orchestra Conductor

Michael Gagliardo

Michael R. Gagliardo was named the second Music Director and Conductor of the Etowah Youth Orchestras in August of 1995. Since his appointment, he has led the EYO to national recognition, including the receipt of nine ASCAP Awards for Programming of Contemporary Music; the 2006 ASCAP Award for American Programming on Foreign Tours; and "Best In Class" Awards for the ensembles of the EYO at the 1998 Gateway New Orelans, 1999 Gateway Myrtle Beach, 2001 Gateway New Orleans, and 2003 Gateway New Orleans Music Festivals. The EYO was also selected to represent the State of Alabama in the first Continental Harmony Project of the American Composers Forum.

Under Mr. Gagliardo's direction, the Orchestras have performed numerous concerts throughout the United States and Great Britain, including domestic tours throughout the Southeast, the Midwest, the MidAtlantic, and the Northeast, and the EYO's first international tour to England. Other appearances by the ensembles of the EYO include the American Honor Orchestra Conference, the Summer Teachers’ Institute of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum, the Arts Advocacy Day 2000 Conference, the National ASTA Conference, the Alabama Music Educators Association Conference; and "by-invitation" performances at Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and for joint sessions of the Alabama State Legislature. He will lead the ensembles of the EYO in performances in Mobile, Alabama, and Destin, Florida, in June of 2008. The Etowah Youth Orchestras have also commissioned and performed the world premieres of 34 works, and have released four compilation compact disc recordings, plus numerous complete live concert recordings, under Mr. Gagliardo's leadership. The latest EYO recording, “A Rock And Roll Christmas” featuring the Etowah Youth Symphony Orchestra, will be relaeased in November of 2007. Mr. Gagliardo has also been featured with the EYO in two documentaries for Alabama Public Television. In addition to his duties with the Etowah Youth Orchestras, Mr. Gagliardo serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Jacksonville State University/Community Orchestra and adjunct faculty member at Jacksonville State University, as well as Executive Director of the Alabama Orchestra Association.

Before arriving in Alabama, Mr. Gagliardo served for two years as the Principal Conductor and Administrator of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of East Central Indiana, housed at Ball State University. While at Ball State, he also was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Ball State Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Conductor for the School of Music's Composers' Forums and Student Composition Recitals. He premiered a total of 19 new works, and was awarded the School of Music's Citizenship Award, recognizing his service to the School, in April of 1995.

In all, Mr. Gagliardo has performed the premieres of over 50 works. He has served as Guest Conductor of the 2003 All-West Tennesse Honor Orchestra Festival Senior Orchestra, the Eastern Illinois University/Community Orchestra, the Alton and Wood River Municipal Bands, and at the 1997 Alabama All-State Orchestra Festival. He will serve as Guest Conductor of the Colorado All-State Orchestra Festival in February of 2008. He has also taught Music Theory and Composition, and has worked in marketing and production for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Gagliardo received a Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Education from Eastern Illinois University, where he graduated from the University Honors Program Cum Laude, and a Master of Music Degree in Orchestral Conducting from Ball State University. He was named Outstanding Young Alumnus of Eastern Illinois University for 1997. He was appointed President of the Alabama Orchestra Association in February of 1999, a postion that he served in until May of 2003, and was a member of the Youth Orchestra Division Board of the American Symphony Orchestra League from 1995-2001. He served as the President of the Alabama State Chapter of ASTA from March of 2004 until May of 2006, and was named Outstanding String Teacher for the State ASTA Chaper in 2007. He has served as a presenter at the American Symphony Orchestra League's National Conference, the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame's Summer Teacher's Institute, the Alabama Music Educators Association Conference, and the ASTA National Conference. Mr. Gagliardo has also been selected to serve as the Chair of the 2010 National High School Honors Orchestra for ASTA.

Mr. Gagliardo is the founder and CEO of Wonder Dog Press and Daphne Roo Music, publishing houses which specialize in the publication of children’s literature and orchestral music for commuinty, youth, and school orchestras. Mr. Gagliardo is also active in the community, serving as the President of the Board Of Directors of the Humane Society of Etowah County.

Consort String Orchestra Conductor

Jim Bates

As a conductor and teacher, Dr. Jim Bates is able to draw on considerable experience as an educator, performer and historian. For 18 years he was a conductor for the Louisville (KY) Youth Orchestras and was music director of that organization from 1996 - 2001. In 1999, he joined the conducting staff of Interlochen Center for the Arts and continues to co-direct the Junior Orchestra program and Junior String Institute there in the summer. Since coming to Otterbein in 2004, Jim has served as the assistant conductor and principal bassist of the Westerville Symphony.

In Fall 2006, he began as an assistant conductor for the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestras. He has served as a clinician or guest conductor in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, California, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Colorado. He has served as president of Kentucky ASTA and as string coordinator for the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts.

In addition to string education he is very involved with the Classical Mandolin Society of America and also period instrument performance. Jim is also an active performer on the double bass and various early music instruments such as the viola da gamba, recorder and the medieval vielle.

He has been a member of The Early Interval, Columbus' professional early music performance ensemble since 2002. He has degrees from the University of Louisville (B.M.E.), a Masters in double bass performance from Indiana University and a Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Kentucky.

His wife, Jena Huebner, is a bassist in the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and they have two sons, Ethan five years old, and Gideon who is two.