Adrienne Vallandingham has been named as the new director of the Owensboro Symphony String Orchestra. She will be joining the new Youth Orchestra Conductor, Mark Hatlestad.
The two are looking forward to this new chapter for the Youth Orchestra and can’t wait to see what the future holds for this group of young musicians.
The String Orchestra is part of the Owensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra program and provides students the opportunity to perform with other young musicians as they refine their musical abilities until they are ready for the more advanced repertoire that the Youth Orchestra (OSYO) performs.
The OSYO is a full orchestra experience, while the String Orchestra is just the members of the string instrument family – violin, viola, cello, and bass.
“Sharing my love of music through teaching others is already such a huge part of my life while teaching my studio of violin students, and the String Orchestra is an extension of that,” Vallandingham said. “As a student, I was a part of both orchestras in the OSYO program and I’m excited to be an integral part of the program that had such a great impact on me as a student.”
She said learning to play in an orchestra with other students and instruments was a vital part of her growth as a musician.
“I look forward to fostering that growth and appreciation of music in each young musician,” she said.
Vallandingham said her No. 1 goal is to bring young musicians together to create beautiful music, and along the way for great friendships to form amongst students and for each student’s knowledge and love of music to grow deeper through a positive, encouraging environment of learning.
She was a member of the Owensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra program for 7 years through middle school and high school. About 8 years ago, she began teaching violin lessons at the Owensboro Symphony Academy as an independent private teacher. In 2019, she was contracted by the Symphony to teach Strings Attached, an introductory violin program, at a couple of different private schools and organizations locally.
Vallandingham is currently on the Owensboro Symphony Executive Staff as Music Librarian and Education Coordinator, and on concert weekends she works as a stage manager.
