 photo by Barbara Williams
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Sheldon Bair is the Founder and Music Director of the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra (Maryland), a community orchestra of 100 members. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Elizabethtown College (Pennsylvania) where he studied conducting with Otis Kitchen and composition with James McVoy and Darrell Douglas, and a Master's degree from Towson University (Maryland). In addition, his post-graduate studies include classes at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. Sheldon Bair has studied conducting with Witold Rowicki in Vienna, and Marc Mostovoy, William Hudson, and Leonid Grin.
Bair teaches orchestra for the Harford County Public Schools (Maryland), is adjunct faculty for Harford Community College, is on the conducting staff for the Elizabethtown College Music Camp, and is often invited to conduct and adjudicate youth orchestras and soloists. In November 2000, Bair was bestowed the Paderewski Award for Contributions to Society and Culture at the Polish Embassy in Washington D.C. In the fall of 2007, Bair was the guest conductor for the Flower Mound Symphony Orchestra in Dallas, Texas. Also in the fall of 2007, 93 members Susquehanna Symphony appeared at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, performing a program of Polish music with several choirs in front of an appreciative, standing-room-only audience. In the fall of 2009, 100 members of the Susquehanna Symphony performed on the main stage at Carnegie Hall for the same Polish impresario, performing a program of Polish works under three different conductors.
Bair has written a number of works for student string orchestra, two works for the Susquehanna Symphony, several arrangements for orchestra, and two works for church choir. Ensembles in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Texas have performed his music. Bair’s student string orchestra music is published by Howard Publications. He lives in Bel Air, Maryland, with his wife Barbara (also a musician) and two of his three children (the eldest is married and lives in Virginia). |
The Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra is a non-profit community orchestra, providing education and entertainment for Harford County, Maryland. It was founded in 1978 by Sheldon Bair as the Harford Community Orchestra. In 1982, the name was changed to the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra. The musicians are from Harford County and surrounding areas. They come from all walks of life and many have degrees in music from various colleges, universities, and conservatories. The full orchestra has approximately 100 members. Every year, the SSO performs four concerts in its subscription series and one or two "pop" al fresco concerts each June. The Orchestra is made up of about 100 musicians, 50 of which are strings.
The Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra continues to serve the northeastern Maryland community. Highlights have included several world premieres (including two works by Henry Cowell from the 1930's); composers on hand for concerts; guest performers such as the Edinburgh String Quartet, Russian violinist Alexander Skwortsow, and members from the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra to perform a David Finko viola and double bass concerto; a performance of the Bach St. John Passion with the Penn State Concert Choir; a performance at the All-Eastern MENC Convention in Baltimore (for which we were invited); performances of multi-cultural music by composers such as William Grant Still and David Amram; and performances of basic, and not-so-basic orchestral literature. The Orchestra has also performed at the MMEA convention in1998 and 1999, in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, NY in 2007, and at Carnegie Hall in 2009.
The Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra specializes in new and unusual repertoire, often featuring unjustly neglected works. In fact, the SSO has developed a reputation for performing such music. Our audiences enjoy the variety of offerings, and the music director explains the music to be performed from the stage. The music and guest artists are chosen carefully by the music director. The Orchestra is comprised of all-volunteer amateur and professional musicians; guest artists are often invited to bring fresh ideas to the group.
The Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra believes in the importance of music in education and has partnered with Band Together, a local non-profit organization that collects, reconditions, and distributes used instruments to Harford County Public School students who cannot afford to rent or buy their own instrument. In the past two years, Band Together has placed seventy-five instruments in the hands of interested students in grades 4 – 12. This program supports diversity in the arts as many of the recipient students attend Chapter 1 schools along the Route 40 corridor in Harford County. To donate an instrument, bring it to any concert or contact the Orchestra Manager.
Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra Personnel List
Interested in Playing with the SSO? The SSO offers opportunities for local musicians to perform great orchestral music for appreciative audiences. Interested musicians should inquire through the personnel manager. The SSO may also be taken as a credit class through Harford Community College. |
