Canyon County Symphony Conducting Workshop

The Canyon County Symphony is excited to offer our annual Conducting Workshop on Saturday, October 19, 2024. Those who participate will have the opportunity to refine their conducting skills through a 20 minute session with our esteemed conductors.

This workshop is for all conductors and educators alike. We will dive into Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture to examine each conductor’s conducting philosophy and technique. Lunch will be provided.

Conductors will be assigned a slot between 10:00 am and 2:30 pm, to take place in the Orchestra Room at Caldwell High School (3401 South Indiana Avenue, Caldwell, ID).

Participants – $50
Observers – $25

Also – If you would like to bring your instrument and sit in, that is perfectly fine as well. Please print and bring your own music. All excerpts are available on IMSLP.

Dr. Nick Harker
Artistic Director and Conductor of the Canyon County Symphony
Dr. Nick Harker
Artistic Director and Conductor of the Canyon County Symphony

Nick Harker, one of the co-founders of the Canyon County Symphony, is an innovative and flexible conductor with a decade of experience in professional, community, and educational ensemble conducting. He has not only conducted in orchestral settings but also in the opera and ballet pits, as well as recording and film studios. He recently served as an interim conductor for the College of Idaho Sinfonia and is currently teaching at the prestigious Idaho Arts Charter School. He recently led the Keene State College Chamber Orchestra in New Hampshire and has also held conducting positions with the Salt Lake Symphony, Utah Philharmonic, Utah Philharmonia, West Jordan Symphony, and Evanston Civic Orchestra. He has worked regularly as a clinician and guest conductor with public schools across Idaho, New Hampshire, and Utah. As a violinist, he has performed with the Salt Lake Symphony, Idaho Falls Symphony, West Jordan Symphony, Utah Philharmonic, and others.

Growing up in a musical family, he developed a love of music from an early age. He obtained his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Utah where he studied primarily with Dr. Robert Baldwin, and his Masters in Music in Orchestral Conducting at Brigham Young University, studying under Kory Katseanes and Dr. Don Peterson. As an undergraduate at Brigham Young University-Idaho, he studied violin under Dr. Dallin Hansen and earned an undergraduate degree in music education. Some of his other mentors include Jeffery Meyer, John Nardolillo, Thomas Heuser, Roger Kalia, Mark Gibson, and Kenneth Kiesler.

He is married to his wonderful wife and has two young boys. He also enjoys composing, playing basketball, and skiing.

Dr. Nathan Haines
Instrumental Conducting & Ensembles, Director of Orchestras at Brigham Young University

Nathan Haines is an accomplished conductor, educator, and the new director of orchestras at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He holds a Ph.D. in Orchestral Conducting and Music Education from Florida State University, where he served as the associate conductor of orchestras, taught courses in conducting, and pursued research in the art of conducting and music education under the mentorship of Dr. Alexander Jiménez.

After obtaining his Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in percussion from Brigham Young University, Nathan obtained his Masters of Music in orchestral conducting with Kory Katseanes. Dr. Haines’s music career has taken him to venues across the globe, including performances in Asia and Europe. In addition, he has studied and performed with top professionals from around the country, including Neil Varon from the Eastman School of Music and the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Haines is a strong advocate for the orchestral arts, particularly in new and innovative projects. In 2021, he co-founded the Studio Orchestra at FSU to create and perform music in film, video game, and other commercial media. He recruited over 80 students, faculty, and staff to participate, serving as both president and music director. Earlier in his professional career, Dr. Haines served as the principal conductor and music director of the Utah Philharmonic Orchestra in Bluffdale, Utah. Over the course of three seasons, he led growth efforts that doubled the size of the orchestra and significantly increased audience attendance through his innovative and engaging programming.

As a firm believer in the importance of music education, Dr. Haines has presented his research at the state and national levels. He recently presented his paper “Engaging with Film & Video Game Music” at the National Association for Music Education Conference in Washington, D.C. He has also presented papers at the Florida Music Educators Association in Tampa, Florida, and was recently invited as a conducting fellow for the College Orchestra Directors Association national conference in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Haines’s dissertation at Florida State, titled “Conducting with Multimedia in Live Performance,” provides a framework of techniques and technologies that conductors can use on the modern concert stage.

In his free time, Nathan enjoys writing, alpine skiing, and hiking with his wife and two young children.