Wendy Stuart – Philharmonia Orchestra
Ms. Stuart is excited to be part of the Oakland Youth Orchestras for her eleventh season. This school year, Ms Stuart is beginning a new chapter in her career as the Orchestra Teacher/Director at Troy High School. She taught for twenty-one years in the Clarkston Community Schools, where she developed the then newer Orchestra program from its third year of existence, with only three grade levels to the current program that features three high school Orchestras and multiple middle school orchestras. Under her direction, the Clarkston Orchestra program was featured at the Michigan Music Conference, traveled extensively, and performed at consistently high levels at MSBOA Festivals. For her final decade in Clarkston, she directed five Orchestras, grades seven through twelve. Prior to joining the music faculty in Clarkston and Troy, she spent a year beginning a new string program in a district east of Cincinnati, OH.
Ms Stuart is an advocate for music education in Michigan. In addition to OYO and her school program, she works with many levels of Orchestras as a clinician; from day long workshops to pre-festival clinics. She enjoys giving presentations at conferences for music educators and mentoring student teachers. She is also an adjudicator for MSBOA Solo and Ensemble events throughout the state, where she can use her experience gained from more than twenty years as a cello teacher. She has taught a many camps, including conducting this past summer at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp and many times in the past as Cello Coach for MASTA Camp, Session III.
Ms. Stuart earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Cello Performance from Eastern Michigan University and her teaching certification and Masters of Music in Music Education from the University of Michigan. In addition to her degrees, she studied orchestral conducting while attending the ASTA International Workshops in Norway and France. Ms. Stuart was the Director of the MASTA String Camp, Session III, for six years and was an Adjunct Professor of String Methods for four years at Concordia University in Ann Arbor.
Ms. Stuart is committed to continuing her own ability, growth and experience as a musician. She is the principal cellist for the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, the assistant principal cellist for the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, and performs with other orchestras and ensembles throughout the year.