Katherine Ballester

DPYO Alumna, Katherine Ballester successfully auditioned for a sub position in DPO in 2011, her sophomore year of college. Read more about Katherine’s journey and what she has learned playing with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra!

“After winning the sub-position in 2011, I auditioned again the following year for some chair positions that were open, and won 14th chair, first violins. In our 2014-2015 season I received tenure, since it was my third season with the orchestra. This fall, two of our first violinists retired, leaving open chairs 8 and 9 for audition, and I took the audition, hoping for a higher chair so I could play all the shows in our season. I won chair 8.

It has been one exciting journey for me! I absolutely love playing in the Philharmonic and being a part of our Dayton Performing Arts Alliance; it is the most wonderful job I have ever had, and a tremendous opportunity to enrich both my own life and those of others around me.

I promote our shows whenever I can, especially to my colleagues in the medical field, and my advice to young people seeking to enter an orchestra would be: get familiar with the repertoire early on, start studying and practicing orchestral excerpts even before you hit college, if you can.

I believe that the most important factor in preparing for an audition is to take a few sessions/lessons with an orchestral player, preferably from the symphony you are auditioning for (not always possible!). An orchestral player will have vastly different style and insight from your regular teacher if that teacher has never played in a symphony, and you need to know that style if you want to have a better chance at a successful audition. My sessions with Aurelian and Jessica were what made me successful in my auditions!”

Elsie Bradley, Belinda Conrad, & Maris Haugrud

DPYO’s Almuna Harpist, Elsie Bradley, Alumna Cellist, Belinda Conrad, and Alumna Bassoonist, Maris Haugrud, were all chosen as winners of the 2015 Young Artist Talent search, an annual talent search conducted by Discover Classical.org in Dayton, and supported by University of Dayton Department of Music and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Their interviews with Shaun Yu, the President and CEO of Discover Classical.org, which were also broadcast on Discover Classical.org can be heard below.

Belinda Conrad on Dayton's Discover Classical Station, WDPR

Elsie Bradley on Dayton's Discover Classical Station, WDPR

Maris Haugrud on Dayton's Discover Classical Station, WDPR

Cameron Page

DPYO French Horn Alumnus, Cameron Page, was accepted to Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University for the 2015-16 school year, where he is majoring in horn performance.

Jacobs School of Music is a world-class conservatory which has shaped the careers of countless performers, scholars, and music educators around the globe. Cameron studies under Professor Jeff Nelson, founder of Fearless Performance, LLC; a company which focuses on training musicians.

Dr. Nelson spent eight years touring and recording with Canadian Brass, has performed concert and chamber music on six continents, and has played with orchestras and symphonies in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Montreal, and St. Louis.