Jacksonville Symphony Names Grant O’Brien as Music Director for JSYO

Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras

Jacksonville Symphony Names Grant O’Brien as Music Director for the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras

The Jacksonville Symphony proudly announces that Grant O’Brien has been appointed as the newest Music Director for the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras (JSYO). O’Brien is a conductor, composer and producer of music and musical productions with many years of experience in the symphonic world. As a classically trained artist with a devotion to popular and contemporary music, O’Brien is a versatile musician and an inventive concert producer.

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Grant to the team,” said Marianne Rice, Lory Doolittle Endowed Vice President/Music Education & DEI Initiatives.

“He is an inventive concert producer who is enthusiastic about building community through the event element of a diverse musical program. Music education in our community is a major priority for the Jacksonville Symphony, and Grant is the right person to energize our education programs.”

Goals, Opportunities and Community Engagement

O’Brien has far-reaching goals for JSYO, all of which provide students opportunities to engage with music in a way that feels meaningful to them and to the surrounding community.

“Offering ways to connect the tradition of classical music to these students’ lives will be incredibly important in building up a culture of excitement and respect for this art form. There will also be students in the orchestra who want to pursue a career in music and for them, I want to ensure that they have developed the early technical and social skills necessary to thrive in a collegiate musical environment.” – O’Brien.

Additionally, O’Brien intends to expand JSYO’s current musical repertoire to give students a well-rounded perspective of how orchestral music has evolved over the course of history, with special focus on including programming from historically disenfranchised populations.

About Grant

In his career so far, O’Brien has conducted many ensembles in the Rochester, NY area including the Syracuse Society for New Music, New Horizons String and Full Orchestra, Upstate Brass Band, Eastman Tuba Mirum, Missouri Ensemble and Empire Film and Media Ensemble. He has also conducted many degree recitals at the Eastman School of Music in addition to several recording sessions with ensembles ranging from an octet to a 50-piece orchestra. Most notably, Grant has conducted recording sessions for the award-winning web- series, “Star Trek Continues” and the film “Aquarium” by Stephanie Maxwell.

As a tubist, O’Brien has performed with many ensembles including the East End Brass Band and the Eastman Philharmonia. He has toured with the Eastman Wind Ensemble after appearing on their recording of Jeff Tyzik’s Images and premiered Andre Previn’s Music for Wind Orchestra (No Strings Attached). In January 2018 he performed Daugherty’s solo for tuba, Reflections on the Mississippi, with the Eastman Wind Orchestra.

To learn more, read the full press release or view O’Brien’s full biography.