DeKalb Symphony Orchestra names new Music Director, Conductor

The DeKalb Symphony Orchestra, Inc. (DSO) announces the hiring of Dr. Paul Bhasin as Music Director/Conductor.

Praised for his “crisp, clear” conducting and “highly expressive” interpretations, Bhasin’s career began when he won the Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition in 1998. He has led a variety of university, academic and professional ensembles throughout North America and abroad, including recent performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and throughout the People’s Republic of China.

“I am thrilled to be joining the DeKalb Symphony as its Music Director,” Bhasin says. “When I led the orchestra earlier this year, I was impressed by both the musicianship of the orchestra’s musicians as well as their commitment and enthusiasm for its cultural mission. I am honored to help advance this mission in the DSO’s next chapter, and look forward to working with the musicians, board, executive director and all who support the orchestra.”

Bhasin also serves as Director of Orchestral Studies at Emory University, conducting the Emory University Symphony Orchestra, Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, and teaches conducting. Ensembles under his direction have collaborated with soloists from the San Francisco Symphony, Atlanta Symphony and Richmond Symphony. And he has led honor orchestras and bands (including at the All-State level) and served as a guest orchestral clinician throughout the US and presented at national conferences including the National Music Teachers Association Conference.

An avid proponent of chamber music, Bhasin serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Atlanta Chamber Music Festival. He studied chamber music under the Bogomolny Award-winning American Brass Quintet (Aspen/Juilliard), the Naumberg Award-winning Empire Brass (Tanglewood) and has performed as a chamber musician on WFMT in Chicago, Detroit PBS-TV, at universities and festivals across the USA, and with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York.

Bhasin founded the annual Emory Percussion Symposium whose chamber music programs feature renowned faculty and initiated an annual chamber music component which has expanded to include string, wind and percussion programming. A committed trumpet educator, his students have attended prestigious conservatories and music schools and have won first prize at notable competitions.

Bhasin is an accomplished orchestral trumpeter, having performed and recorded with major orchestras and music festivals and performed under the batons of conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas, James Conlon, James DePriest, Leonard Slatkin, Andreas Delfs and Gustav Meier, and participated in the Aspen Conducting Academy orchestral program under David Zinman and Murry Sidlin. He has been featured as a soloist on National Public Radio, Detroit PBS-TV, the International Computer Music Conference, at the Chautauqua Music Festival and at the International Dvořák Festival (Prague), and he has recorded as trumpeter and conductor for both the Centaur and Interscope record labels.

Bhasin’s transcriptions and arrangements are published by Carl Fischer Music and have been performed and commissioned in the US and abroad. He composed and conducted the orchestral score to 9:23 Films’ motion picture, Hogtown (award winner at the Berlin, Los Angeles and Nashville International Black Film Festivals, and Cannes Festival Marché du Film). Michael Phillips of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that the film was “…scored beautifully by composer Paul Bhasin…better than the entirety of the last few features I’ve seen, period.” In 2016, reviewer Ben Kenigsberg of the New York Times named the film a “Critic’s Pick” and one of the “Top 10 Films of 2016.”

Bhasin’s previous appointments include positions at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Triton College, and The College of William & Mary. He received his musical education from Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The DeKalb Symphony Orchestra (DSO) enriches community and keeps symphonic music live by presenting a full year-round season of traditional and contemporary repertoire in relaxed and unpretentious settings. Soon to launch our 58th season, the DSO has provided amazingly high-quality artistry at affordable prices for diverse audiences. Founded simultaneously with DeKalb College, now merged with Perimeter College of GSU, DeKalb’s community orchestra has been in residence at the Clarkston Campus and also performs regionally. Our audiences and players hail from all over DeKalb County and beyond. www.DeKalbSymphony.org Please follow the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra on Facebook.