Conduct with Confidence

The Young Conductor Program is lead by Maestro Neil Casey. Upon completing his education at the University of South Carolina, Neil Casey was hired as both the Assistant Conductor of Orchestras at USC and the conductor of Opera at USC. His leadership roles simultaneously included teaching violin, viola, chamber music, and conducting courses. Mr. Casey studied violin and conducting with Dr. Donald Portnoy during his time at USC.

Youth Orchestras have always been Neil’s passion. He was the founding conductor of the Greater Augusta Youth Orchestras, the first conductor of the Armstrong Atlantic Youth Orchestra (Savannah, GA), and more than doubled the size of the South Carolina Philharmonic Youth Orchestras during his tenure.

As a classical conductor, Maestro Casey has conducted the South Carolina Philharmonic, the Charleston Symphony, the Hilton Head Philharmonic, the Charlotte Symphony, and the Karelian Philharmonic Orchestra in Petrozavodsk, Russia, among others. He has conducted over 60 operas, one of which featured Metropolitan Opera soprano Leona Mitchell as part of Claflin University’s concert honoring African-American pioneers in the field of opera.

In addition to the symphonies previously mentioned, Maestro Casey has also conducted the Aiken Symphony, the Augusta Symphony, the Savannah Symphony, the Richmond Symphony, the Knoxville Symphony, the Spokane Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.

As a guest Conductor, Maestro Casey has also appeared with the Augusta Opera and Western Plains Opera (Minot, ND). Casey was also the assistant conductor of the American Musical Theatre television recording of Robert Ward’s “Roman Fever.” Casey is the Conductor on two CD recordings of operas by Robert Bradshaw on the Beaufort Press label.

Maestro Casey has also conducted more than 50 performances of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite Ballet. He also led the Augusta Ballet performance of Stravinsky’s “Apollon Musagete”. As a Pops conductor, Maestro Casey has collaborated with jazz legend Wycliffe Gordon and country music superstar Kathy Mattea. Neil has also led several Pops tours with the Hollywood Concert Orchestra, performing in New York, Pennsylvania, and throughout both China and Japan.