ORCHESTRA NORTHERN ARIZONA
Flagstaff's Community Orchestra
Hong Kong-American conductor and violinist Kin (Desmond) Siu holds the position of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor with the organization Orchestra Northern Arizona. A Master of Music graduate of Northern Arizona University (NAU), Desmond was invited as Visiting Guest Artist and Music Director of NAU Lyric Theater’s 2022 production of Mark Adamo’s Little Women. This season, Desmond will appear as guest conductor with the Gwinnett Symphony Chamber Orchestra and act as Cover Conductor for select cycles with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra’s season. Desmond’s past positions include acting Music Director for Arizona Pro Arte, Assistant Director of the
NAU Orchestras, Assistant Conductor of the Skidmore Orchestra, as well as Music Director and founder of the Skidmore Chamber Orchestra.
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His attendance of numerous conducting workshops and masterclasses all around the world led Desmond to study with well-known conducting pedagogues such as Ludovic Morlot, Kensho Watanabe, Tiffany Lu, Nemee Jarvi, Jin Wang, Michael Jinbo, Victor Yampolsky, Neil Varon, and Mark Gibson. His private conducting teachers include Daniel O’Bryant and Chris Younghoon Kim. Desmond won first prize in the 2022 winter edition of the International Conducting Workshop and Competition.
As a violinist, Desmond currently plays with the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Philharmonic, San Juan Symphony, and Verde Valley Sinfonietta. He attended festivals and summer programs such as Kinhaven Music School, InterHarmony Festival, and the Decoda Skidmore Chamber Music Institute. Through these festivals, Desmond performed in various halls around the world including Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse of Lincoln Center and Smetana Hall in Prague. In the 2021/22 season, Desmond’s solo engagements include Verde Valley Sinfonietta, Orchestra Northern Arizona, and Desert Mountain High School.
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During his violin studies, Desmond had the opportunity to learn, work, play, and perform with many Grammy winning string quartets such as the Ying Quartet and the American String Quartet. He has also performed in a masterclass for BBC New Generation Artist, Elena Urioste. His private violin teachers include Shelley Rich, Michael Emery, and former Vienna Philharmonic violinist Eugeniy Chevkenov.
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An advocate of contemporary music, Desmond has given many performances (both as a violinist and conductor) of new works by student and established living composers. In pursuit of his passion for new music, Desmond attended a contemporary music program, the Cortona Sessions, as a Conducting Fellow the summer of 2018. In the summers 2019, 2021 and 2022, Desmond attended the Pierre Monteux School and Music Festival as a violinist and conductor.
DESMOND SIU
PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
JACK MARTIN
ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
Jack Martin, an oboist for ONA, studied oboe with Harvey Zorn (a former student of Marcel Tabitaeu). He attended Phoenix College where he studied theory and composition with Al Davis. Jack continued his education at NAU, obtaining bachelor and masters degrees in Music Education. A scholarship student, he played in almost every musical group, including the faculty quintet.
Jack taught band and orchestra in Winslow for twenty seven years. While teaching he also conducted the Northland Symphony Orchestra, an orchestra sponsored by Northland Pioneer College, for eight years.
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​Jack and his wife Susan were original members of this orchestra, under Clarence Shaw. Jack played violin at that time, which he had learned along with Suzuki pedagogy, to better instruct his orchestra students.