Our Conductor
Paul John Stanbery is currently Music director of the Hamilton Fairfield Symphony, Ohio Mozart Festival, Great Miami Youth Symphony and has been Associate Conductor of the Lima Symphony in Ohio. Recent guest appearances have included the Western Piedmont Symphony in North Carolina, the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, the University of Cincinnati and the Shreveport Symphony. He also was the founder and conductor of the Blue Ash-Montgomery Symphony, as well as the Clermont Philharmonic Orchestra.
In November of 2005, Mr. Stanbery won the prestigious Post-Corbett Award (Performing Artist Division). Given every other year, the Post-Corbett Award is the equivalent of a Cincinnati-regional Pulitzer Prize, recognizing outstanding achievement in the arts. Cincinnati Symphony conductor, Paavo Jarvi, was first runner-up.
As associate choral conductor for the Cincinnati May Festival, he collaborated with such noted conductors as the late Robert Shaw, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, James Conlon, Robert Porco, Eric Kunzel, Ivan Fischer, Kenneth Jean and Keith Lockhart for performances in Carnegie Hall, Cincinnati’s Music Hall and the Riverbend Music Center.
A native of Toledo, Ohio, Mr. Stanbery studied at Bowling Green State University and The University of Cincinnati and at present, along with his symphony conducting, directs the 90-voice symphony chorale. He spent nineteen years as Music Director of All Saints Parish and School in Cincinnati, and has been an educator for over thirty years, including work in several Toledo area schools. In 2002, Mr. Stanbery was appointed Music Minister at Hamilton’s “Historic Presbyterian Church”, and then assumed the same role at St. Peter In Chains Church in Hamilton in 2008.
The HFSO Chorale was founded by Paul in 1997, and performed in Carnegie Hall with John Rutter on
May 30, 2005 in a command performance of the Brahms “Ein Deutches Requiem”.
Mr. Stanbery is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Hamilton’s Mozart Festival. Now in its fourteenth year, The Ohio Mozart Festival remains the only one of its kind in the Midwest.
Mr. Stanbery conducted the North American Premiere of works by noted Dutch composer, Louis Andriessen in the summer of 2003. These concerts took place at the University of Cincinnati with the composer present.
The “American Masters” Concerts of the HFSO, initiated by Mr. Stanbery, bring a living distiguished composer to the community for a week, culminating in a concert featuring their works. This series drew national attention from Symphony Magazine, the official publication of the American Symphony Orchestra League. Chester Lane called the HFSO: “One of America’s high-octane smaller budget orchestras”.
He believes strongly in the importance of reaching young people with classical music and has become well known throughout the state of Ohio for his work in that regard. His work with Hamilton’s Great Miami Youth Symphony has brought high praise, and he helped form an enormously successful new series for children as a cooperative venture between The Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony and the Lane Public Library System entitled “Mini-Maestros”. Mr. Stanbery composed original music specifically for several such presentations. Mr. Stanbery’s work with the Lima Symphony also included educational concerts in the schools, as well as the presentation of the “KidStuff” programs in tandem with the Lima Public Libraries.
His fairness and honesty make him popular with musicians and audiences alike. Coupled with continued creative programming and sustained quality work, these traits have brought the rewards of full houses, strong financial symphonic growth and critical acclaim whenever he appears.
Paul Stanbery lives on a five acre ranch just West of Hamilton with his wife, Patricia. All six of the kids (Aaron, Angela, Adam, Katie, Pete, and Benjamin) have grown up and moved out! Pat and Paul have seven grandchildren: (Issac, Joshua, Albert, Leah, Merle, Claire, and William) who fill their lives with joy!
Joshua listens as “Poppa Paul” tells the story of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”,
a family tradition (right after the wine tasting) on Christmas Day!
“Stanbery, music director of The Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony Orchestra, is an energetic conductor, sharp in his movements, musically demanding… and he gets a clean, crisp sound from both the musicians and the singers.” —Lane Crockett, The Shreveport Times