David Harman

David Harman, Conductor and Music Director of the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra since 1993, enjoys a busy and varied career as a symphony conductor, university professor, and popular music educator. He has conducted professional, civic, university, youth and honor orchestras throughout the United States and abroad. Overseas conducting engagements have taken him to Slovenia, Shanghai, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

In addition to his position with the RPYO, Dr. Harman is Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Rochester as well as Music Director of the Penfield Symphony Orchestra. Prior to coming to Rochester, Dr. Harman lived in Louisville, Kentucky, where he was Professor at the University of Louisville and conductor of the University of Louisville Orchestra, the Louisville Civic Orchestra and the Opera Theater Productions. While in Louisville, he served as executive secretary of the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition. He has also held tenured positions at the University of Connecticut and Colorado State University.

A native Californian, Dr. Harman completed undergraduate and master's degrees from California State University at Sacramento and received scholarships to attend the Paris Conservatory and the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music. Dr. Harman has had an active solo career as a clarinetist with three solo recordings (including one with pianist Anton Nel of a composition by David Liptak), numerous recital appearances in major concert halls in London and New York, and several national broadcasts recorded for French, British and American public radio. He lives in Rochester with his wife Lori Foster.