Director
David Reynolds, DMA
David Reynolds serves as the director of the School of Performing Arts and professor of music at South Dakota State University. He started his career as a trumpeter in The United States Army Band (Pershing’s Own) in Washington D.C., and has also taught in college music programs in Montana and Colorado.
Under his baton, the SDSU/Civic Orchestra has grown significantly in both numbers of participants and in quality. He programs some of the finest repertoire written for the ensemble, such as symphonies by Beethoven, Schubert and Dvorak, and themed programs that highlight unique threads of connection between composers. Recent concerts include “A Night at the Opera” which included celebrated works by Bizet, Weber, Wagner, Grieg and Nicolai. “The Wizards of the Orchestra” included music by Mozart, Beethoven and Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. “Music from Stage and Screen” celebrated anniversaries of Broadway standards as well as music by John Williams.
Concertmaster and String Teacher
Immanuel T. Abraham, DMA
Immanuel Abraham serves as the SDSU/Civic Orchestra’s Concertmaster and string section leader. He also performs regularly as a soloist with the orchestra, as a collaborative artist on faculty recitals and as a featured artist with the School’s many choral and wind ensembles. Abraham studied music at The University of Michigan, the Royal Conservatory (Toronto, Canada) and the University of Arizona. As founder of The Violin Guild, he has organized and maintains an international online forum for over 60,000 string musicians.
The orchestra’s string sections benefit strongly from his work during sectionals, and through his coaching of chamber string quartets made up of Civic Orchestra members.
String players at SDSU may:
- Pursue the following:
- Participate in weekly private lessons with John Brawand in addition to masterclasses.
- Perform in SDSU String Ensemble.
- Perform in SDSU Civic Orchestra.