Charles Schneider, Conductor

A native of Albert Lea, Minnesota, Maestro Schneider is currently the Music Director of three Symphonies in mid-state New York-The Utica, Catskill and Schenectady Orchestras. A graduate of Cornell College of Iowa, he attended The Juilliard School of Music as a Piano major and shortly thereafter began conducting. Among his many credits are two national tours of Leonard Bernstein's "Westside Story", the New York revival of "Trouble In Tahiti", and the Lincoln Center production of "Westside Story". Besides being Juliet Prowse's Music Director, other credits include numerous Television, Broadway and off-Broadway shows including the Music Critics Award-winning ,"Your Own Thing".
Mr. Schneider studied symphonic repertoire with Igor Markevitch at the National Orchestra of Monte Carlo, Herbert Blomstedt of the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, and Franco Ferrara of the St. Cecilia Academy of Rome.
He spent one season as the Associate conductor of the Kansas City Philharmonic, was the Music Director of the American premiere of Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht's, "The Rise and Fall of the City Mahagonny " at the San Francisco Opera. He also conducted the Glasnost Ballet during their first American Tour.
Besides his three Orchestras, he regularly conducts at the New York State Music Camp at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. He has received three ASCAP awards for creative programming and was the founding Music Director of Glimmerglass Opera and served in that capacity for thirteen years. He is the co-founder of the Catskill Conservatory and has served on the music faculties of the New York State University College in Oneonta, New York, Hartwick College, Colgate University, Hamilton College, Skidmore College, and San Diego State University.The highly acclaimed New Music Society of Syracuse has frequently called upon him to conduct their productions. In 2000, he received citations from both the United States Congress and NY State Governor,George Pataki, for his outstanding contribution to the musical community of mid-state New York.
He is married to Rayna Schneider and has three children-stepson Paul, Dana and Megan.

At the age of ten, Michael Emery began his musical studies with Alfredo Cavalieri, and in two years was selected to perform in the Carnegie Recital Hall by the Violin, Viola, and Violoncello Teacher's Guild of New York City. In 1972, he was the first prizewinner in the advanced instrumental competition of the Albany League of Arts and winner of the Albany Symphony Concerto Competition. The following year he was soloist in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto as winner of the Northeastern Student Orchestra Concerto Competition.

After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from the College of St. Rose in Albany, Mr. Emery began his career as recitalist throughout New York and New England. As a scholarship student in the Master of Music Performance program at the Manhattan School of Music, he was a student of Erick Friedman and the late Raphael Bronstein, served as concertmaster of the Manhattan Symphony, and was selected to perform in the master classes of Henryk Szeryng and Ruggiero Ricci.

Mr. Emery has performed in the Sibelius, Ludwig Spohr and the Paganini International Violin Competitions, and was invited to participate in the Tchaikovsky International Competition.

During the past eight summer seasons, Mr. Emery has toured internationally as concertmaster and soloist with the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra and the Santa Monica Chamber Orchestra in major cities throughout Europe. This summer, tours are planned with both the
Santa Monica and the newly formed Central New York Summer Orchestra under the direction of Charles Schneider.

Mr. Emery is concertmaster and is a frequent soloist with several orchestras in the Upstate New York region including the Utica, Catskill, Schenectady, and Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to his teaching positions at Skidmore College and the College of St. Rose, Mr. Emery teaches privately in his studios in Saratoga Springs and Schenectady.