YOUTH SYMPHONY CONDUCTORS
Ken Hakoda
Ken Hakoda is enjoying his seventh season as the music director/conductor of the Salina Symphony. During his tenure as music director, the Symphony has enjoyed tremendous growth in ticket sales with an average concert attendance of 900. The Salina Youth Symphony Program has also flourished under his leadership, growing from one orchestra into a comprehensive educational program involving approximately 150 students from grade school through high school.
In addition to his work with the Symphony, Hakoda serves as assistant professor of music at Kansas Wesleyan University, where he teaches orchestra, choir, music education and music theory classes. He also directs choir at St. John’s Lutheran Church and produces the annual KWU/Salina Symphony Opera.
A native of Japan, Hakoda has lived in the United States since 1989. He earned master of music degrees in instrumental conducting and theory/composition from Wichita State University and bachelor’s degrees in theory/composition and music education from St. Olaf College. He is currently a doctoral candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Hakoda is also known for his talent as a composer with over 20 works to his credit. He has won a number of awards and honors as a composer, including the 1998 Claude T. Smith Phi Beta Mu Composition Contest, the 1996 MMEA Collegiate Composition Contest and a Departmental Distinction at St. Olaf College. Hakoda also received the 2003 Outstanding Young Band Director Award from Kansas Bandmasters Association.
Jared Rawlings
Jared Rawlings, M.M., University of Nebraska-Lincoln, B.M.E., Baldwin-Wallace College.
Mr. Rawlings is currently the director of bands at Salina High School South. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Mr. Rawlings conducts the Salina Symphony Junior Youth Orchestra and serves as the North Central District Representative to the Kansas Bandmasters Association Board of Directors. Ensembles under Mr. Rawlings have been invited to perform at the North America Saxophone Alliance Conference, Nebraska Music Educators Association Conference, Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service Workshop, MENC National Conference (Salt Lake City, Utah) and the 2006 ISME World Conference (Kuala Lampur, Malaysia). Mr. Rawlings maintains an active schedule as a conductor, adjudicator and clinician. Recently, his conducting schedule has included engagements in Ohio, Utah, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and New York. In March 2008, Mr. Rawlings presented a workshop at the 2008 Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service (Wichita, Kan.). He holds professional affiliations with the College Band Directors National Association, Music Educators National Conference, Kansas Music Educators Association and Kansas Bandmasters Association.
Lindsay Ladman
Lindsay Ladman, a native of Lincoln, Neb., earned her M.M.E from Kansas State University (2009) and B.M.E. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2003). Currently in her seventh year, Ms. Ladman teaches at Lakewood Middle School, Heusner and Sunset Elementary Schools in Salina. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Kansas Wesleyan University (oboe instructor) in addition to maintaining a private oboe studio. Ms. Ladman plays principal oboe with the Salina Symphony, serving as the musicians’ representative on the Symphony Board. She was selected as a member of the 2002 National Wind Ensemble (NY) where she performed in Carnegie Hall. She was also the winner of the Nebraska Music Teachers Association (NMTA) Collegiate Artist Woodwinds Competition in 2001. Ms. Ladman is active as a conductor and adjudicator for many festivals and competitions in Kansas and the Midwest. She is a member of the Music Educators National Conference, Kansas Music Educators Association, American String Teachers Association, International Double Reed Society and Pi Kappa Lambda (a national music honor society).