Conductors, Management & Staff
ROGER SAMUEL
Roger Samuel, co-founder and principal conductor of the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra and the Claremont Young Musicians Intermezzo Orchestra from 1989 - 2015, was a public school music educator and coordinator of music in the Azusa Unified School District for 38 years. A native of Los Angeles, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music and Master of Arts in School Administration from California State University at Los Angeles. Mr. Samuel studied conducting at the International Workshop for Conductors in Zlin, Czech Republic, and conducted the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra on four successful European tours. He conducted and coached honor orchestras throughout California and was a staff member and conductor of the cello orchestra for the National Cello Institute. He was a respected trombone instructor and clinician as well as an active performer throughout Southern California. Mr. Samuel passed away in August of 2015, after 26 years as conductor of the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Janet Samuel, co-founder and executive director of the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra and the Intermezzo Orchestra for the past 35 years, earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music from California State University at Los Angeles as a piano performance and education major. She was an accompanist for the National Cello Institute for ten years and has also accompanied at the Walker Competition, Pasadena Instrumental Competition, Bronislaw Kaper Competition, American String Teachers Association preliminary and final competitions, the National Cello Congress, University of Southern California, and numerous Suzuki recitals and showcases. She was an elementary instrumental music teacher in the Pomona Unified School District for 24 years. Janet, with her husband Roger, planned and led the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra on four successful European tours performing in Rome, Paris, Tours, Meiringen, Prague, Bechnye, Salzburg, Oberammergau, Assisi, Munich, Norcia, Vienna, Padua and Montecatini.
JORGE PADRÓN. CYMO CONDUCTOR, JANUARY 26, 2025, OPENING CONCERT
Jorge Padrón currently directs the orchestra programs at South Pasadena Middle and High School, he is the assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra, and is a doctoral student at USC's Thornton School of Music. He is currently working toward his DMA in music teaching and learning with focuses on instrumental conducting, music theory, and arts leadership. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Miami's Frost School of Music and a master's degree from Carnegie Mellon University. Jorge has a great deal of experience as a music instructor: He's taught at USC and Pepperdine, been a site conductor for the LA Philharmonic's YOLA program, and directed the honors orchestra for The Harmony Project. Before moving to LA, he was the orchestra director at Miami Palmetto Senior High School, where he also taught guitar, AP Music Theory, and sponsored competition math teams. His work earned him recognition for exemplary public service from Palmetto Bay and the Miami-Dade County School District.
Jorge's teaching philosophy is all about creating an engaging learning environment that encourages student growth through high expectations all while emphasizing care and understanding. He believes in the transformative power of music and aims to inspire his students through a mix of rigorous instruction and empathetic mentorship. In addition to teaching, Jorge has started after-school strings classes in South Florida, launched a band program at Camino Nuevo High School in LA, and mentored music teachers through USC's Thornton Community Engagement Program. He's also an active clinician and adjudicator for the Florida Orchestra Association and other district music festivals in South Florida.GREG SAMUEL, INTERMEZZO ORCHESTRA CONDUCTOR
Greg Samuel, now in his 9th season as conductor of the Claremont Young Musicians Intermezzo Orchestra, is the string teacher at Paul Revere Middle School in Brentwood where he works with six orchestras and over 250 students. A former student of Rodney Oakes and Ashley Alexander, he received his Bachelor of Music in Trombone Performance from USC where he studied with Terry Cravens. He has taught elementary, junior high and high school band, orchestra, and jazz band in the Azusa and Los Angeles Unified School Districts for the past 25 years, and has served as a clinician and/or section coach for the All-Southern California Jazz Bands, Canoga Park High School, the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra, the California Music Academy, and El Toro High School. Currently a busy freelance trombonist in the L.A. area, he has also toured Europe and Cuba, been featured with Pink Martini at the Hollywood Bowl, and worked as a musician at Disneyland. He has performed at many of LA's top venues as both a performer and band leader. His Eagle Rock High Jazz band was selected to play at the Jazz Bakery, the Roxy Theater, the Playboy Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival, and at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
WENDY WAGGENER, OVERTURE STRING ORCHESTRA CONDUCTOR
Wendy Waggener, Overture String Orchestra Conductor and CYMO violin coach, is a performing violinist and teacher as well as an Alexander Technique teacher. She graduated from Oberlin College and Conservatory, and earned her Masters in Violin Performance from New England Conservatory. She performs with the San Bernardino Symphony and Redlands Symphony , as well as maintaining a large private studio. Wendy has taught workshops and private lessons in Alexander Work at The Colburn School, LaSierra University, Meadowmount School of Music, and Montecito International Music Festival.
OPERATIONS ASSISTANT
Jeff Brown, operations assistant, is a percussionist and music educator, teaching and performing in Southern California. He has taught high school band and orchestra in Los Angeles and currently teaches band and orchestra at El Roble Middle School in Claremont. Jeff studied percussion at CSU Long Beach and received a Bachelor of Arts in music. Currently, he is a Masters candidate at Colorado State University, studying conducting. Jeff is an alumnus of the CYMO and serves as percussion coach and operations assistant for the CYMO and Intermezzo Orchestra.