The Orlando-based Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra has announced the appointment of cellist and educator HANRICH CLAASSEN as music director and conductor, effective with the 2016-17 season. MATTHEW DAVIS will continue as interim music director for the remainder of this season. Claassen is an instrumental teacher and lower-strings specialist at Montverde (Fla.) Academy, and formerly directed middle-school and high-school string programs in Shanghai and Vienna. He has performed extensively as a cellist and served as guest conductor and clinician for the Association for Music in International Schools and the Asian Pacific Activities Conference. Claassen received a bachelor’s degree in piano and cello from the University of the Free State in South Africa and a master’s degree in chamber music from South Africa’s University of Stellenbosch, furthering his cello studies at Portugal’s Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas.
Posted February 23, 2016
