PRELUDE STRING ORCHESTRA

Natalie Gschwend is excited to serve as the conductor for the LYO Prelude Orchestra for the 2022-2023 season. Mrs. Gschwend is an alumna of Texas Tech University, where she received her Bachelors degree in Music Education in 2021. She currently teaches elementary music at Stewart Elementary in Lubbock ISD.

Mrs. Gschwend is a Lubbock native, born and raised here. She is excited to return to her roots in the Lubbock Youth Orchestras.

WINDS ENSEMBLE

Andrea Martinez is excited to serve as conductor for the inaugural season of the LYO Wind Orchestra. Ms. Martinez is the Director of Bands at Hutchinson Middle School where she has taught for the past 10 years, after her first year of teaching at Lincoln Middle School in San Angelo.

Born and raised in Garland, TX, Ms. Martinez first moved to Lubbock to attend Texas Tech and graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor’s of Music. Her primary instrument is horn and she has been a member of the Lubbock Civic Orchestra since 2018, but she is also an active performer on percussion and drum set with community groups such as Moonlight Musicals, Lubbock Community Theatre, and TTU Theatre.

PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Dr. Joshua Allen is honored to serve as the conductor for the LYO Philharmonic Orchestra. He has taught middle and high school orchestra here in Lubbock since 2009 as the Director of Orchestras at the Talkington School for Young Women Leaders. Dr. Allen received his DMA in Music Education from Boston University in 2020, a Master’s Degree in Music Composition from Texas Tech University in 2011, and a Bachelor of Music Education from Wayland Baptist University in 2009.

Dr. Allen received the Newton Excellence in Education award from the Beaumont Foundation in 2015 and was named an Educator of Excellence in 2019 by the Young Women’s Preparatory Network. Although his primary instrument is alto saxophone, Dr. Allen is a self-taught violinist and violist and performs viola in several orchestras in the surrounding area, including the Roswell Symphony Orchestra, the Big Spring Symphony Orchestra, the Southwest Symphony Orchestra, and the Lubbock Civic Orchestra. As an aspiring composer, his published original works and arrangements have been performed by his orchestras and performers across the country. When he is not working with students or performing, Dr. Allen spends as much time as possible with his wife, Rachel, and son, Larry Jack.

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Alejos Anaya is honored to serve as the conductor for the LYO Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Anaya is a proud alumnus of Texas Tech University, where he received his Bachelors degree in 2003. He has teaching experience with both middle school and high school students, having taught at Covington Middle School in Austin, TX for 5 years and spending the last 11 years teaching at Lubbock High, his high school alma mater.

Mr. Anaya has had the pleasure of serving as both a clinician and conductor multiple times in both Texas and Alaska and is an active cellist, performing with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, Big Spring Orchestra, and Lubbock Moonlight Musicals as well as appearing with many other orchestras in the region.