Adam Brown

Adam Brown '99, the Fox Valley Symphony Philharmonia conductor, currently teaches orchestra at Green Bay East High School and beginning instrumental music at several Green Bay elementary schools. He received his Bachelor's degree from Lawrence University and his Master's degree from Northwestern University, both in music education.

Mr. Brown is a past cello section coach of the Fox Valley Symphony Youth and Concert Orchestras. He has played in orchestras and chamber groups throughout northeastern Wisconsin, including the Symphony Orchestras of Fox Valley, Green Bay, Green Bay Civic, Oshkosh, Beaver Dam, and the Weidner Philharmonic. Mr. Brown is an active adjudicator for the Wisconsin School Music Association and is currently the cello section coach and coordinator for the WSMA High School State Honors Orchestra. He lives in Appleton with his wife and son.


Greg Austin

Greg Austin, conductor of Concert Orchestra and former longtime conductor of Philharmonia, currently teaches orchestra at Kaleidoscope Academy as well as Edison and Franklin Elementary Schools in the Appleton Area School District. Previous to working in Appleton, he taught orchestra classes at all levels in the Menasha Joint School District. He attended UW-Stevens Point and UW-Madison, where he received a bachelor's degree in instrumental music education.

While at UW-Madison he received the Richard C. Church award for outstanding student in music education, as well as working for the Wisconsin Youth Symphonies as music librarian and chamber music coach. Mr. Austin has performed as a member of the Fox Valley Symphony, Green Bay Symphony, Madison Symphony and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, where he served as Principal Second Violin for many summer seasons.


Dr. Luis Fernandez

Luis Fernandez, conductor of the Fox Valley Symphony Youth Orchestra, was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where he began violin and orchestra studies through the El Sistema music program.

After immigrating to the United States, he earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in instrumental performance and conducting at University of Miami.

Dr. Fernandez has performed with many orchestras such as Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho Symphony Orchestra, Miami Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet, Naples Philharmonic, Amarillo Symphony, and Lubbock Symphony (as associate concertmaster). Currently, he performs with Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra, Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra, and is concertmaster of the Weidner Philharmonic Orchestra.

Active as a teacher as well as a performer, Dr. Fernandez has been on the faculty of Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (Michigan) since 2008 and has been invited to implement the teaching techniques of Venezuela’s renowned El Sistema in Bolivia, Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico. He was previously director of the violin program at St. Philip’s School (Coral Gables, FL), and served on the faculty of the Community Arts Program and of Greater Miami Youth Symphony. In 2013 he served as Assistant Professor of Violin at the University of Florida. He has taught general music at Valencia Elementary (Portales, NM), where he instituted an after-school strings program, and general music and strings at Badger Elementary School (Appleton, WI). He was also previously on the faculty at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music (Milwaukee, WI). Dr. Fernandez presently holds the Robert and Joan Bauer Endowed Professorship in Strings and Music Education at University of Wisconsin Green Bay.