Eugene Power – New Director for Symphony Orchestra

Join me in Welcoming Eugene Power

Eugene Power is the newly appointed Music Director and Conductor of the McHenry County Youth Orchestras. He also serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign where he has conducted the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia, and Illini Strings. In addition to his conducting duties, Mr. Power supervises future music educators during their professional semester. He has also served as a section coach for the East Central Illinois Youth Orchestra and as an ensemble coach at The Chamber Music Symposium at Allerton Park.

Mr. Power holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where he was the winner of the first annual UWEC Bands Conducting Competition in 2002.  Before coming to Illinois, Mr. Power taught middle school and high school band in Wisconsin and Minnesota for eight years – most recently serving as Director of Bands at North High School in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. During that time he was also appointed as Music Director and Conductor of the Chippewa Valley Youth Symphony, a position he held for four years. In addition to his duties as an educator, Mr. Power served as assistant conductor for the Chippewa Valley Symphony for six years and in that time made numerous guest appearances on the podium with the orchestra. He also conducted Broadway musicals for the Eau Claire Children’s Theater and the Chippewa Valley Theater Guild. Mr. Power was also a freelance musician in Wisconsin and Minnesota where made with appearances with, among other groups, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and Five by Design.