Clarkston, GA — The DeKalb Symphony Orchestra has announced the hiring of Paul Bhasin as music director and conductor.

Bhasin’s career began in 1998 when he won the Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition. He has been praised for his “crisp, clear” conducting and “highly expressive” interpretations, according to a press release.

Bhasin has led a variety of academic, university and professional ensembles throughout North America and abroad, including recent performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and throughout the People’s Republic of China.

“I am thrilled to be joining the DeKalb Symphony as its Music Director,” Bhasin said. “When I led the orchestra earlier this year, I was impressed by both the musicianship of the orchestra’s musicians as well as their commitment and enthusiasm for its cultural mission. I am honored to help advance this mission in the DSO’s next chapter, and look forward to working with the musicians, board, executive director and all who support the orchestra.”

He will additionally serve as director of orchestral studies at Emory University. He will also conduct the Emory University Symphony Orchestra, Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, and teach conducting.

Under his direction, ensembles have collaborated with soloists from the Atlanta Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and Richmond Symphony. Bhasin has led honor orchestras and bands, as well as served as a guest orchestral clinician throughout the United States.

Bhasin serves as music director and conductor of the Atlanta Chamber Music Festival. He founded the annual Emory Percussion Symposium and initiated an annual chamber music component, which has expanded to include string, wind and percussion programming.

Bhasin is an accomplished orchestral trumpeter, having performed and recorded with major orchestras and music festivals and performed under the batons of conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas, James Conlon, James DePriest, Leonard Slatkin, Andreas Delfs and Gustav Meier, and participated in the Aspen Conducting Academy orchestral program under David Zinman and Murry Sidlin.

He has been featured as a soloist on National Public Radio, Detroit PBS-TV, the International Computer Music Conference, at the Chautauqua Music Festival and at the International Dvořák Festival in Prague, and he has recorded as trumpeter and conductor for both the Centaur and Interscope record labels.

Bhasin’s transcriptions and arrangements are published by Carl Fischer Music and have been performed and commissioned in the U.S. and abroad.

Bhasin’s previous appointments include positions at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Triton College, and The College of William & Mary. He received his musical education from Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Tucker Observer is a community news website owned by Decaturish.com. We provide locally sourced news about Tucker, Clarkston and Stone Mountain.