Julia Copeland, Executive Director

Julia Copeland,  Executive Director                                            

The Board of Directors brought in Julia Copeland as Executive Director in 2009. Their primary stated goal was to ensure that the Youth Orchestras did not remain "the best-kept secret in town." 

Copeland says she wondered how the group could be a secret. "The orchestras are fantastic," she says. "Talent here is unlimited, and the music director, Thomas Loewenheim, is a dynamo." She jumped at the offer.

After a career that included stints as a violinist in the Louisville Orchestra, the Mexico City Philharmonic, the Pacific Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, she spent several years as a writer, columnist, editor, and English teacher before returning to music as an arts administrator. She came to the Youth Orchestras of Fresno from a similar position with the Musical Arts Youth Orchestra in Bloomington, Indiana. 

Copeland holds degrees in violin performance, creative writing, and English literature, a mix she says seems to work well when applied to running a nonprofit music organization. She serves on the executive board of the Valley Cultural Coalition (VCC) and also on the board of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO).

She can be reached at office@youthorchestrasfresno.org, (559) 275-6694.