Max Stephenson
Max Stephenson studied trumpet, business, and marketing at Ithaca College under his primary professor, Christopher Coletti. He served as the principal trumpet in the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra and is the former principal trumpet of the Cayuga Chamber Youth Orchestra. He was also the principal chair of the Wind Ensemble of NYSSMA's All-State Conference at the Eastman School of Music. Max's former teachers include Dr. Aaron Witek, Buddy Deshler, and Jane Dunnick. Across his YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok accounts, Max is approaching 30,000 followers and has gained over 4 million views.
Max is currently the General Manager Manager of the World Civic Orchestra.
In this role, Max designs and oversees all aspects of orchestra operations, including managing contracts and personnel, and supervising the Assistant Manager. He is responsible for creating and coordinating all administrative and artistic calendars, which involves establishing a comprehensive operations manual. Additionally, he coordinates the organization's social media strategies, website updates, development campaigns, and press activities. His duties also include developing stage plots and production schedules, managing the hiring of rental instruments and artist members, and directing the festival's production, which encompasses overseeing front-of-house operations, the box office, stage management, and coordinating the efforts of over 60 members.
Max has also served as the Operations Manager for the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Youth Orchestra. In this position, he was responsible for ensuring that the scheduling and production of all CCOYO events (concerts, rehearsals, run-outs, auditions, and special events) ran smoothly, effectively, and in a financially responsible manner. Since 2022, Max has been on the administrative staff as an intern at the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. In the CCO, Max assists Sarah Chandler, the Executive director, with administrative tasks such as CRM management, graphic and media design, ticket handling, and photography.
I recently had so much fun working in operations and production for the World Civic Orchestra in NYC! It was very special to see musicians come from across the globe and put on an exciting concert at Merkin Hall, Kaufman Music Center.
It was an honor to work alongside the talented and passionate administration of the WCO. After many months of concert preparation, it was incredibly rewarding to see the product of everyone’s hard work materialize in rehearsals throughout the week.
World Civic Orchestra in New York City
At its heart, the WCO helps foster a community of diverse nationalities and backgrounds to come together into a unified ensemble. Supporting this mission was one of the most valuable parts of the work and I can’t wait to continue it when the WCO takes on Budapest, Hungary in Summer 2024!
Concert picture by Da Ping Luo.
The CCO Youth Orchestra just finished up an exciting tour in Italy! From Venice to Florence to Rome, it was an incredible experience co-managing the trip and overseeing concert production at the performances.
Highlights from the trip include Venice and Rome performances, tours of La Fenice, St. Mark's Square, Ducal Palace, the Grand Canal, Piazza del Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio, Leonardo Da Vinci museum, Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Trevi Foundtain, St Peter's Basilica, and the Vatican!
CCO Youth Orchestra in Italy
With the full support of the Board and Music Director of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the CCOYO was founded in June of 2017 by Kirsten Marshall and Sarah Cummings. The mission of the CCOYO is to offer a high- quality symphony orchestra experience for youth in Ithaca and the Finger Lakes region of New York State.