Welcome to the Clinton Symphony Orchestra
The CSO has been a presence in the Clinton, Iowa, area since 1954 when a group of community leaders got together to form an organization to bring great music to the city and its environs. Now in its 72th year, the Orchestra draws patrons from a wide geographic area. Under the leadership of music director and conductor Silas Huff, the Orchestra expands its repertoire and performances to include soloists of note from our local communities and education systems. The Orchestra Association is proud of our commitment and hopes that you will share this love of great music with us.
SILAS NATHANIEL HUFF, DMA
Conductor • Composer • Educator
Silas Nathaniel Huff has conducted hundreds of concerts across America, and abroad in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, and Russia. Recent guest conducting engagements include the Southwest Symphony Orchestra (IL), Mankato (MN), Saint Joseph (MO), Williamsburg (VA), Catskill (NY), and Venice (FL) Symphony Orchestras. In addition to his new role of Interim Music Director of the Clinton Symphony Orchestra, he is Director of Maestro Masterclasses and Co-Director of the International Conducting Institute (organizations dedicated to training the world’s next generation of conductors), and Conductor of the International Concerto Festival (Czech Republic).
Maestro Huff’s past positions include Director of Orchestras at Northern Illinois University (IL) and Washburn University (KS); Music Director of the Astoria Symphony Orchestra (NYC), U.S. Army Orchestra (DC), 562nd Air Force Band (CA), 44th Army Band (NM), Topeka Youth Symphony (KS), Round Rock Symphony Orchestra (TX), and the critically acclaimed Lost Dog New Music Ensemble (NYC). An avid dance conductor, Maestro Huff has conducted performances with many ballet companies—including the Martha Graham Ensemble. As a staunch advocate of new music, he has commissioned, premiered, and recorded over one hundred works by dozens of composers, including Angélica Negrón, Joshua Rodriguez, Philippe Bodin, Rachel Whelan, Elena Specht, B. Allen Schulz, Allen Menton, Erin Rogers, Scott McKenzie, David Fetherolf, Manly Romero, and many others.
In 2011, Maestro Huff won a coveted job as a U.S. Army Music Officer. As such, he conducted concerts at the White House, U.S. Capitol, Arlington National Cemetery, Pentagon, and other important monuments and landmarks in Washington, D.C., on tour for audiences numbering in the thousands, and in recordings and broadcasts seen by millions of viewers. Among other notable assignments, Major Huff served as Director of The U.S. Army Orchestra (Washington, D.C.), U.S. Army Central Music Liaison Officer (providing musical support to American, NATO, Coalition, and State Department personnel, and local communities in the Middle East and Asia), and Company Commander of the U.S. Army School of Music in Virginia Beach. More recently, Major Huff was the Commander of the 44th Army Band (“New Mexico’s Own” National Guard Band) in Albuquerque, NM, before transferring to the U.S. Air Force to assume command of the 562nd Air Force Band (Air Guard Band of the West Coast).
Maestro Huff holds degrees from Texas State University, University of California Los Angeles, and University of Colorado Boulder, and studied at the Trossingen Hochschule für Musik (Germany), L’Institut Musical Provence-Aubagne (France), and California State University-Long Beach. In 1999, Maestro Huff won First Prize in the Los Angeles Valley Composition Competition. In 2001, he was named Conductor of the Year by the California State University system, and in 2011, the Texas House of Representatives signed a resolution recognizing Maestro Huff’s distinguished musical service. The U.S. Army and Air Force have conferred upon him three Meritorious Service Medals, four Commendation Medals, a Humanitarian Service Medal, and an Achievement Medal (among others), and in 2020 the Boulder Concert Band won The American Prize for Band/Wind Ensemble Performance under Maestro Huff’s baton.
Executive Director – Robert Whipple
Our Board of Directors
Stuart Lind, President
Lynn McGraw, Vice President
Karl Wolf, Secretary
Richard Sweet, Treasurer
Jean Buikema
Kevin Emge
Joan Current
Nancy Malli
Greg Marston
Mary B. Paul
Melinda Putman
We are seeking new members for our Director and Friends of the Symphony Support Boards, please contact us!!
The Clinton Symphony Orchestra Association is a member of the League of American Orchestras.