Harold (Hal) Weller is the Founding Music Director & Conductor Laureate of the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Weller retired on June 30, 2007 completing a distinguished forty-five year career as music director of orchestras in Ohio, Virginia, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada. Weller is also the Founding Music Director of the Ashland (Oh) Symphony and the Old Dominion (Va) Symphony as well as Conductor Laureate of the Flagstaff (Az) Symphony.

In retirement Hal has turned his attention to the Foundation to Assist Young Musicians (FAYM), the non-profit, all-volunteer corporation he founded in December 2007. FAYM assists with the education and career development of talented and needy young musicians world wide. As an arts advocate and activist, he currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Conductors Guild, the Nevada School of the Arts, and the Las Vegas Youth Orchestras.

Born in Dayton Ohio on July 6, 1941, Weller holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Miami (OH) University and an MA from The Ohio State University. He also studied at the Oberlin and Cincinnati Conservatories of Music. He began his professional conducting career at age 20, when he was engaged to conduct opera at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. His conducting teachers include Orion Dalley, A. Clyde Roller, Richard Lert, Haig Yaghjian and mentors Paul Katz, Max Rudolf, and George Szell.

The recipient of numerous awards and honors, Weller was presented the 2003 Achievement Award in Arts & Entertainment from the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. Other honors include the Governor's Award (New Mexico) and Flagstaff's Citizen of the Year Award in 1991. In 1995 Flagstaff's Lowell Observatory named an asteroid in his honor. The Mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar B. Goodman, proclaimed October 9, 2005 as 'Harold Weller Day' in Las Vegas and again on June 30, 2007 in recognition of Hal's many contributions and accomplishments for the arts in Las Vegas.

Married with two sons and two grandchildren, Hal and his wife Betsy take great pleasure in the pursuits of their active family.

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Harold Weller on Wiki

Board of Directors, Conductors Guild

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The Foundation to Assist Young Musicians (FAYM)



Established in 2007 by Harold Weller, the mission of the Foundation to Assist Young Musicians (FAYM) is to encourage and support gifted young musicians in (1) early training, (2) advanced study, and (3) professional career development, specifically those who are in need of financial and/or mentoring support up to the age of 26. In addition, an important part of the FAYM mission is to develop programs for the support of needy children in receiving music education.

FAYM has no paid staff. All work of the Foundation is performed solely by volunteers. Additionally, the Trustee contributes all funds necessary to support the operations of FAYM. Therefore, contributions from individuals or businesses and other public or private entities go entirely to assist young musicians.

To donate, make your tax-deductible contribution payable to F.A.Y.M. and send to:

FAYM
c/o Harold L. Weller, Trustee
9513 Coral Way
Las Vegas, NV 89117
Email: FAYM@live.com
FAYM on MySpace

VISIT THE NEW FAYM WEBSITE FOR DETAILS

YOU MAY ALSO DONATE ON-LINE AT FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE.

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