Robert Trocina


Artistic Director, Gwinnett Symphony Musical Arts Consortium
Music Director, Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra
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Hailed by Odenwälder Zeitung Press (Germany) as “a brilliant conductor” who “formally lived with the music”, American conductor Robert Trocina is recognized for his “innovative approach to programming” and “deep commitment to education of musicians and audiences of all ages” by ArtsATL.

Robert Trocina is in his 17th season as Music Director of Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra (GA) and Artistic Director of Gwinnett Symphony Musical Arts Consortium. Additionally, he is Music Director of The Georgia Ballet, Principal Conductor of Korean American Friendship Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, and Executive Director/CEO of New School of Music, a post he has held since 1997. As Music Director of Northeast Atlanta Ballet for 14 seasons, Trocina conducted over 150 classical ballet productions including Prokofiev’s Cinderella, Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, among others, until the Covid-19 pandemic officially ended the orchestra’s run with NEAB. He made his Opera debut as Guest Conductor of Capitol City Opera, where he conducted acclaimed performances of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Mozart’s The Impreserio.

In addition to these appointments, Trocina maintains an active international presence. Notably, he served as Principal Guest Conductor of Starkenburg Philharmoniker (Germany), where he lead concerts on the prestigious Neujahrskonzerts Series in 2018 and 2019. He recently served as Guest Conductor of Chernivtsi Symphony Orchestra (Ukraine) and Bad Vilbeler Kammerorchester (Germany). A mainstay in the Atlanta arts community, Trocina served as Guest Conductor of Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra, Atlanta Musicians Orchestra, and was Associate Conductor of Atlanta Wind Symphony from 1998-2003. Trocina’s work has involved productions in theaters and on stages across the United States, as well as Canada, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ukraine and Sweden.

With a lifetime commitment to youth education, Trocina serves as Executive Director/CEO of New School of Music (NSM), which he co-founded in 1997. In this position he oversees the education of approximately 1200 music students spanning five campuses, and a program that provides approximately 1000 instruments annually to students participating in music programs throughout North Georgia. He recently organized a program that provided free and reduced priced instruments to refugee students in the Atlanta area. Trocina served as Music Director of Gwinnett Children's and Youth Orchestras from 1997-2006. He continued this commitment at GSMAC where he established the youth orchestra program which notably features an annual “Side-by-Side” concert with the chamber orchestra. Trocina maintains an active teaching studio at NSM where his students frequently place in Georgia’s All State Band, Governors Honors, prestigious youth orchestras and wind ensembles, and have earned scholarships to pursue degrees in music. Through a partnership with GSMAC, Trocina developed a program where NSM music students are provided hundreds of free concert tickets to select GSMAC concerts each season.

Under Trocina’s Artistic Direction, Gwinnett Symphony Musical Arts Consortium (GSMAC) has grown to include the symphony orchestra, symphony chorus, chamber orchestra, wind orchestra, chamber singers, jazz orchestra, and youth orchestra. He recently organized a Ukraine benefit concert that raised over $20,000 to support humanitarian needs during the war, and the symphony chorus performed Rene Clausen’s Memorial in Lincoln Center (NY) on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. He has developed concerts featuring world premier performances, such as Andrew Webb-Mitchell’s Songs of Awe and Wonder, for which the composer traveled from China to attend, and Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by Venezuelan composer, Jose Manuel Garcia. For eight seasons GSMAC has hosted winners of the International Conductors Workshop and Competition as Guest Conductors of the chamber orchestra, and Trocina co-founded the Rising Star Concerto Competition where winners performed with the symphony orchestra for seven seasons. Trocina established Gas South Theater (formerly Infinite Energy Center) as the ensembles’ primary performance hall, a residency GSMAC has held since 2007.

Born in New Jersey and raised in the Atlanta arts community, Trocina first discovered classical music at the age of 9 when he began playing trumpet, and subsequently immersed himself in all things musical throughout his school-aged years. He is a graduate of the Bailey School of Music at Kennesaw State University and completed studies at Georgia State University School of Music and Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University. He studied conducting under Patricio Cobos, William Fred Scott, Steven Byess, Thomas Wubbenhorst, and trumpet under Mark Hughes, Jim Thompson and Stephen Winnick. He is a member of The League of American Orchestras, Georgia Music Educators Association and Georgia Association of School Music Dealers, where he served as board president.

Robert Trocina’s repertoire list, concert archives, and press materials may be found at RobertTrocina.com.