ABOUT GWINNETT SYMPHONY
About Gwinnett Symphony
The Beginning
Gwinnett Symphony traces its roots to 1996, when Mrs. Leslie Dedo and Mrs. Nancy Rogers founded the Gwinnett Children’s & Youth Symphony. As devoted homeschooling mothers with a passion for music education, they sought to create opportunities not only for their combined nine children, but for all young musicians in Gwinnett County who did not have access to school band or orchestra programs. These nine pioneering students became the charter members of the organization and established the foundation upon which Gwinnett Symphony would grow.
A Shared Vision
In 1997, recognizing the need for strong artistic leadership and continued growth, Mrs. Dedo and Mrs. Rogers invited conductors and music educators Rick Smith and Robert Trocina to lead the young organization. Together, they envisioned an ensemble that would provide Gwinnett County’s youth with opportunities to study and perform quality classical and popular music while serving the broader community through performance and education.
Building the Foundation
For the organization’s first decade, Robert Trocina served as Music Director of the youth orchestra, guiding its artistic growth, expanding its membership, and building its reputation throughout the region. During the same period, Rick Smith served as Executive Director, overseeing the organization’s administration and financial operations.
A Professional Dream
In 2000, conductor Gregory Pritchard brought forward the vision of establishing a professional orchestra in Gwinnett County. Embracing the opportunity to expand the organization’s artistic reach, Trocina appointed Pritchard to lead the newly formed Gwinnett Orchestra. While the ensemble performed for only two seasons due to funding challenges, the project demonstrated both the artistic potential and community interest for a larger orchestral presence in Gwinnett County.
The Birth of the Symphony
In 2006, Trocina founded the Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra, a community regional orchestra encompassing amateur, collegiate, educator, and professional musicians dedicated to performing major orchestral masterworks and pops programming. The creation of the Symphony Orchestra expanded the organization beyond its youth ensemble and resulted in the renaming of the existing youth ensemble as the Gwinnett Symphony Youth Orchestra. At that time, Trocina was appointed Music Director and Conductor of the newly formed Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra, while music educator Scott Hague assumed leadership of the Gwinnett Symphony Youth Orchestra and Rick Smith remained Executive Director of the organization. This important milestone created distinct artistic pathways for adult and student musicians while preserving the organization’s educational foundation. The new structure also fostered greater collaboration between the Symphony Orchestra and Youth Orchestra, leading to educational initiatives such as the annual Side-by-Side Concerts and the establishment of the Rising Star Concerto Competition, which provided outstanding young musicians the opportunity to perform as soloists with the Symphony Orchestra.
Growing the Family
After an eight-year hiatus, Gregory Pritchard returned to the organization to lead the newly formed Gwinnett Symphony Chamber Orchestra, created to complement the larger Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Robert Trocina. At the same time, Pritchard assumed leadership of the Gwinnett Symphony Youth Orchestra. As the organization continued to expand beyond a single orchestra, a restructuring effort was undertaken to better support its growing family of ensembles. This led to the formation of the Gwinnett Symphony Musical Arts Consortium (GSMAC), providing an organizational umbrella for the Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Youth Orchestra, and future artistic initiatives. With the formation of the Consortium, Robert Trocina assumed the role of its Artistic Director while continuing as Music Director and Conductor of the Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra. Rick Smith remained Executive Director of the expanding organization, and Gregory Pritchard was appointed Director of Chamber and Youth Orchestras. Under their collective leadership, the organization continued to broaden its educational programs, community partnerships, and artistic offerings throughout the region.
A Chorus Takes Flight
The following years brought continued growth and expansion. In 2007, Rick Smith founded the Gwinnett Symphony Chorus and became its Music Director and Conductor, establishing what would become one of the region’s leading volunteer choral ensembles. Under his leadership, the Chorus grew rapidly in size, artistic quality, and reputation, enabling the organization to present major choral-orchestral masterworks while expanding its artistic reach throughout metropolitan Atlanta and beyond. The ensemble has collaborated with distinguished conductors, composers, and performing organizations, including a featured performance at Lincoln Center in New York City commemorating the tenth anniversary of September 11 through a presentation of René Clausen’s Memorial.
Developing Conductors
The organization’s commitment to education and artistic development was further strengthened through its support of the Adrian Gnam International Conductors Workshop and Competition (ICWC). Founded in 2004 by renowned American conductor Adrian Gnam, the workshop became one of the nation’s respected training programs for emerging and established conductors. Following Maestro Gnam’s passing in 2025, Gwinnett Symphony assumed responsibility for hosting the workshop, and its Board of Directors assumed governance and oversight of the program. Today, the workshop is led by Workshop Director Gregory Pritchard and a distinguished faculty that includes Philip Greenberg, Chelsea Tipton II, and Scott Woodard, with Trocina serving as liaison between the workshop and the Gwinnett Symphony Board of Directors. Each workshop concludes with a public concert, and for more than a decade select workshop participants have returned to guest conduct the Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra.
Expanding the Musical Palette
In 2013, the Gwinnett Symphony Jazz Orchestra was added, broadening the organization’s musical offerings and celebrating America’s rich jazz traditions, with Jose Garcia appointed as its director. In 2014, the Gwinnett Symphony Wind Orchestra was established, providing a dedicated ensemble for wind, brass, and percussion musicians. Thomas Wubbenhorst served as the ensemble’s first conductor before later passing the baton to Robert Dunham. The Wind Orchestra enjoyed five successful seasons before becoming inactive during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Rick Smith founded the Gwinnett Symphony Chamber Singers, a select vocal ensemble dedicated to chamber repertoire, community performances, and regional appearances throughout the Southeast.
Gwinnett Symphony Today
To simplify and modernize its public identity, the Gwinnett Symphony Musical Arts Consortium was later rebranded as simply Gwinnett Symphony. Today, Trocina remains the organization’s Artistic Director while continuing as Conductor of the Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra. Smith continues as Executive Director while leading the Gwinnett Symphony Chorus and Chamber Singers, and Pritchard serves as Music Director of Orchestras while conducting the Symphony and Youth Orchestras.
Looking Forward
From its beginnings as a small youth orchestra founded by two visionary educators, Gwinnett Symphony has evolved into one of the region’s most comprehensive community performing arts organizations, enriching the cultural life of Gwinnett County through performance, education, and community engagement for nearly three decades.
Gwinnett Symphony traces its roots to 1996, when Mrs. Leslie Dedo and Mrs. Nancy Rogers founded the Gwinnett Children’s & Youth Symphony. As devoted homeschooling mothers with a passion for music education, they sought to create opportunities not only for their combined nine children, but for all young musicians in Gwinnett County who did not have access to school band or orchestra programs. These nine pioneering students became the charter members of the organization and established the foundation upon which Gwinnett Symphony would grow.
A Shared Vision
In 1997, recognizing the need for strong artistic leadership and continued growth, Mrs. Dedo and Mrs. Rogers invited conductors and music educators Rick Smith and Robert Trocina to lead the young organization. Together, they envisioned an ensemble that would provide Gwinnett County’s youth with opportunities to study and perform quality classical and popular music while serving the broader community through performance and education.
Building the Foundation
For the organization’s first decade, Robert Trocina served as Music Director of the youth orchestra, guiding its artistic growth, expanding its membership, and building its reputation throughout the region. During the same period, Rick Smith served as Executive Director, overseeing the organization’s administration and financial operations.
A Professional Dream
In 2000, conductor Gregory Pritchard brought forward the vision of establishing a professional orchestra in Gwinnett County. Embracing the opportunity to expand the organization’s artistic reach, Trocina appointed Pritchard to lead the newly formed Gwinnett Orchestra. While the ensemble performed for only two seasons due to funding challenges, the project demonstrated both the artistic potential and community interest for a larger orchestral presence in Gwinnett County.
The Birth of the Symphony
In 2006, Trocina founded the Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra, a community regional orchestra encompassing amateur, collegiate, educator, and professional musicians dedicated to performing major orchestral masterworks and pops programming. The creation of the Symphony Orchestra expanded the organization beyond its youth ensemble and resulted in the renaming of the existing youth ensemble as the Gwinnett Symphony Youth Orchestra. At that time, Trocina was appointed Music Director and Conductor of the newly formed Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra, while music educator Scott Hague assumed leadership of the Gwinnett Symphony Youth Orchestra and Rick Smith remained Executive Director of the organization. This important milestone created distinct artistic pathways for adult and student musicians while preserving the organization’s educational foundation. The new structure also fostered greater collaboration between the Symphony Orchestra and Youth Orchestra, leading to educational initiatives such as the annual Side-by-Side Concerts and the establishment of the Rising Star Concerto Competition, which provided outstanding young musicians the opportunity to perform as soloists with the Symphony Orchestra.
Growing the Family
After an eight-year hiatus, Gregory Pritchard returned to the organization to lead the newly formed Gwinnett Symphony Chamber Orchestra, created to complement the larger Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Robert Trocina. At the same time, Pritchard assumed leadership of the Gwinnett Symphony Youth Orchestra. As the organization continued to expand beyond a single orchestra, a restructuring effort was undertaken to better support its growing family of ensembles. This led to the formation of the Gwinnett Symphony Musical Arts Consortium (GSMAC), providing an organizational umbrella for the Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Youth Orchestra, and future artistic initiatives. With the formation of the Consortium, Robert Trocina assumed the role of its Artistic Director while continuing as Music Director and Conductor of the Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra. Rick Smith remained Executive Director of the expanding organization, and Gregory Pritchard was appointed Director of Chamber and Youth Orchestras. Under their collective leadership, the organization continued to broaden its educational programs, community partnerships, and artistic offerings throughout the region.
A Chorus Takes Flight
The following years brought continued growth and expansion. In 2007, Rick Smith founded the Gwinnett Symphony Chorus and became its Music Director and Conductor, establishing what would become one of the region’s leading volunteer choral ensembles. Under his leadership, the Chorus grew rapidly in size, artistic quality, and reputation, enabling the organization to present major choral-orchestral masterworks while expanding its artistic reach throughout metropolitan Atlanta and beyond. The ensemble has collaborated with distinguished conductors, composers, and performing organizations, including a featured performance at Lincoln Center in New York City commemorating the tenth anniversary of September 11 through a presentation of René Clausen’s Memorial.
Developing Conductors
The organization’s commitment to education and artistic development was further strengthened through its support of the Adrian Gnam International Conductors Workshop and Competition (ICWC). Founded in 2004 by renowned American conductor Adrian Gnam, the workshop became one of the nation’s respected training programs for emerging and established conductors. Following Maestro Gnam’s passing in 2025, Gwinnett Symphony assumed responsibility for hosting the workshop, and its Board of Directors assumed governance and oversight of the program. Today, the workshop is led by Workshop Director Gregory Pritchard and a distinguished faculty that includes Philip Greenberg, Chelsea Tipton II, and Scott Woodard, with Trocina serving as liaison between the workshop and the Gwinnett Symphony Board of Directors. Each workshop concludes with a public concert, and for more than a decade select workshop participants have returned to guest conduct the Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra.
Expanding the Musical Palette
In 2013, the Gwinnett Symphony Jazz Orchestra was added, broadening the organization’s musical offerings and celebrating America’s rich jazz traditions, with Jose Garcia appointed as its director. In 2014, the Gwinnett Symphony Wind Orchestra was established, providing a dedicated ensemble for wind, brass, and percussion musicians. Thomas Wubbenhorst served as the ensemble’s first conductor before later passing the baton to Robert Dunham. The Wind Orchestra enjoyed five successful seasons before becoming inactive during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Rick Smith founded the Gwinnett Symphony Chamber Singers, a select vocal ensemble dedicated to chamber repertoire, community performances, and regional appearances throughout the Southeast.
Gwinnett Symphony Today
To simplify and modernize its public identity, the Gwinnett Symphony Musical Arts Consortium was later rebranded as simply Gwinnett Symphony. Today, Trocina remains the organization’s Artistic Director while continuing as Conductor of the Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra. Smith continues as Executive Director while leading the Gwinnett Symphony Chorus and Chamber Singers, and Pritchard serves as Music Director of Orchestras while conducting the Symphony and Youth Orchestras.
Looking Forward
From its beginnings as a small youth orchestra founded by two visionary educators, Gwinnett Symphony has evolved into one of the region’s most comprehensive community performing arts organizations, enriching the cultural life of Gwinnett County through performance, education, and community engagement for nearly three decades.