Manhattan Symphony Orchestra
A Community-Based Ensemble
About
The Manhattan Symphony Orchestra is a community supported organization dedicated to promoting, cultivating, and increasing the knowledge and appreciation of symphony music through public concerts and educational programs in the Flint Hills of Kansas.
Our vision is to nourish community and to orchestrate public engagement in the fine arts through music.
Meet the MSO Team
Director
Dr. Rachel Dirks
Dr. Rachel Dirks, Director of Orchestral Studies and Assistant Professor of Music
at Kansas State University, is an active conductor, clinician, and educator.
Dr. Dirks holds cello performance degrees from the University of Texas at Austin
and Bethel College, and a Ph.D. in music education from the University of Kansas.
As a guest conductor, Dr. Dirks has conducted all-state and regional honor
orchestras throughout the United States, including recent appearances in
New York, Georgia, Nevada, Kentucky, Oregon, Illinois, and Kansas.
As a featured clinician, Dr. Dirks has been invited to present conference sessions
for the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), the Midwest International
Band and Orchestra Clinic, the National Association for Music Education, and the
state music education conferences of Texas, Oregon, Colorado, and Kansas. She has made numerous written contributions to journals, books, and online resources, including her upcoming publication in the Oxford Handbook of Care in Music Education. Dr. Dirks currently serves as chair of the ASTA Health and Wellness committee where she works to further the discussion surrounding mental health and wellbeing in the music classroom. Throughout all of her work, her fundamental goal is to encourage musicians to seek and create community through music.
Assistant Director
Russell Clark
Russell Clark is the currently an instructor of Piano, Aural Skills, and Jazz Bass at Kansas State University, and the Executive Director of the Manhattan Youth Symphony. He holds a B.M.E. from The University of Kansas and an M.M.E. from Kansas State University. Previously, Russell has worked as the Assistant Director of High School Orchestras in the Lawrence public school district and as a director of the Lawrence Youth Symphony. Russell maintains a small studio of private students on violin, viola and bass, works at various Summer Camps, and plays in community ensembles such as the Lawrence Community Orchestra, the Topeka Jazz Workshop Big Band, and now the Manhattan Symphony Orchestra.
Board of Directors
Rachel Dirks & Segen Chase - Co-Presidents
Russell Clark - Personnel Manager
Kay Lloyd - Treasurer
Alan Bell Sr.
Sonder Crane
Todd Crane
Colby Stevens
Blair Williams
Regan Lattey
Contact
mhksymphony@gmail.com
