KSU Orchestra Invitational

The KSU Orchestra Invitational is open to high school and advancing middle school orchestras. Registrations will be accepted in the order in which they are received until the event has reached capacity.

Accepted ensembles will receive an acceptance email - which will include confirmation of warm-up and performance times - and an invoice for the total participation fee. The fee is $350.00 for each participating orchestra and total fee is due by Friday, September 6, 2026. Payment details will be included on the invoice.

Registration Form

Your performance experience will include:  

• Rehearsal and warm-up time in Scott Rehearsal Hall (in the Bailey Center adjacent to the performance stage)
• Performance on stage in Morgan Concert Hall in the Bailey Performance Center.
• Clinic with nationally-recognized guest clinician immediately following performance.
• Assessments of your ensemble by guest clinician and KSU faculty via audio caption and written feedback.
• "Conductor Cam" video recording.
• High-quality audio and video recordings of the performance.

In addition, your group can listen to live performances mid-day from the KSU Symphony Orchestra and have opportunities to hear other high school orchestras from around the region.

Soon Hee Newbold
Internationally Acclaimed Composer and Conductor

Soon Hee Newbold is an internationally acclaimed composer and conductor known for incorporating differing cultural and ethnic styles in her writing inspired by her experiences and travel. She started her musical journey at the age of 5 on piano and violin at age 7 and performed as a concert artist in professional ensembles around the
world.

Newbold’s works are performed by groups ranging in all levels from professional symphonies to beginning elementary ensembles in prominent venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, Disney Hall, Lincoln Center, Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, and many more worldwide stages. Notable commissions include the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Merian Ensemble, the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, LA Philharmonic’s YOLA and youth orchestras for the Columbus Symphony. She was inducted into the Women Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2024 and received the ASTA Orchestra Repertoire and Literature Award in 2026.

Newbold is frequently sought after as a keynote speaker and guest clinician. She has conducted and worked with orchestras and bands throughout the U.S. and overseas such as The Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, S. Korea, and China. As a filmmaker and composer in Hollywood, her music can also be heard in film and other recording projects.

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Dr. Nathaniel F. Parker
Director of Orchestral Studies and Associate Professor of Music

A talented and versatile musician, Nathaniel F. Parker has conducted professional orchestras in the United States, Peru, Russia, Poland, England and the Czech Republic. Equally at home working with professionals and training future generations of musicians, Dr. Parker is director of orchestral studies and associate professor of music at the Kennesaw State University Bailey School of Music. Concurrent appointments include the positions of associate conductor of the Georgia Symphony Orchestra, the Dr. Bobbie Bailey artistic director of the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestras (GYSO), and music director and conductor of the GYSO Symphony. Parker's work as a conductor, scholar and educator has been recognized by the New World Symphony (Florida), Tanglewood Music Center, the American Prize, the College Music Society (CMS), the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and the College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA), among others. He is also the recipient of a Citation of Excellence in Teaching from the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association. Parker earned graduate degrees in orchestral conducting from Michigan State University (DMA) and Bowling Green State University (MM). He also earned a BM in bassoon performance, magna cum laude, from Arizona State University. His mentors and teachers include Raphael Jiménez, Leon Gregorian, Stephen Osmond and Emily Freeman Brown (conducting), and Jeffrey Lyman and Catherine Lewis (bassoon). Nat resides in Kennesaw with his wife, Melody, and their son, Jacob.

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Dr. Nancy Conley
Coordinator of Music Education and Associate Professor of Music

Nancy Conley is the Associate Professor of String Music Education at Kennesaw State University, where she teaches coursework in string techniques, pedagogy, and literature. In addition, Dr. Conley supervises student teachers, leads the KSU String Project, and conducts the KSU Philharmonic. She also serves as the faculty advisor to the KSU collegiate chapter of ASTA.

Dr. Conley received the Ph.D. in music education with a viola performance cognate from Michigan State University, the M.M. in performance from Binghamton University, and the B.M. in music education and performance from Ithaca College. Before pursuing her doctoral degree, Dr. Conley was a public school music educator in central New York, where she taught elementary, middle, and high school instrumental music for seventeen years. An active performer while teaching, Dr. Conley played with the Binghamton Philharmonic, Tri-Cities Opera Company, and the Edgewood String Quartet. As a doctoral student, she performed with the Lansing (MI) Symphony, and was a member of the Orchestra of Northern New York in Potsdam while teaching at the Crane School of Music. She currently plays with string quartets in the Atlanta area.

Prior to joining the faculty at KSU, Dr. Conley was the Director of Music Education at Clayton State University, where she coordinated the music education program, taught courses in music and music education, supervised student teachers, and was an instructor of applied violin and viola. Dr. Conley also served as faculty advisor for the collegiate NAfME chapter and co-directed the Clayton County Honor Orchestra.

Before moving to Georgia, Dr. Conley taught at the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam, where she taught string technique and pedagogy classes and directed the National String Project. While at Crane, Dr. Conley developed a Musician Wellness course and the Lab Ensemble, a course that encouraged pre-service music teachers to use improvisation, arranging, and composition in the classroom.

Dr. Conley has taught in various summer music programs, including several years at the New York ASTA String Institute at Ithaca College. She has conducted Senior High Area All-State festivals in New York State, and served as a clinician at other school music festivals. Dr. Conley is a frequent clinician in Atlanta-area schools.

Dr. Conley has presented at state, regional, and national conferences. Her research interests include the use of improvisation as a tool for teaching and life-long learning, music teacher education, and musician wellness. She holds the certification for Music Learning Theory Elementary General Music Level One, and has completed teacher training for Suzuki Violin Level One and Two.

For more information, contact:
Dr. Nathaniel Parker
470-578-7692

E-mail