The Akron POPS Orchestra
About the Orchestra

Meet the Musicians

Music Director & Conductor

Victor T. Anstine

Victor T. Anstine is a conductor, composer and clarinetist, musicologist and managerial musician dedicated to high standards of historical authenticity in performance and practice. Educated as an ensemble instrumentalist at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Preparatory Department with the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony, he led the ensemble as principal clarinetist touring in Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, under the direction of Dr. Gary Ciepluch. In addition to wind bands, he was E-flat, A, and Bass clarinetist in the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra under Brett Mitchell for its 25th anniversary season. Victor was also educated as a diverse composer at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Young Composers Program under Dr. Keith Fitch, 2015-2016. He has gone on to compose four operas, eight symphonies, large symphonic works, vocal pieces, and chamber works. Victor is the recipient of the John Philip Sousa Band Award, and additionally recieved a ©National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Emmy® Student Production Award for his film score for Buzzing In The Garage, a film by Nate Laguardia, August, 2017, in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. He continued his studies to pursue conducting and composition at Capital University Conservatory of Music, graduating in 2020. During his undergraduate work with Dr. Jeffrey D. Gershman, his conducting study flourished to include operatic masterpieces and many more symphonic and chamber works.

Over the years, Victor has conducted works by Mahler, Wagner, Chevalier Joseph Bologne, Amy Beach, Mascagni, Bizet, Tchaikovsky, Strauss II, and Copland. He conducted in the 2021 Luigi Mancinelli Opera Conducting Competition in Orvieto, Italy studying and conducting “Cavalleria Rusticana” by Mascagni. He also conducted in Vienna, Austria in the First Edition of the Vienna School Conducting Competition in July of 2022, studying Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Berg.

Victor is most passionate about bolstering the repertoire position of underrepresented composers to offer more diversity and stylistic options for modern audiences. He is equally devoted to the works of composers like Meyerbeer, Donizetti, Mahler, Verdi, Lully, Bellini, Boieldieu, Handel, Gounod, Guerre, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, and Mozart. Victor has worked with The Akron Pops Orchestra, The Euclid Symphony Orchestra with his mentor Matthew Salvaggio, and has conducted many private chamber orchestra concerts in Columbus OH.

Mr. Anstine’s affinity to inspire and create in artistic numbers is something that has always remained paramount to him, and he strives to inspire communities through music and drama, as it has inspired him so tremendously to share the richness of music to create beautiful and authentic performances.

The Musicians

Violins

Jamie Burke

Ruth Dial

Pam Fiocca

Fran Hamilton

Cindy Horn

Carol Knepp

Jerome Wyss

Carol Youtz

Nancy Coerver

Theresa Heaton

Kevan Hoff

Rob McNair

Vici Stansberry

John Wilkerson

Violas

Betsy Frasure

Olivia Eastly

Barbara Markov

Jim Rupert

Jeremy Banzhof

Roxanne L. Flessel

Cellos

Catalin Petrescu

Kirsty McIntyre

Kitty Scherer

Pam Zook

Becky Koscso

Carrie Decker

Basses

Tom Stone

Mike Danko

Tim Coerver

Flutes

Jen Bunch (Sabo)

Tracy Cline

Katie Gressock

Nancy Kehrle

Oboe

JKelly Krol

Clarinets

Becky Yoho

Christie Kennedy

Bassoons

Jennifer Kowalski

Emily Campbell

French Horn

Dan Fackler

Trumpets

Rachel Blenman

Liz Beutler

Trombones

Shawn O'Malley

Nick Matheos (Bass)

Tuba

Roger Ream

Percussion

David Selzer

Nathan Vaughan

Maryann Aguilar

Cindy Braun (Keyboard)

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