buy tickets donate now

Music Director – Stefan Sanders

Stefan Sanders Headshot

Acclaimed conductor, audience builder, communicator and arts advocate, Stefan Sanders is thrilled to begin his 8th season as the Music Director for your Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. Stefan is also equally excited to embark on his 6th season as the Music Director for the Central Texas Philharmonic in Austin, TX.

Having collaborated with an array of distinguished orchestras and guest artists, Stefan’s recent guest conducting appearances include the Colorado Symphony, Kraków Opera, Beethoven Academy Orchestra (Poland), San Antonio Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Yucatán (Mérida, MX), Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba (Havana, Cuba), Sarasota Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Virginia Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Stockton Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Guayaquil (Ecuador), Filharmonia Warminsko-Mazurska (Poland), Filharomonia Podcarpacka (Poland), Symphoria (Syracuse, NY), Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Opera, and the Round Top International Festival Institute. From 2017-2020 Stefan has also served as an assistant conductor for the New York Philharmonic. In July of 2025, Stefan will make his debut with the Seocho Philharmonic in Seoul, Korea and will return to the National Orchestra of Cuba in Havana in April 2025.  

From 2014-2018 Stefan served as the Associate and Resident Conductor for the Buffalo Philharmonic, where he led the orchestra in over 200 performances on all of the orchestra’s series. In 2016, Stefan was one of 5 featured conductors at the League of American Orchestra’s “Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview.” This prestigious conductor showcase is designed to feature talented young conductors poised for music directorships with American Orchestras and was hosted by Maestro Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony.

Prior to a career as a conductor, Stefan was an internationally renowned trombonist, having performed as a soloist in North America, Asia and Europe. His performance of Eric Ewazen’s Concerto for Bass Trombone and Orchestra, with the Czech Philharmonic can be heard on the Albany Records label. Sanders was a member of the Buffalo Philharmonic’s trombone section for seven seasons and has performed with several orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Florida Orchestra, and the Seattle Opera’s 2001 production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Stefan was a fellow at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen under the tutelage of maestros Larry Rachleff, Robert Spano, and Hugh Wolff. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Interlochen Arts Academy.

 

Featured Musician

Kristin Stiteler – Viola

Kristin Stiteler is a native of Ohio and began playing the violin in 3rd grade.  She has taught both band and orchestra classes at all grade levels for over twenty six years in both Ohio and North Carolina.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from The Ohio State University where she studied both violin and jazz saxophone.  She also marched bass drum in The Ohio State University Marching Band, holding the distinction of being the first female bass drum player in the history of the band.

Miss Stiteler is an accomplished musician on several instruments and has performed regularly with multiple ensembles.  She has performed with several symphony orchestras in Ohio, North Carolina, and South Carolina since 1997 and she is currently in her 21st year of playing Viola with the Fayetteville (NC) Symphony Orchestra where she held the position of Principal Violist for several years

When not playing her viola, Miss Stiteler enjoys playing Celtic and American Folk music on mandolin, banjo, and guitar.  As a member of the Classical Mandolin Society of America, she has traveled to Wisconsin, Illinois, and New York City to perform as a member and a soloist with classical mandolin orchestras on both mandolin and mandola.  Most recently she traveled to Japan and Italy to perform with the Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra

Miss Stiteler conducted the Cumberland County Youth Orchestra from 2002-2016, and has held several leadership roles at both the Region and County levels.  She has been invited to serve as Guest Clinician for All-County Ensembles in nearby NC districts, and is an active member of NAfME, NCMEA, American String Teacher Association, and the Classical Mandolin Society of America.

Miss Stiteler has taught orchestra in the Cumberland County School District since 2002 and is currently the orchestra teacher at John Griffin Middle School.

To Educate. To Entertain. To Inspire.

The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1956 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and is a professional, regional orchestra whose mission is to educate, entertain, and inspire the citizens of the Fayetteville, North Carolina region as the leading musical resource.  Praised for its artistic excellence, the Symphony leads in the cultural and educational landscape for Fayetteville and the southeastern North Carolina region.

The Fayetteville Symphony typically performs 8 concerts during any given season performing both at Methodist University and Fayetteville State University. Partnerships with other agencies include collaborative performances with Cape Fear Regional Theatre, chamber concerts at St. John’s Episcopal Church, as well as the city’s annual Independence concert with fireworks. The Symphony brings music to the schools and the community by performing educational concerts, as well as having its own Fayetteville Symphony Youth Orchestra, after school strings and summer music camps.

This organization is supported in part by a space grant from the BB&T Term Endowment of Cumberland Community Foundation, Inc.


sign up for our e-mail

Follow Us:


Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 302
Fayetteville, NC 28302

Office Location:
310 Green St., Suite 101
Fayetteville, NC 28301
P: (910) 433-4690
F: (910)433-4699		 Office Hours:
Monday-Thursday
9:00am-5:00pm

info@fayettevillesymphony.org

Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra

310 GREEN ST., SUITE 101
Fayetteville, NC 28301

Website design by Minuteman Press Web Design