Maestro Mitchell Arnold has been named director of orchestral studies in the West Virginia University College of Creative Arts .

Arnold, who has served as interim director for the past year, is also the new conductor of the WVU Symphony Orchestra and associate professor of music at WVU .

The addition of Mitchell Arnold to our faculty continues WVU s strong tradition of having conductors with great abilities as musicians and as educators,said Keith Jackson , chair of the WVU Division of Music .Students at WVU will benefit from his experience and expertise.

Arnold previously served as acting director of orchestral activities at WVU . Other positions he has held include director of orchestras at Northern Illinois University and assistant director of orchestras at Northwestern University. He has also served on the faculties at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music.

He has been a frequent guest conductor of the Santa Fe Symphony, where he conducted on the gala opening concert of Santa Fes newly renovated Lensic Center for the Performing Arts. Other engagements include the Toledo Symphony Orchestra; the Spoleto Festival USA , where he also assisted Emmanuel Villaume; the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra; the Omaha Symphony; and the Chicago Chamber Symphony.

Arnold has appeared with the Seattle Chamber Players, Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra and Chicago Chamber Orchestra, served as cover conductor for the Cleveland Orchestra and has also worked with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra.

Among theatrical productions he has conducted areCarmen,Amahl and the Night Visitors,Cendrillon,Yeoman of the Guard,Mozart and Salieriand numerous musicals.

He was founder and conductor of Chicagos acclaimed Pitzen Brass Ensemble.

Arnold has an extensive background in new music. He was a composing and performing member of the noted Chicago-based ensemble, Kapture, and was one of the founding directors of New Music Chicago, a nonprofit, new music advocacy organization. He was also a recipient of an Illinois Arts Council artist grant in composition and several commissions.

He has a doctorate in conducting from Northwestern University, where he was a student of Victor Yampolsky. As a trombonist, he was also a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Fellowship Orchestra at Tanglewood.

An orchestra has existed at WVU since at least 1900. In the early years, most of the musicians were from the local community. In 1920, there was a newly organized University Philharmonic Orchestra, made up of 35 members. The first concerts were given at the 1,500-seat auditorium in Commencement Hall on the site where the Mountainlair is now located.

In the 1930s, the community musicians still made up a large part of the orchestra, and it was called the University-Community Orchestra. By the time the Creative Arts Center was completed in 1968, the orchestra was known as the University Symphony.

Today the WVU Symphony Orchestra is recognized as one of the outstanding University orchestras in the East. In addition to its many concerts, the orchestra accompanies oratorio, opera, ballet and soloists. It has performed by invitation at many professional music conferences in the United States.

Conductors have included Max Donner (1920-25); Frank Delli-gatti (1925-28); Kenneth Wood (1928-66); Donald Portnoy (1966-86); Lawrence Christianson (1987-2004); and Harvey Felder (2005-2007).