Our Directors

With energy, imagination, and a passion for people, American conductor Dr. Rachel Waddell proves an unabashed advocate for the 21st century orchestra. Her leadership across the country demonstrates her innate ability to transform vision into action. Rachel believes by uplifting, celebrating, and reflecting the artistry of our neighbors, orchestras become the creative heartbeat of our communities. Through breathtaking collaborations and an untiring dedication to education, mentorship, and community, Rachel inspires transformative experiences and ensembles. 

Rachel is excited to join the Longmont Youth Symphony as their new Music Director. She additionally serves as the Director of Orchestras at Colorado State University. From 2012-17, the Canton Youth Symphonies garnered remarkable growth under her leadership, growing to three youth orchestras and over 200 students. In 2015, they were named the Youth Orchestra of the Year by the Classics Alive Foundation in Los Angeles. Rachel’s contributions to music education were recognized in 2024, when she was named a quarterfinalist for the 2025 Music Educator Award through the GRAMMYs. She is a popular clinician and guest conductor throughout the country. She conducted the Texas Music Educators Association All State Sinfonietta Orchestra in 2025, and the AA Montana Festival Orchestra in Helena in 2024. Previously she was the Director of Orchestral Activities with the Arthur Satz Department of Music at the University of Rochester in New York. Her work with the UR Orchestras gained recognition as a two-time national winner for the American Prize’s Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral Programming in 2019 and 2020. As a highlight of Rachel’s interdisciplinary and multimedia concerts, the UR Orchestras achieved international acclaim in collaboration with conductor Tiffany Chang and Oberlin Conservatory through a digital performance of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, named Best Instrumental Performance of 2021 by the LIT Talent Awards. 

Rachel maintains a busy profile in the professional and academic worlds. She has conducted orchestras around the world including the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Rochester, Las Vegas, Fort Wayne, and Denver Philharmonics, the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, and Cleveland’s Suburban Symphony. While serving as the Associate Conductor of the Canton Symphony Orchestra in Ohio, Rachel conducted over 80 performances of classical, pops, and education concerts. She has attended numerous conducting programs including the Dallas Opera’s prestigious Hart Institute for Women Conductors, and Mark Shapiro’s Conducting Intensive at Juilliard. In August 2022 she made her Vienna debut conducting Così fan tutte as part of the Vienna Opera Academy. In July 2023 she made her Canadian debut with the Orchestre Métropolitain, after being selected to conduct by Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Le Domaine Forget de Charlevoix.

Rachel’s interest in the constantly evolving role and responsibility of orchestras within their communities led her to co-found Conductors for Change, Inc., a 501(c)(3) for anyone reimagining the future of the American orchestra. In 2023, Conductors for Change received a grant from the Puffin Foundation to launch the organization’s IdeaLab. Her research centers on the role of the 21st century orchestra, especially within liberal arts education. 

Rachel holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition from the Hartt School of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestra Conducting from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Rachel also earned a certificate in Music Industry Essentials from the prestigious Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in collaboration with Yellowbrick. 

To learn more about Rachel Waddell please visit www.rachelwaddellconductor.com or follow her on Instagram @rachel_waddell_conductor .

Jonathan West is a Colorado-based music educator. While growing up in Colorado Springs, Jonathan began playing the cello with the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association and the horn in his public school program. 

While studying for a Bachelor of Music Education degree at The University of Northern Colorado, Jonathan took cello lessons from Gal Faganel. As a member of the University Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Russel Guyver, Jonathan played for soloists such as Rachel Barton Pine, Peter Stumpf, and Robert deMaine.

At the outset of his teaching career, Jonathan was a teaching assistant during the inaugural years of the UNC String Project, a weekly after-school program for beginning string students in the fourth and fifth grades. This program helped solidify Jonathan’s love for teaching. Jonathan was featured in an article about the program’s success: “Colorado Teacher Shortage Presents Opportunities For Some Future Educators” by Stephanie Daniel on KUNC.org. As a young conductor, Jonathan was selected for the Colorado Music Educator Association 2019 Conducting Clinic and participated in the master class with Larry Livingston. For the 2021 CMEA conference, Jonathan was invited to speak for a panel session “Mixtures for Success,” discussing how new teachers are surviving teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jonathan is in his 6th year as Director of Orchestras at Creighton Middle School and Lakewood Area Elementary Schools teaching grades 5 through 8. During his time there, his orchestras have received “Excellent” and “Superior” ratings at large group festivals. His students participate in Solo and Ensemble competitions and perform for community organization events like the Lakewood Symphony.  Jonathan is now in his 3rd season as Director of the Longmont Youth Symphony’s ‘Longmont Youth String Ensemble,’ and is Assistant Manager of Camp Con Brio: String Camp of the Rockies, a summer youth orchestra camp. Jonathan has recently judged and cliniced several orchestras for the 2024 Nordic Festival in Poudre Public Schools.

Carrie Borja is the Director of Bands at Westview Middle School, in the St. Vrain Valley School District. Being an active musician in her schools’ ensembles from an early age, she became inspired by the impact music has on young lives and decided to pursue becoming a music educator. She attended the University of Colorado Boulder where she studied French Horn with Michael Thornton, and studied Conducting/Music Education with Dr. Matthew Roeder and Dr. Matthew Dockendorf. 

During her time at CU, Ms. Borja performed with the Symphonic Band, Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra, and several brass quintets. She also played in the CU Athletic Bands and the Golden Buffalo Marching Band, where she served two years as a Drum Major. Ms. Borja was the recipient of the Colorado Bandmasters Association’s 2019 Student Teacher Scholarship.  

Ms. Borja has worked with a variety of young ensembles and instrumentalists having served as, a conductor for the Middle School Ensemble program, Band Director at the St. Louis K-8 Catholic School, as the Head Counselor for the CU Middle School Summer Music Academy, and is still actively teaching young French Horn players in the Longmont area. 

As a lifelong learner, Ms. Borja continually pursues opportunities to grow as a teacher, musician, and conductor. She is a member of the National Association of Music Educators, the Colorado Bandmasters Association, regularly attends conferences for professional development, participates in conducting clinics, and performs as a member of the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project in Schladming, Austria. 

Ms. Borja is passionate about motivating youth through a shared connection to music and is inspired by the talent, tenacity, and creativity of young musicians.