Alexander Corbett
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Alexander Corbett leads a diverse career as a conductor and educator. He is Music Director of the Chamber Orchestra at the University of Minnesota – Morris, where he also teaches violin, viola, chamber music, orchestra literature, and string techniques. He is also Music Director of the Heartland Symphony Orchestra. He has previously served as conductor of the College of Saint Benedict – Saint John’s University Symphony Orchestra and taught at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. Under Corbett’s artistic leadership, the orchestra at the University of Minnesota – Morris has undergone tremendous growth, gaining national recognition for its performance and outreach initiatives. In addition to featuring renowned guest performers and composers, the ensemble routinely premieres new works, plays alongside youth musicians across the country, engages in frequent community outreach activities, and embarks on an annual performance tour of the United States. A fervent advocate for young musicians, Corbett was appointed a coach for the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies and serves on the board of the Eckblad Williams Community Fund, an arts organization that provides grant support to Minnesota’s K-12 string players. As the director of the Heartland Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Concerto Competition, he regularly rehearses, performs, and collaborates with promising young soloists. In demand as a guest educator and conductor, his recent engagements include invitations to the Shattuck-Saint Mary’s Pre-Conservatory, Bemidji State University, Mississippi Strings Camp, Lakes Area Music Festival, MNSOTA Middle Level Orchestra Festival, Bravo! Institute, and orchestra workshops at schools across the country. An avid proponent of new music, Corbett regularly works in collaboration with living composers to bring their orchestral music to life. He has conducted the UMM Chamber Orchestra in countless premieres of new works by renowned composers including Daniel Breedon, Steven Makela, and J. Wesley Flinn. As Artistic Director of the Heartland Symphony Orchestra’s biennial Composers’
Competition, he routinely works with the winning composers to prepare and conduct their scores in a series of springtime concerts across Minnesota. Corbett earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Violin Performance with Sally O’Reilly at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, where he was a Berneking Fellow and Graduate Assistant. Other teachers include Joanne Cohen, Mark Russell Smith, Lydia Artymiw, and Scott Jones. During his studies, he was awarded full scholarships to a variety of summer programs, including the Brevard Music Institute (Brevard, NC), Bravo! Institute (Minneapolis, MN), and the Pienza Music Festival (Pienza, Italy). He has appeared as concertmaster and soloist with many orchestras, including the University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, Bethlehem Chamber Orchestra, and Concordia Orchestra. He has won first prize in numerous competitions, including the MMTA Artistic Ambassador Competition and Concordia College’s concerto competition. Corbett maintains teaching studios in Saint Cloud and Morris, Minnesota. He lives in Minnesota with his wife, Kate Bae, who teaches piano at the University of Minnesota – Morris.
