MCO

WAYNE LINEHAN, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Wayne Linehan earned degrees in music from the State University College at Fredonia, New York and the State University of New York at Buffalo and is presently pursuing a DMA at USM.  A trumpeter with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, he performs with the Capital Brass, MSO Brass Quintet, Mississippi Opera, Meridian Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, and the International Ballet Competition Orchestra.  He has played with The Buffalo Symphony Orchestra, The Buffalo Pops Orchestra, Johnny Mathis, and the New York production of Camelot.  He is an adjunct professor at Mississippi College and Millsaps College.  As a conductor, he organized and directed the Jackson Trumpet Ensemble and the Mississippi Brass Choir and has been a band director at the college, high school, and junior high school levels.  For two years he conducted a professional orchestra made up of MSO personnel for St. James episcopal Church's celebration of Epiphany "Baroque by Candlelight." 

Ryan Rogers, CONCERTMASTER 

Ryan Rogers grew up in Monroe, Louisiana where he began learning to play the violin in the 5th grade under Ms. Johnnie Bankhead.  He chose the violin because there was one in his grandad’s garage.  “Grandaddy had purchased the Venetian-made Lorenzini for his son, Wesley.  However it had not been played since 1938 when the 13 year-old tragically drowned in Bayou DeSiard behind their home.  It’s the violin I still play.”

Ryan quickly found classical excerpts from the beginners’ Orchestral Transcriptions especially appealing – as well as baseball.  He pursued both the rest of his school days culminating in his graduation from LSU with a B.S. in mathematics and an “L Club” membership in baseball having received excellent violin instruction from Dr. ‘Dinos’ Constantinides.  After working as an assembler computer programmer in Houston for a year, Ryan landed a position with AT&T (dba South Central Bell) as an engineer back home in Monroe.  He was naturally drawn to play in the Monroe Symphony.  There as an unexpected bonus he met his future wife, Mary Hickman, who was finishing her college days at NLU.   Previously Mary had come over to Jackson with Nancy Baltz to play in the Jackson Symphony.  So in 1973 Ryan and Mary for the 1st time together commuted from Monroe to play in our Symphony – while still single.

Married in 1975 they briefly lived in Monroe and Nashville before settling in Clinton for the long haul in the Fall of 1976.  Here they raised their 3 children, Mary started hundreds of beginning string students, and Ryan continued his career with AT&T.  They both have especially fond memories of another violin-playing couple – Roger and Colleen DiGiulian – who began the orchestral program in Monroe.  Through the DiGiulian’s Ryan and Mary were afforded the opportunity to play “in an orchestra” as part of their normal school experience.  To them and many others it was a very special and valuable educational experience.  Their hope is that we can continue to make “school orchestra” available for our children and grandchildren, as a musical legacy.

ROBERT MCNALLY, CONCERTMASTER Emeritus

Robert M. McNally is a native of Tulsa Oklahoma, a product of the Tulsa Public Schools string program and has been a Mississippian since 1976 when he became Concertmaster of the Mississippi Symphony. He was Concertmaster of the Arkansas State Symphony at age 19, the Tulsa Philharmonic, Opera and Ballet. Bob served as Concertmaster for twenty-nine years until he retired in 2005. He studied with Tosca Berger Kramer, a pupil of Willy Hess and Louis Persinger, Ramon Girvin of the American Conservatory and Cosmopolitan School of Music in Chicago, and additional study with Andor Toth of the Alma Trio and New Hungarian String quarter. He has taught at the University of Tulsa, University of Southern Mississippi, Jackson State University, and Mississippi College. , Mr. McNally was Conductor of the Tulsa Youth Symphony, The University of Tulsa Symphony, Assistant Conductor of the Philharmonic, and has conducted the Greenville Symphony as well as the Mississippi Symphony. In the 1980's Robert was the Concertmaster and the following two seasons principle Conductor of the Symphony School of America. Mr. McNally is nationally known for his extensive contribution to chamber music, having been Artist-Faculty of the prestigious Taos School of Chamber Music for many years. He has performed with New Orleans, Alabama and North Carolina Symphonies. In 1971, he was selected to play in the World Symphony Orchestra in New York, Washington D.C., and Orlando, Florida with 144 Musicians from around the world. I love playing in the Cosmopolitan Chamber Orchestra. I love helping musicians in any way I possibly can to achieve whatever they need to bring their musical goals to a happy conclusion. It benefits Me even more!"

BOARD of DIRECTORS