Steven L. Reed
Conductor, Lake Michigan Youth Orchestra

Steven L. Reed has recently retired from teaching instrumental music in the St. Joseph Public Schools since 1977.   He continues to direct the Lake Michigan Youth Orchestra program sponsored by the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra.  Mr. Reeds holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree, cum laude, from Western Michigan University with graduate work at the University of Michigan.  Mr. Reed was elected “Michigan Orchestra Teacher of the Year” in 1997 by the membership of the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA), and received the Michigan American String Teacher Association (MASTA) “Teacher of the Year” Award in 2004. He is recognized in the “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers”, has served MSBOA as Vice-President of Orchestral Activities and as President of District VI for two terms and is the  Past-President of the Michigan American String Teacher Association.  Most recently, Mr. Reed has been named winner of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) “Elizabeth Green” Award.  This award is given to one public school string teacher per year on the national level. 

Under Mr. Reed's direction, the St. Joseph Orchestras have received top ratings at Michigan School Band and Orchestra Festivals for the past 30 years in a row, and have performed five times at the Midwest Conference on School Vocal and Instrumental Music held at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Michigan and now held at the Amway Grand Plaza and DeVos Conference Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Every four years the Orchestras plan a major performance tour, which in the past have included two tours to Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City, and two European tours in 1994 and in 2006.  The first Europe tour included major cities in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, and the second included concerts in Florence and Venice, Italy, and Innsbruck and Salzburg, Austria.   Most recently, the St. Joseph Orchestras were invited to perform a full length concert in the famed Carnegie Hall in New York City.  Included in this 2010 concert tour  were performances at Lincoln Center in New York, Schlesinger Hall and the National Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C.

Mr. Reed remains active as a professional musician with the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Brass Quintet, and the Renaissance String Quartet.  His wife, Susan, a professional cellist, is the Executive Director of Music for the Citadel Dance and Music Program in Benton Harbor.  Their son Jonathan, is a second year graduate student at Rice University in Houston, Texas,  majoring in double bass performance.  Their youngest son Alex, has completed one year at Lake Michigan College and is presently pursuing his passion in the popular music business by touring with the Tallahassee Florida band, GoRadio.

Rachel Cabanilla-Sinnett Encore Strings Conductor Originally from the Chicago area, Rachel G. Cabanilla-Sinnett began her musical studies at age five. Ms Cabanilla-Sinnett earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and a B. A. in Spanish at Andrews University. She recently finished a Masters Degree in String Pedagogy and Music Education from Northwestern University. Ms Cabanilla-Sinnett has guest conducted at MSBOA Mid-level Clinics as well as taught at MASTA Summer String Camps. Currently she works for the St. Joseph Public School district, teaching Orchestra at Upton Middle School and Music Theory at the High School. Ms. Cabanilla-Sinnett plays violin and viola and teaches privately through the Citadel Dance and Music program. . Beth Oeseburg Concert Strings Conductor Beth Oeseburg was born and raised in Kalamazoo, where she began studying violin at age seven. She went on to study music at Western Michigan University where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree, specializing in violin performance. Since then, she has performed in the Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and South Bend symphony orchestras, as well as the Southwest Michigan Symphony and LaPorte County Orchestra. She is currently teaching in the Saint Joseph school orchestra program as Artist in Residence for high strings, as well as teaching privately through the Citadel Dance and Music Program on both violin and viola. Beth currently performs in the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Concertmaster and is the immediate past Concertmaster of the LaPorte Symphony.