Petko Dimitrov is the Music Director of the Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra and Conductor of the WCYO Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Dimitrov also serves as Assistant Conductor of the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of Symphony in C in Camden, New Jersey and Principle Guest Conductor of the New Symphony Orchestra in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Petko took his first music lessons at the age of seventeen from his grandfather, a choral conductor, arranger, and composer. He graduated the State Academy of Music in 2000 with a Bachelor Degree in Music Pedagogy. In his native Bulgaria he also studied orchestra conducting with Ivan Bakalov, Vassil Kazandjiev, and Rossen Milanov. Petko made his debut as a conductor with the New Symphony Orchestra, Sofia, Bulgaria in May 1998, performing a concert with music by Sir Michael Tippet and Henry Purcell in collaboration with The British Council. Since then he has been an Assistant Conductor and Principal Guest Conductor of the New Symphony Orchestra and has performed subscription concerts and commissions regularly. He has also been active as a Conductor of a Chamber Ensemble of the Orchestra.
In 2001, Petko began studying and working in the United States. In 2004, he completed his Master Degree in Orchestra Conducting at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, under the direction of Prof. Kenneth Kiesler. During his time in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he performed concerts with the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Campus Philharmonia Orchestra, and Campus Symphony Orchestra. In 2006, he completed his studies with Prof. Gustav Meier at the Peabody Conservatory, John Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, where he pursued a Graduate Performance Diploma in Orchestral Conducting. In 2007, Maestro Dimitrov was awareded a Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation Fellowship which recognizes accomplished young conductors.
Justin Elkins is the Conductor of the WCYO String Ensemble. Justin, a Wyoming native, began playing the cello in the fourth grade. He completed his junior and senior years of high school at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, and then went on to complete his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in cello performance at the renowned Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York where he studied with distinguished professor of cello Alan Harris. Following graduation, Justin has had an active musical career. In addition to his performances in the Elkins Duo with his wife Marija, a pianist, he has also served as cellist of the North Dakota String Quartet and performed solo concertos with the Cloud Peak Symphony of Wyoming and the Missouri Valley Chamber Orchestra of North Dakota. Justin is currently a regular performer in the Norwalk Symphony, and has also performed with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony. Justin is also a devoted music educator. He served on the faculty of the Talent Education Suzuki School in Norwalk, CT where he was head of the cello department and also taught extensively through the K.E.Y.S. (Kids Empowered By Your Support) program, a non-profit organization that sends professional musicians and teachers into Bridgeport Public Schools to teach students one on one and in groups during the school day. The Elkins Duo has also performed in numerous house concerts throughout the area to raise money to help fund the K.E.Y.S. program. Justin is currently the Orchestra Director at Trumbull High School, where he also teaches music theory.
Albert Montecalvo is the Conductor of the WCYO Wind Ensemble. Al retired from the Carmel, New York School District in 1998 where he taught for thirty years. At Carmel, he was director of middle and high school bands as well as K-12 Director of Music. Al has performed as percussionist with many local orchestras including the Ridgefield Symphony, Chappaqua Orchestra and Danbury Symphony, and has played drums and percussion with various theater groups including the Downtown Cabaret Theater, Seven Angels Theater, Musicals at Richter and TheaterWorks in New Milford. He also performs with the Sonny Carroll Big Band, the Norm Hathaway Orchestra and the Berkshire Big Band.
Al was an adjunct music professor at Western Connecticut State University for five years where he taught music education courses, supervised student teachers and conducted the WCSU Symphonic Band. He has also been the Director of the Summer Band Program for the Danbury Music Centre for the past nine years and has conducted the musicals at Ridgefield High School for the past seven years.
Past Conductors
Ridgefield Symphony Youth Orchestra (now WCYO Symphony Orchestra) – 2003
Ridgefield Symphony Youth Orchestra (now WCYO Symphony Orchestra) – 2003-2006
Ridgefield Symphony Junior Orchestra & WCYO String Ensemble – 2005-2012