Richard Giangiulio, Music Director and Conductor of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, is now in his thirty-first season with the GDYO.

Mr. Giangiulio holds music degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School of Music and the Paris Conservatory where he studied under Maurice Andre while on a Fulbright grant, and was awarded the first prize. In 1967, Mr. Giangiulio was a First Medal winner in the Geneva International Trumpet Competition. He has appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the Knoxville Symphony, and at summer festivals in Ansbach, Germany; Lucerne, Switzerland; and Lieksa, Finland. He served as Principal and Co-Principal trumpet of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for thirty-two years. From 1977-1982 Mr. Giangiulio was the assistant conductor for educational concerts with the Dallas Symphony, developing and conducting multi-age youth and park concerts.

Mr. Giangiulio is also the Music Director and Conductor of the Allen Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra as well as Director of the Symphony Orchestra of the Idyllwild Arts Summer Camp in California.

He has recorded seven albums with Crystal Records. Mr. Giangiulio has four children, 3 have been members of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra.

James Frank, in his eleventh season as conductor of the Philharmonic and fourth season as conductor of Sinfonietta, is a native Texan and a third generation music educator. A graduate of the Julliard School, Mr. Frank served as Co-Principal French horn in the Columbus Symphony and as French hornist in the Columbus Symphony Woodwind Quintet. He has directed the orchestras of Richardson High School, Vines High School in Plano and Plano Senior High School. During his tenure these orchestras were consistent sweepstakes winners at U.I.L. and many other competitions. He serves as guest clinician, panelist, and frequent adjudicator for U.I.L. and other major festivals. He has also served as a Southern Association Evaluator and Region III Orchestra Chairman and cover conductor for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Nicholas Williams, in his second season as conductor of the GDYO Wind Symphony, also serves as the conductor of the Concert Band and the director of athletic bands, including the North Texas Green Brigade Marching Band at the University of North Texas. Dr. Williams received his bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees from the University of North Texas in music education and conducting, as a student of Eugene Migliaro Corporon.

Prior to his assignment at UNT, Dr. Williams, an honoree in multiple editions of Who's Who Among America's Educators, was the director of bands at Clark High School in Plano, Texas. Nicholas is active in the Drum Corps International activity, where he is currently the brass caption supervisor of the Madison Scouts, based in Madison, Wisconsin. As an advocate of chamber music, Dr. Williams was the founder and conductor of the East Plano Brass and was the principal guest conductor for the "Harmoniemusik" chamber ensemble. In the wind band world, he has been guest conductor with the Lone Star Wind Orchestra; at the annual Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Illinois; the College Band Directors National Association regional conference; and the Texas Music Educators Association Annual Clinic in San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Williams is active in the United States, Canada and Asia as a clinician, conductor, adjudicator, consultant and arranger; his arrangements for concert and marching percussion ensembles, wind bands, drum corps and marching band are performed by outstanding organizations throughout the world.

Susan Younghans is currently in her sixth season conducting the YPO and DSE. Originally from Buffalo, NY, Susan Younghans came to Texas in 1984 and is recognized as an accomplished teacher, conductor and performer in the Dallas area. Susan received her Bachelor of Music Performance Degree from the State University of New York at Fredonia where she studied with Charles Joseph and a Master of Music Education Degree from the University of North Texas where she furthered her violin studies with Philip Lewis and James Lerch. Susan directed middle and high school strings in Lewisville ISD for seven years where her focus was program building. She maintains a private teaching studio and her students have won numerous contests at the local and state level. Susan is in demand as an adjudicator and clinician and has guided many students to careers in music performance and education. She performs regularly with the Wichita Falls Symphony and freelances locally with her string quartet and other regional orchestras.

Dr. Priscilla Holt directs the orchestra program at Centennial High School in Frisco, Texas. A flute student of Bernard Goldberg, she attended Duquesne University and spent her Sundays playing flute in the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony! She spent summers studying flute and chamber music with Marcel Moyse in Brattleboro and later attended New England Conservatory studying flute with James Pappoutsakis. Inspired by Moyse, she wrote her doctoral dissertation, Twentieth Century Woodwind Chamber Music, while attending the University of Miami and performing in the Boca Raton Symphony, Ft. Lauderdale Symphony and Miami Ballet. Her flute articles have been published in the National Flute Association magazine and she serves as a flute clinician throughout the southwest. Locally, she performs with Texas Winds Musical Outreach and The Grand Avenue Trio.

Mary Shinn holds a BA degree from SMU, a BME degree from UTD, and an MA in Flute Performance from TWU where she was an Honors Performer.  Her teachers have been Dr. Pam Youngblood and Dr. Carol Farrar. Mary served as principal flute of the Garland Symphony from 1977-1986, and the Mesquite Symphony from 1986 to 2000.  She is currently the 2nd flute in the Northeast Texas Symphony and principal flute in the Allen Philharmonic Symphony. She has coached school flute choirs for 25 years, and has been a long time member of the Brookhaven Flute Choir, the TWU Flute Choir, and Flutes Unlimited.  She performed at the 2007 National Flute Convention with Flutes Unlimited. 

A private teacher for over 30 years, she has been the designated flute specialist for Highland Park ISD since 1998, teaching at the Middle School and the High School.  She also is the classroom teacher for the 6th grade beginners. Mary serves as assistant pianist and organist at Walnut Hill United Methodist Church and is the Dallas Area Representative for the Texas Flute Society.