Droste’s guest conducting appearances include the INSO-Lviv Symphony Orchestra (Ukraine), and the orchestras of Kansas City, Indianapolis, Columbus, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Midland-Odessa, Fox Valley (IL), Chappaqua (NY), and the Amarillo Virtuosi. Equally at home in the pit, he has conducted over 30 productions of opera, ballet, and musical theatre. Droste has also led eclectic shows with artists such as Black Violin, Ben Folds, The Flaming Lips, Pink Martini, Michael Cavanaugh, Time for Three, Christian Howes, and Disney’s All-American College Orchestra Alumni, among others. He previously served as Artistic Director of the Muncie Symphony Orchestra, where he was praised for dynamic performances, innovative programming, and his rapport with musicians and community.

A dedicated teacher, Droste is Director of Orchestral Studies at Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music, where he conducts the Baldwin Wallace Symphony Orchestra and teaches conducting. He regularly programs traditional repertoire, works by underrepresented composers, as well as new music by the composers of today. He also seeks unique collaborations and projects, such as Ron McCurdy’s Langston Hughes Project, sensory friendly concerts for children with special needs, and a recording with Tony Award winner Sutton Foster, “Take Me to the World,” on the Ghostlight label.

As an advocate of music education, Droste has conducted numerous all-state orchestras, as well as the Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House, Let Music Live Festival at the Vienna Musikverein and Rodolfinum in Prague, Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts, and an upcoming engagement with the Music for All Honor Orchestra of America. He is also active as a clinician and adjudicator, including Festival Disney, ASTA’s National Orchestra Festival, MCP at Carnegie Hall, and the Music for All National Festival. Droste is a Yamaha Artist and Master Educator.

A talented violinist, Droste has performed with the orchestras of Canton, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Nashville, and the Lancaster Festival, among others. He is also skilled on viola, trumpet, and as a tenor. Droste holds degrees from The Ohio State University and Texas Tech University.

Dorn joined the faculty of St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN in 2023 as Assistant Professor of Conducting and Composition, and he took the helm of the award-winning St. Olaf Band as Conductor. Prior to St. Olaf College, Dorn worked as an Assistant Director of the Memphis Area Youth Wind Ensemble and formerly served as Director to the Nu Chamber Collective. He has also worked with musicians of the United States Army Field Band, the United States Air Force Band, and has guest conducted the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own.” He’s proud to have received multiple awards for his unique style, including an Inaugural Future of Music Faculty Fellowship from the Cleveland Institute of Music and an ASCAP Foundation’s Morton Gould Young Composer Award.

Dorn holds two Doctor of Musical Arts degrees – one in wind conducting and another in composition – from Michigan State University and has completed studies at The University of Memphis and at Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. He has studied conducting with Kevin L. Sedatole, Harlan D. Parker, and Kraig Alan Williams, and composition with David Biedenbender, Ricardo Lorenz, Alexis Bacon, Oscar Bettison, Kamran Ince, and Jack Cooper. www.henryldorn.com