Michael Repper

Music Director and Conductor

Michael Repper is one of the most sought-after young conductors in the world. With work spanning four continents, Mr. Repper has an international reputation for engaging and exciting audiences of all spectrums, and for promoting new and diverse musical talents. In 2023, he became the youngest American conductor to win a Grammy® Award in Best Orchestral Performance.

Mr. Repper is the Music Director of the Ashland Symphony Orchestra, Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, New York Youth Symphony, Northern Neck Orchestra of Virginia, and the Principal Conductor of Sinfonía por el Perú, the elite youth orchestras and choruses representing one of South America’s most versatile social impact music programs. Recognizing his success at these ensembles, and his growing profile as a guest conductor all over the world, Mr. Repper was awarded a Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Award in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

His album with the New York Youth Symphony, which features debut recordings of works by Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, and Valerie Coleman, achieved widespread critical acclaim, reached #1 on the Billboard Chart, a won a GRAMMY® Award, the first youth orchestra to achieve this milestone.

Mr. Repper has collaborated on large-scale productions of symphonic and theatrical works with the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Ravinia Festival, Peabody Institute of Music, and the New School of Music, among others. An avid pianist, he regularly performs as a soloist alongside his orchestras and choruses, and as an orchestral player as well. Most recently, he played in the Chicago Symphony for their performances of Bernstein’s Mass, which was broadcast on PBS Great Performances. ​

​Alongside the standard repertoire, Mr. Repper is especially invested in programming new music and showcasing fresh talent. His ensembles have performed dozens of world premieres and pursued innovative commissions, as well as a variety of Carnegie Hall premieres from established and emerging composers. Mr. Repper was the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Conducting Fellow for two seasons, and he served as the BSO’s New Music Consultant.  A trusted ear, Mr. Repper is asked to assist and cover at orchestras nationwide, including the St. Louis Symphony, and for Naxos recordings with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra. His experience with choruses has been recognized with significant positions, including his tenure as the Music Director at the Baltimore Basilica, the first Catholic Cathedral in the United States. Internationally, Mr. Repper has performed with some of the most highly regarded ensembles and in the world’s greatest venues, including the São Paulo Symphony, and at the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona.

His discography includes the aforementioned album of music with the New York Youth Symphony, alongside an album with the Grammy-Nominated Metropolis Ensemble and Grammy-Winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus (“Musical America”), and several with the Peabody Institute as an Assistant Conductor. With the New York Youth Symphony during the Coronavirus pandemic, he was one of the first to pioneer the practice of distanced orchestral performance videos, and he made two performance appearances on CNN, the final one with Platinum-Artist Billy Ray Cyrus.

Mr. Repper complements his work with professional orchestras with a firm commitment to education, and travels worldwide to work with ensembles of young musicians. As Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Maryland, he ushered in a slate of innovative educational programming, such as the Reinecke Youth Chamber Music Scholarship and Fellowship Program. He conducts several masterclasses each year for orchestras from all over the United States on behalf of the New York Philharmonic, and conducts side-by-side and educational concerts with major orchestras, including the Baltimore Symphony and the Colorado Symphony.

Mr. Repper’s most influential conducting mentors are Marin Alsop and the late Gustav Meier. He believes that a conductor’s main role is to connect people and to use performance as a vehicle for positive change. He aims to promote a diverse and inclusive future for the arts, and to pay forward the passion for community that his mentors demonstrated to him.

Catch news of his full season of upcoming concerts at Carnegie Hall and worldwide at www.mikerepper.com.

Martha Buckner

Executive Director

Martha Buckner began serving as the General Manager of the Ashland Symphony Orchestra in July of 2014 and was named Executive Director in May 2016. Since joining the ASO, Martha has introduced the “wildly” successful Traveling Instrument Petting Zoo, the Change for Music Education fund campaign, and the Podium Endowment in honor of Maestro Arie Lipsky fund campaign.

She served on the ASO Board of Directors from 2012-2014. Prior to joining the staff of the ASO, she served as the Supervisor of Bookmobile and Outreach at the Ashland Public Library. Martha has a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics from The Ohio State University. Martha brings to the ASO her dedication to the organization and her passion for music and outreach. She occasionally participates in the music programs at Christ United Methodist Church, Ashland, and has been a member of the Ashland Musical Club for many years. She is a member and past-president of local chapter FJ of P.E.O., an Ambassador for the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce, and was recognized as an Ashland County Woman of Achievement in 2016.

Harold Weller (R), 1970-1977, Music Director Laureate

Arie Lipsky (L), 1996-2019, Music Director Laureate

Hanna Strickland

Administrative Assistant

Hanna Strickland became the Ashland Symphony Orchestra’s administrative assistant in November 2024. An Ashland native, Hanna’s love of orchestral music began when she joined the Ashland City School District orchestra in the fourth grade, where she played the viola for the rest of her academic life.

In addition to working for ASO, Hanna is the manager at Adonai of Ashland Performing Arts Studio, where she teaches dance and cheer classes. Hanna also serves on the board of directors for Camp Bethany in Lakeville, Ohio.

Before joining the staff, Hanna worked at Uniontown Brewing Co. for three years as a server and bartender. She also attended some college in Chicago, Il, before covid hit, studying Ministry to Victims of Sexual Exploitation. After college she interned with the Brethren Church, Global Partners in South Africa for several months, working and living in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Hanna was working in communities after a devastating flood, teaching dance to children, visiting the sick and elderly, speaking at churches and working in their church office.