Artistic Director & Principal Conductor

Hailed by Odenwälder Zeitung Press (Germany) as “a brilliant conductor” who “formally lived with the music”, American conductor Robert Trocina is recognized for his “innovative approach to programming” and “deep commitment to education of musicians and audiences of all ages” by ArtsATL.

Robert Trocina is Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra (Georgia) since 2006, and Music Director of The Georgia Ballet since 2019. In 2024 he was appointed Artistic Director and Conductor of Atlanta Community Symphony Orchestra, and he serves as Music Director of Korean American Symphony Orchestra, a “friendship” orchestra that performs celebration concerts in Georgia and Alabama for milestones in the South Korea-United States alliance. Trocina serves as Executive Director of New School of Music since 1997.

As Music Director of Northeast Atlanta Ballet for 14 seasons, Trocina conducted over 150 classical ballet productions including Prokofiev’s Cinderella, Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, among others, until the Covid-19 pandemic officially ended the orchestra’s run with NEAB. He made his Opera debut as Guest Conductor of Capitol City Opera, where he conducted acclaimed performances of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Mozart’s The Impreserio.

In addition to these appointments, Trocina maintains an active international presence. Notably, he served as Principal Guest Conductor of Starkenburg Philharmoniker (Germany), where he lead concerts on the prestigious Neujahrskonzerts Series in 2018 and 2019. He recently served as Guest Conductor of Chernivtsi Symphony Orchestra (Ukraine) and Bad Vilbeler Kammerorchester (Germany), where he will make a return engagement in June of 2024. A mainstay in the Atlanta arts community, Trocina served as Guest Conductor of Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra, Atlanta Musicians Orchestra, Atlanta Community Symphony Orchestra, and was Associate Conductor of Atlanta Wind Symphony from 1998-2003. He recently served as Guest Conductor of West Virginia State Philharmonic Orchestra, and his work has involved productions in theaters and on stages across the United States, as well as Canada, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ukraine and Sweden.

With a lifetime commitment to youth education, Trocina serves as Executive Director/CEO of New School of Music (NSM), which he co-founded in 1997. In this position he oversees the music education of approximately 1,500 students spanning five campuses. Trocina served as Music Director of Gwinnett Children's and Youth Orchestras from 1997-2006. In 2007, Trocina renamed the youth orchestra as Gwinnett Symphony Youth Orchestra and assigned it under the umbrella of Gwinnett Symphony. GSYO musicians now receive substantial exposure to the musicians of GSO, notably performing in an annual “Side-by-Side” concert. Trocina co-founded the Rising Star Concerto Competition, where competition winners performed their winning work with Gwinnett Symphony for seven seasons.

Under Trocina’s Artistic Direction, Gwinnett Symphony Musical Arts Consortium (GSMAC) has grown to include the symphony orchestra, symphony chorus, chamber orchestra, wind orchestra, chamber singers, jazz orchestra, and youth orchestra. He recently organized a Ukraine benefit concert that raised over $20,000 to support humanitarian needs during the war, and the symphony chorus performed Rene Clausen’s Memorial in Lincoln Center (NY) on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. He has developed concerts featuring world premier performances, such as Andrew Webb-Mitchell’s Songs of Awe and Wonder, for which the composer traveled from China to attend, and Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by Venezuelan composer, Jose Manuel Garcia. For eight seasons GSMAC has hosted winners of the International Conductors Workshop and Competition as Guest Conductors of Gwinnett Symphony.

Born in New Jersey and raised in the Atlanta arts community, Trocina first discovered classical music at the age of 9 when he began playing trumpet, and subsequently immersed himself in all things musical throughout his school-aged years. He is a graduate of the Bailey School of Music at Kennesaw State University and completed further studies in orchestral conducting at Georgia State University. He studied conducting under Patricio Cobos, William Fred Scott and Steven Byess, and trumpet under Mark Hughes, Jim Thompson and Stephen Winnick. He is a member of The League of American Orchestras and Georgia Music Educators Association. Robert Trocina’s repertoire list, concert archives, and press materials may be found at www.RobertTrocina.com.