Heather Buchman
Heather Buchman has a strong presence across Central New York as a musical artist, leader, advocate, and collaborator. She has conducted the Syracuse Orchestra on numerous engagements, notably on its Spark and Education programs. She has served as regular conductor of the Society for New Music for over 20 years, collaborating with numerous composers, musicians, and other artists on chamber operas, new music and dance programs, and conducting silent films. She performs regularly as a solo trombonist and chamber musician. At Hamilton College she leads the orchestra and chamber music program, and teaches conducting and low brass.
Heather has strategically brought people together at different inflection points to strengthen the vitality and synergy of the performing arts. As board president of the Society for New Music, she helped put in place a new structure and leadership. To support the musicians of the Syracuse Symphony after it closed down in 2011, she helped leverage the voices of musicians, arts and education leaders to advocate for a revitalized professional orchestra. As chair of the Dance Department at Hamilton, she is helping rebuild the program with a new generation of Dance faculty and a revitalized curriculum.
Heather studied trombone with a conducting focus at the Eastman School of Music and San Francisco Conservatory, and orchestral conducting at the University of Michigan and the Juilliard School. She served as Principal Trombonist of the San Diego Symphony from 1988-1997 and has played with the San Francisco, Saint Louis, and Detroit Symphonies. She was a prizewinner of the New York Philharmonic Young Artists Concerto Competition and the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, Germany. In 2021 she was named a finalist for the American Prize for Conducting, College and University Division.
Heather has commissioned and premiered numerous new works both as trombonist and conductor. She is an original member of the Rochester-based Hohenfels Trombone Quartet. She is a board member of both the International Conductors Guild and the International Trombone Association, and a past board member of CNY Arts.