LCRMEA

Jon Harris-Clippinger has been with the Salem Youth Symphony organization for 24 years. He currently conducts the Youth Symphony Orchestra, the premier ensemble, and serves as musical director of the Salem Youth Symphony Association. He received his Bachelor of Music Education from Willamette University where he studied conducting under Bruce McIntosh, Martin Behnke, and Wallace Long.  He received his Master of Music Education from the University of Illinois where he studied conducting under Donald Schleicher, Deborah Sheldon, and Kathleen Horvath.

Jon has taught orchestra in Salem-Keizer for 24 years and currently works in the South Salem High School orchestra program at Leslie Middle School and Howard Street Charter School.  He has fostered collaborations between the Newport Youth Symphony at the Oregon Coast (NYSOC), Central Oregon Youth Symphony (COYS), and Salem Youth Symphony.  Members of the organizations have inspired elementary students by producing children’s concerts at the Performing Arts Center in Newport and in the Bend-La Pine school district.  Jon developed the masterclass series connecting SYS musicians with world-renowned teachers and artists from Juilliard, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and beyond.

Jon is the executive director of Summer Strings, an orchestra camp he founded in 1999 that serves 200 area string students.  In 2003, Jon was a guest conductor with the South Salem High School Chamber Orchestra at the prestigious Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. He remains an active member of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), the Oregon Music Education Association (OMEA), and the American String Teachers Association (ASTA).  Jon has been a guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician for the Washington State University Orchestra Festival.  He has adjudicated events for the Evergreen School District Solo & Ensemble Festival, MTNA String Solo Competition, and the Oregon Cello Society.

Jon has privately taught several award-winning cellists.  He received his inspiration for working with youth orchestras as a member of the Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) from 1987-1994 where he toured Europe and Asia under the direction of Jacob Avshalomov.  Jon enjoys living in Salem with his wife, Jennifer, and their daughter, Emma, who plays in Youth Symphony. His son, Caden, Salem Youth Symphony alum and past concerto winner, is off on his next adventure and has begun studying cello performance at the University of Oregon with Steve Pologe, SYS cello coach.