Our Conductors
A conductor, pianist, and organist, Andrew Hauze has been Music Director and Conductor of the Delaware County Youth Orchestra since 2014. He is also a Senior Lecturer in Music at Swarthmore College, where he has taught since 2006. At Swarthmore, Mr. Hauze directs the College Orchestra and Wind Ensemble and teaches musicianship, conducting, and orchestration.
With DCYO, Mr. Hauze has collaborated with guest artists Jennifer Montone, Marcantonio Barone, Randall Scarlata, David Kim, Lio Kuokman, and Udi Bar-David. Other recent performances include: piano soloist in Mozart’s Triple Piano Concerto, K. 242 and Piano Concerto no. 12, K. 414, both with Chamber Orchestra First Editions; music director of two multimedia programs featuring music of Stravinsky, Copland, and Britten in collaboration with Orchestra 2001; improvising organist for the 1929 silent film version of The Phantom of the Opera; and duo pianist with Marcantonio Barone at a Rachmaninoff symposium at the University of Pennsylvania. He has also been chosen as the volume editor of George Gershwin’s Song-Book for the Gershwin Critical Edition (University of Michigan).
Mr. Hauze has frequently collaborated as a guest pianist and conductor with Astral Artists. He has conducted works by Mozart, Knussen, and Golijov on Astral’s Philadelphia concert series, and he is a regular panelist for Astral’s National Auditions. Mr. Hauze has conducted productions of Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti at Twickenham Fest in Huntsville, Alabama, Argento’s Postcard from Morocco at the Curtis Opera Theatre, and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice at Swarthmore College. He has also served as a vocal coach at the Bryn Mawr Conservatory of Music and for the CoOperative Program at Westminster Choir College.
Mr. Hauze graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2007, where he majored in orchestral conducting. He received his B.A. in music from Swarthmore College and his A.A. from Bard College at Simon’s Rock. He also holds the Fellowship and Choirmaster certifications from the American Guild of Organists. His principal teachers have included Dennis Sweigart, Shelly Moorman-Stahlman, Anne Chamberlain, Albert Sly, Marcantonio Barone, Otto-Werner Mueller, and Jeffrey Brillhart.
Nicholas Pignataro – YMO Conductor
In 2015, Nicholas Pignataro joined the Young Musicians’ Orchestra as Music Director and Conductor. He is a member of the faculty of Strath Haven High School, where he teaches music and directs the Symphony Orchestra, String Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, and Panther Marching Band. Before joining the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District, Mr. Pignataro taught in the Penn-Delco School District and at St. Hilary of Poitiers School. In 2018, he was recognized with the Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union Excellence in Teaching Award, and in 2015, he received the Professional Hero Award from the Delaware County Right to Education Task Force for his work with students with special needs. Mr. Pignataro values technology as a teaching tool and became a Google Level 2 Certified Educator in 2020.
He has appeared as a conductor with Bravo Brass for five seasons and has acted as rehearsal conductor for the Drexel University Concert Band, the Drexel Orchestra, the Youth Orchestra of Bucks County Philharmonia and the Atlantic Brass Band. He served as the music director at St. Anne Church for their neighborhood classical music concert series “Music at St. Anne’s.”
In the world of theater, he has led performances at the Player’s Club of Swarthmore, the Sun Valley High School Theatre, and has served as music director for Cardinal O’Hara High School Theater and Upper Darby Summer Stage Children’s Theater.
Mr. Pignataro studied conducting with Paul Bryan of the Curtis Institute of Music and with Joseph Caminiti in West Chester University, where he earned a Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting in 2018. He graduated from Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance in 2011 with a degree in Music Education. At Temple, he studied trumpet with Eric Schweingruber and Roger Blackburn of The Philadelphia Orchestra. He has returned to Temple University in pursuit of a Master of Music Education degree.
Jason Majerczak – YMB Conductor
Jason Majerczak has been a member of the Upper Darby School District teaching community for over 26 years.
Originally from Rutherford New Jersey (right outside New York City), Mr. Majerczak began studying percussion at a young age. He was involved in numerous school band programs and outside ensembles. His passion for music took off when he became a member of the World Champion Bushwackers Drum and Bugle Corps. He attended West Chester University where he received his Bachelors degree in music education and percussion. While at West Chester he was a member of the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps.
Upon completing his degree, Mr. Majerczak was hired by the Upper Darby School District in 1998 as the high school band director. While there, he was in charge of the Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Indoor Drumline and indoor Colorguard programs. He helped to bring numerous championships to the Upper Darby programs including a USBANDS National Marching Band Title, two Cavalcade of Bands championships, various Jazz Band and Wind Ensemble awards and a WGI Scholastic Open Class national championship percussion title. He remained at Upper Darby High School until 2013.
Mr. Majerczak moved to the instrumental director position at Drexel Hill Middle School in 2014. In that position, he oversees the Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band and Orchestra.
In 2020, Mr. Majerczak was proud to be announced a top ten finalist (out of over 3500 candidates across the country) for the Grammy teacher of the year award.
When not at school, Mr. Majerczak enjoys spending time with his wife Carie, four children and dog. He is an active marching band show designer, drill writer and adjudicator for the USBANDS Circuit. He is a member of PMEA and the Vic Firth Education Team.