Hired by UD in 2002 as an adjunct professor, Stone became a full-time assistant professor in 2004, after which he developed a three-ensemble division of orchestral activities comprised of 100 UD students from all majors.
Under Stone's direction, the orchestral concerts feature a variety of music, including operas, collaborations with choirs, faculty and guest soloists and conductors and winners of the music department's annual student concerto and aria contest. Concerts, typically played to packed auditoriums, repeatedly win Stone and performers enthusiastic feedback.
Besides his orchestra ensembles, Stone also has launched other initiatives in the Department of Music, including full operas with orchestra, a chamber orchestra that plays at off-campus venues, a string orchestra specifically for non-music majors, student conductor opportunities and a study-abroad program in Vienna, Austria.
Stone, who is originally from Los Angeles, earned his bachelor's degree in music from Bennington College, where he studied music composition and the viola, and his master's and doctoral degrees in conducting from the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University. Before joining the Department of Music at UD, he taught at Johns Hopkins.
Article by Becca Hutchinson