About Me

George Yefchak began his musical training with piano at age six, followed by clarinet in the fourth grade and oboe in high school. He credits his love of orchestral music to the Star Wars soundtrack album he received for his 15th birthday. George took his first conducting lesson in high school but waited fifteen years to take more, studying briefly with Joyce Johnson-Hamilton and Eric Kujawsky. His conducting repertoire now includes more than 90 composers from Gershwin to Golijov. Principal conductor of the Hewlett-Packard Symphony Orchestra throughout its existence, George now leads the South Bay Philharmonic, an ensemble which has offered a "friendly and welcoming atmosphere for orchestral musicians from a wide range of backgrounds and skill levels" since 2009. George has guest-conducted performances with the Nova Vista, Redwood, and Saratoga Symphonies. As an oboist, he performs regularly with several orchestras in the Bay Area. When not rehearsing or performing, George works as a scientist and programmer for chemical analysis instrumentation at Agilent Technologies.

George Yefchak began his musical training with piano at age six, followed by clarinet in the fourth grade and oboe in high school. He credits his love of orchestral music to the Star Wars soundtrack album he received for his 15th birthday. George took his first conducting lesson in high school but waited fifteen years to take more, studying briefly with Joyce Johnson-Hamilton and Eric Kujawsky. His conducting repertoire now includes more than 90 composers from Gershwin to Golijov. Principal conductor of the Hewlett-Packard Symphony Orchestra throughout its existence, George now leads the South Bay Philharmonic, an ensemble which has offered a "friendly and welcoming atmosphere for orchestral musicians from a wide range of backgrounds and skill levels" since 2009. George has guest-conducted performances with the Nova Vista, Redwood, and Saratoga Symphonies. As an oboist, he performs regularly with several orchestras in the Bay Area.

George Yefchak began his musical training with piano at age six, followed by clarinet in the fourth grade and oboe in high school. He credits his love of orchestral music to the Star Wars soundtrack album he received for his 15th birthday. George took his first conducting lesson in high school but waited fifteen years to take more, studying briefly with Joyce Johnson-Hamilton and Eric Kujawsky. He conducted the Hewlett-Packard Symphony Orchestra throughout its existence and now leads the South Bay Philharmonic, a group which offers a “friendly and welcoming atmosphere for orchestral musicians from a wide range of backgrounds and skill levels.” George has guest-conducted several performances with Redwood Symphony and Nova Vista Symphony. As an oboist, he performs regularly with several orchestras in the Bay Area.

George Yefchak began his musical training with piano at age 6, followed by clarinet in the fourth grade. He credits his love of orchestral music to the Star Wars soundtrack album he received for his 15th birthday. Taking up the oboe in high school, George managed to play in every available ensemble at the University of Dayton; in one semester, this included 14 groups at the same time. Somehow he also managed to get a degree in chemistry. He stopped playing the oboe in grad school, earning a Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 1990, but started again after joining the Hewlett-Packard Symphony Orchestra in 1993. George regularly plays in Redwood Symphony and appears often with other local groups. As a conductor, he has led the HP Symphony since 1994. An ardent Star Trek fan, he first conducted the Nova Vista Symphony wearing an authentic Starfleet uniform. Despite this, Nova Vista named him their Assistant Conductor in 2006. In addition to musical duties, George manages Redwood Symphony's web site and typesets their concert programs. He works as a research scientist for Agilent Technologies, the 1999 spin-off of HP, designing chemical analysis instrumentation.

George Yefchak took his first conducting lesson in high school but waited fifteen years to take more, studying briefly with Joyce Johnson-Hamilton and Eric Kujawsky. George has appeared as guest conductor with Redwood and Nova Vista Symphonies, as well as smaller ensembles. Recently he led several performances of Peter and the Wolf featuring members of Nova Vista Symphony. In 2006 George was named Assistant Conductor of Nova Vista Symphony. The Spring 2007 season marks his fourteenth year as principal conductor of the HPSO. As an oboist, George performs regularly with Redwood Symphony and often appears with other community groups including Peninsula Symphony, Master Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra, Nova Vista Symphony, the Saratoga Symphony, and the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra.