Keeping the community informed about exciting YSO announcements and media coverage that showcases the symphony’s impact. Explore the latest updates and celebrate the enriching experiences the orchestra provides.
Tom Klimek is a musician, music educator, and community organizer whose work is rooted in creating meaningful opportunities for people to experience, learn, and participate in music. His career in music education began with his work at Menchey School of Music, where he developed and led a large-scale private lesson program serving students and educators across the region. His work has centered on building engaging educational experiences, developing teachers, and creating opportunities for students to grow as musicians and performers.
Beyond music education, Tom has become an active organizer and advocate within York’s broader music community. He has developed and supported programming in partnership with organizations including York College, the York Youth Symphony, the York Symphony, and other local institutions. These experiences have ranged from youth music education and performance opportunities to community outreach, summer programming, and events designed to connect musicians and audiences.
Tom is also a co-founder of FH Pappys, a York-based DIY music venue dedicated to providing a home for original and local music while connecting York with artists from across the East Coast. Across his work in education, performance, and community organizing, Tom is passionate about creating spaces where musicians can develop, audiences can connect, and music can become a meaningful part of community life.
He is excited to bring these experiences into his next chapter with the York Symphony Orchestra and to continue contributing to the growth and vitality of York’s musical community.
Nathan Hillman serves as the orchestral librarian for York Symphony Orchestra, while also playing in the viola section. With a background in both orchestral performance and music preparation, Nathan manages the acquisition, marking, and circulation of all performance scores and parts for YSO. He holds a Bachelor of Music in viola performance from Peabody Conservatory, and previously served as orchestral assistant at Union College for several years, where he managed and catalogued their entire music library.
Before moving to the Baltimore area, Nathan co-founded the chamber music program at Bay Chamber Music School in Maine in 2017, coaching ensembles as well as preparing and arranging scores and parts for the musicians. He currently maintains a studio of private violin and viola students around the Baltimore-D.C. area. In addition to performing and teaching, Nathan is an avid composer, arranger, and transcriber, with his works being performed since 2007, including by the Peabody String Sinfonia, Nightingale Trio (as part of Our Joyful Noise Baltimore), and ensembles at Kneisel Hall in Maine.
To balance out a life full of music, Nathan also enjoys time spent in nature, rooted by his rural upbringing on a small farm in Maine, whether that be hiking, camping, stargazing, or photography.
Kevin Irving is passionate about creating meaningful experiences that engage and welcome all in a rich and shared culture. The power of music to unleash an unlimited capacity to dream and feel most fully human has been the driving motivator of a fulfilling forty+-year career in the performing arts.
Kevin got his start as a dancer with the Alvin Ailey dance company and modern dance’s Elisa Monte Dance before joining Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal, where he became a principal dancer. His final professional stint as a dancer was with Twyla Tharp’s company, with whom he performed at the famed Paris Opera Palais Garnier and in the PBS filming of her masterwork “In The Upper Room”. Following that, Kevin became Associate Director of Compañía Nacional de Danza in Madrid Spain, and later directed both the Gothenburg Ballet in Sweden and Oregon Ballet Theatre; he also established his own non-profit I-DANCE, which connected American teachers and choreographers with Central and South American dance schools and companies that lacked resources. In 2022 Kevin switched tracks to lead Orchestra Nova Northwest (formerly Portland Columbia Symphony) as Executive Director, successfully positioning the group with a new name, a new brand, and a new performance venue, while increasing public support from all sources.
Originally from Long Island, Kevin has happily returned to the east coast after his many years away. He and his husband Nicolo and their handsome mini-pinscher Ziggy love the seasons and the bounty of York and are thrilled to be part of this vibrant community and organization.
Kevin has been YSO’s Executive Director since September, 2025. The centrality of the York Symphony Orchestra in the cultural life of this city and region is his enthusiastic focus.
Jeffrey Phelps currently serves as Director of Operations and Artistic Administration for the York Symphony Orchestra and performs as a cellist and conductor throughout Virginia and Pennsylvania. Originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Jeff has performed most recently with the Williamsburg Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Harbor Quartet, Virginia Musical Theatre, Norfolk Chamber Consort, Charlottesville Opera, Stephen Coxe and Friends, Galatea Chamber Music, and with numerous musical theater productions and traveling artists.
Jeff completed both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in cello performance and orchestral conducting at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Richard Aaron, Alan Harris, Carl Topilow, and Louis Lane. After twenty years of grateful service in arts education, Jeff transitioned into professional arts management, working with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland while completing postgraduate studies in cultural policy and arts management in Dublin.
Jeff enjoys high-altitude hiking, manual transmissions, cold watermelon from the fridge, and live performances in far-off places.
Cassie currently serves as the Marketing Director for the York Symphony Orchestra and has had the pleasure of representing the YSO since 2018. In this role, she combines her passion for the arts and nonprofits to make a meaningful impact in the community. She takes great pride in representing an organization that brings the transformative power of music to life. Before this, she honed her skills in corporate communications at a real estate firm in Pittsburgh.
A proud graduate of Ohio University, Cassie earned a Bachelor of Science in Journalism along with a Certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. These experiences not only shaped her career but also fueled her commitment to advocating for inclusivity. Currently, Cassie serves as board member on the York Youth Symphony board and a member of the American Marketing Association.
In her free time, Cassie delights in trying new recipes and is currently experimenting with pizza and coffee syrup recipes. She is an avid lover of British murder mysteries and cannot get enough of audiobooks. She loves traveling and exploring what the world has to offer.
Amy Amato is the Development Director for the York Symphony Orchestra. A York County resident for more than 25 years, she has been a longtime YSO patron and is thrilled to help support an organization that brings so much beauty, energy, and connection to the community.
Amy has spent much of her career working in nonprofit development with organizations across York County. She loves getting to know people, hearing what matters to them, and helping connect their generosity to work that makes a real difference. At the YSO, that means partnering with donors, sponsors, and friends of the Orchestra to help keep live symphonic music strong, welcoming, and available for audiences of all ages.
For Amy, the best part of the work is the people: the musicians who bring performances to life, the supporters who make them possible, and the audience members who leave a concert feeling inspired. She believes music has a special way of bringing people together, whether it is a favorite piece, a first concert, or a shared night out with family and friends.
Outside of work, Amy enjoys spending time with her husband Tony cooking, hiking, and traveling. You can find them exploring the shops and restaurants downtown York has to offer, or playing a friendly game of pool at a local gathering spot. She also finds joy singing with a local community choral group. She is always ready to try a new recipe, explore a new destination, or learn something new. Amy is excited to be part of the YSO team and to help grow the community of people who make its music possible.
Tom Klimek is a professional cellist and music educator whose work centers on the intersection of music, space, and experience. His work focuses not only on how music tells a story, but on every aspect of how students and audiences encounter it, from the design of lesson spaces to the structure of performance experiences.
This perspective has guided Tom Klimek’s leadership in music education. He developed and led one of the top 100 private lesson programs in the United States and has consulted with lesson programs across the country on building more thoughtful, student-centered teaching environments. He has also served as a panelist at national conferences discussing the future of the private lesson experience and how educators can create seamless, authentic, and meaningful access to music education.
Tom Klimek’s commitment to connecting people to living musical traditions extends to his work with the York Youth Symphony, where he developed a chamber music program that emphasizes both artistic growth and contemporary relevance.
His passion for music across genres also led him to co-found FH Pappys, a venue dedicated to live, original music in York, Pennsylvania. Through performance, education, and community programming, Tom Klimek believes music offers every listener and participant the chance for a uniquely personal and transformative experience. His work is dedicated to finding the right place, program, and environment to enrich communities through meaningful encounters with music.
Matthew Inkster is Professor of Music and Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble at York College of Pennsylvania. Inkster is in demand as a guest conductor and clinician—most recently conducting honor and select ensembles in Pennsylvania, Utah, New York, North Carolina, West Virginia, Wyoming, and California.
He has specialized in conducting the music of our time, and he has led ensembles on several compact disc recordings of new music on American and European labels. He has performed in 45 states and across Europe, and his performances have been broadcast on national and regional NPR and worldwide on the BBC.
Dr. Inkster is also active as a trumpet soloist, recitalist, clinician, and private teacher. He was for 12 years Principal Trumpet of the Symphony of the Mountains (Tennessee/Virginia/North Carolina), and he held similar positions with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, the Chapman and Redlands Symphony Orchestras (California).
He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, and he has competed in a number of the world’s most prestigious trumpet competitions: the Prague Spring International Music Competition, the International Trumpet Guild Solo Competition, the National Trumpet Competition, and the MTNA National Collegiate Artist Competition.
He holds the degrees: Doctor of Music (The Florida State University), Master of Music (University of Redlands), and Bachelor of Music Education (University of Wyoming).
Rebekah Kathleen O’Brien serves as director of orchestras at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and has led the Lancaster, York, Altoona and Williamsport Symphony Orchestras in concert. After traveling to Chile to conduct the Chamber Orchestra of the Municipal de Santiago in a series of concerts highlighting women conductors, she founded the New Ground Orchestra Festival, dedicated to supporting health and community for professional musicians. Awards include the Williamson Fellowship of the Arts and winning the International Conducting Competition with the Denver Philharmonic.
Supporting the growth of young musicians, Ms. O’Brien regularly appears as a guest conductor for educational festivals. Passionate about bringing music to a wide variety of communities, she has taken her orchestras on tours of Europe and inside the walls of high security prisons. Ms. O’Brien is thankful for the examples and foundation provided by her teachers: Maestros Gerardo Edelstein, Murry Sidlin, and Simeone Tartaglione. Also trained in the art of Eurythmy, Ms. O’Brien teaches at the Susquehanna Waldorf School in Marietta, PA. To keep herself grounded, she can be found under the hood of a car, learning from her supportive husband, Jeff Erickson. Ms. O’Brien lives in State College, Pennsylvania, with her family and inspiring daughter, Genavieve.
Born and raised in Central Pennsylvania, Gretchen (Elicker) Dekker began her formal music training at the piano locally and continued her studies at the Peabody Preparatory School in Baltimore. Following her graduation from Northeastern High School, she entered the Peabody Conservatory.
Since receiving a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, Gretchen has concertized as both a soloist and collaborative artist in the mid-Atlantic region. She has been featured as a concerto soloist with the York Symphony Orchestra, the Harrisburg Symphony, the York College Symphony Orchestra, and the Hershey Symphony, among others.
She is a passionate, active advocate for arts and arts education in the region. Gretchen is currently the Music Director of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of York. She is the sitting president of the York Music Teachers Association, a member of the York Symphony Orchestra Education Committee, the board of the Matinee Musical Club of York, and a past board member of the York County Honors Choirs.
Since 1998, Dekker has been an adjunct professor of piano, harpsichord, early music history, and aural theory as well as a staff accompanist at York College of Pennsylvania. In 2012, she co-founded the YCPrep Community Music School, which is based at York College and offers pre- and post-collegiate studio music instruction and performance opportunities in all disciplines. Gretchen also maintains a robust private piano studio.
