One of the greatest assets the Susanville Symphony possesses is their conductor/artistic director Benjamin J. Wade. Not only is the maestro the driving force behind the musicians, musical selections, and electrifying concerts, he is also a prolific composer. The Susanville Symphony has had the opportunity to conduct world premieres of the following Wade compositions: The Amazon, Symphony #1 (Russian), Five Baroque Dances, Midnight in Morocco, Apache Love Song, and Sunset over the Pacific. “I have not even begun to write”, says Wade. “Composing a piece of music for this orchestra takes my imagination farther than I ever dreamed, and new melodies are constantly bombarding my mind, seeking an outlet to escape, urging me to put them on paper.”

Hailing from Knoxville, Tennessee, the Maestro Benjamin J. Wade was a child prodigy on trumpet. As a young child he was honored as being among the best trumpet players in the world. Having never lost a competition ever, his accomplishments were accumulated when he won the prestigious International Trumpet Guild Competition, competing with the best trumpet players all over the world. As a teenager he had the opportunity to play with several professional orchestras including the New York Metropolitan Opera (on stage and in the orchestra pit), the Indianapolis Symphony, the San Francisco and San Jose Symphonies, and the Knoxville Symphony. In 1993, he shifted gears into athletics, and holds the current world’s record for the longest solo kayak expedition (6,132 miles in 1996) and is currently ranked the #2 most winningest soccer coach among America’s Community Colleges (currently the head women’s soccer coach at Southwest Baptist University.)
Tianna Heppner-Harjo holds the position of Assistant Conductor of the Symphony. A native of Northern Nevada, Tianna has been an active member of the performing arts community in Reno, Nevada for over 15 years. As a member of numerous musical groups including the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra, the Reno Chamber Orchestra and the Nevada Opera, she was recently awarded the Orchestral Career Studies graduate teaching assistantship at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she will be pursuing a Master’s Degree in Music Performance under the tutelage of Ted Kuchar, Phillip Ruder, Virginia Lenz and John Lenz.
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