Wayland Whitney is a conductor and violist from northern California. He is passionate about education, and has taught publicly and privately since 2008. In 2009, he co-founded the Placer County Youth Orchestra (PCYO) in Roseville, CA, which he administered and conducted while pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Viola at UC Davis. From 2016-18, he directed the Music in the Mountains Youth Orchestra (MIMYO) in Nevada County, CA.

In 2018, he was appointed assistant conductor for Symphony D’Oro, a community orchestra in Rancho Cordova, CA. He also conceived and arranged music for a series of school outreach concerts for the Auburn Civic Symphony in Auburn, CA. Later that year, Whitney moved to West NY to study conducting and free improvisation with Dr. David Rudge at SUNY Fredonia, finishing his Master’s degree in Conducting in spring of 2020.

In 2021, Whitney returned to Music in the Mountains as director of MIMYO and Assistant Conductor of the MIM Orchestra and became conductor of the Modesto Youth Symphony Orchestra in Modesto, CA.