Joseph Trafton is Music Director of Orchestra Kentucky and of the Ramsey Theatre Company at SKYPAC, and founder of Upbeat, a free after-school music program for children in Bowling Green who might not otherwise have access. A Bowling Green native, he studied in Miami, Rochester and Vienna, then spent some twenty-five years conducting in the opera houses and concert halls of Europe. He made his German debut in 1999 with Cyrano – The Musical, held theatre appointments in Regensburg, Braunschweig and Mannheim, and from 2017 was Music Director of the Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra. He has guest conducted in Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, France and Switzerland. His repertoire runs from symphony, opera and ballet to musical theatre, including Les Misérables, Jesus Christ Superstar, Fiddler on the Roof and My Fair Lady.