Kenneth Bean

Georg and Joyce Albers-Schonberg Assistant Conductor
Endowed in Perpetuity

KENNETH BEAN is an instructor and conductor in the Philadelphia area, as well as an active freelance trumpeter. He earned a Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music Education from Jackson State University. He has taught at many festivals and schools, including the School District of Philadelphia, Settlement Music School, the Premier Orchestral Institute of the Mississippi Symphony, and Play On Philly.

Although he enjoys teaching and performing, Kenneth’s passion is on the podium. He has appeared as a guest conductor for the Marywood String Festival, Berks County Orchestra Festival, and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. His past music director/ conductor appointments include the Junior String Philharmonic of the Lehigh Valley, the Young People’s Philharmonic of the Lehigh Valley, and Luzerne Music Center.

A staunch advocate for youth music access and education, Maestro Bean is co-founder and Associate Director of The Primavera Fund, a non-profit organization committed to disrupting inequity in classical music by mentoring and financially supporting the musical activities of promising students who study in Philadelphia.

Kenneth currently serves as assistant conductor of Symphony in C, conductor of the Symphony in C Youth Orchestra in Collingswood, NJ, and director/conductor of the Young Musicians Debut Orchestra, the newest full orchestra within the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute. In the summers, he serves as co-director of the Symphony in C Summer Camp and conductor at Kinhaven Music School Junior Session in Weston, VT. 

Kenneth has served as the Princeton Symphony Orchestra's Georg and Joyce Albers-Schonberg Assistant Conductor as well as the Symphonic Orchestra Conductor for the affiliated Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey since 2021.