Alexander Kahn, Ph.D.

Alexander Kahn is Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Activities at Sonoma State University where he directs the Sonoma State Symphony Orchestra and teaches conducting, music history, musicianship, and general education. A published author, his most recent book, Caring for the Whole Musician: Awareness and Mindfulness (co-authored with Larry Hensel), focuses on the intersection of mindfulness and the Alexander Technique. He lectures and offers workshops on mindfulness for musicians throughout the world, including annually at the One Heart Institute. He earned his Ph.D. in Music History from UC Berkeley and studied conducting at the Peabody Institute with Marin Alsop, Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar. He currently serves as the Music Director and Conductor of the Napa Valley Youth Symphony, Music Director of the Vintner’s Chamber Orchestra Assistant and Cover Conductor for the Santa Rosa Symphony. 
 
Kahn came to Sonoma State from Gettysburg College, where he was Associate Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Activities at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music. He is also the Founder and former Music Director of the UC Berkeley Chamber Orchestra and the former Assistant Conductor UC Berkeley Symphony and has worked with a variety of orchestras across the United States and throughout Europe. Previous positions he has held include Music Director of the Metta Ensemble (Gettysburg, PA), Cover Conductor for the Baltimore Symphony, Staff Conductor for the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC, Assistant Conductor of the Bamberg Symphony, and Music Director of the Bamberg Collegium Musicum. Recent guest conducting engagements have included work with the Winchester Orchestra of San Jose, the Mill Valley Philharmonic, Festival Opera of Walnut Creek, Encore Coda and Cazadero Performing Arts Camps, as well as with middle school and high school honor orchestras throughout California. As a champion for orchestral music education, he serves on the Advisory Board for the California Orchestra Directors Association (CODA).