Conductors

Andrew Samlal

Described as a “fine and quite serious musician, with excellent technical command”, Trinidadian conductor and pianist Andrew Samlal has appeared as associate conductor and coach with the Des Moines Metro Opera and Guest Conductor with the Canton Symphony Orchestra. Samlal was also music director of the Delaware Valley Opera Company’s Le nozze di Figaro, assistant conductor of the Prague Summer Festival’s Le nozze di Figaro and also conductor for Independent Sounds Festival’s La Traviata and Le nozze di Figaro. Praised for his “skilled technique at the keyboard but also for his acute sense of the classical and baroque period styles” Samlal was also an apprentice conductor and school pianist with the Philadelphia Ballet and served on faculty as a conductor and pianist at Temple University. 

Samlal has worked as Music Director of The University of Maryland’s University Orchestra and Assistant Conductor with the Maryland Opera Studio (MOS) where he assisted with MOS’s productions of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte and Otto Nikolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. Samlal has a Master's Degree in Collaborative Piano and Opera Coaching from Temple University and is currently pursuing a doctorate in orchestral studies at The University of Maryland where he is a student of David Neely. Some artists Samlal has worked with include Markand Thakar, Beatrice Affron, Lambert Orkis, Sara Davis Buechner and Joyce Lindorff. 

Michael Hudlin is a Trinidadian conductor and composer. He has served as an adjunct lecturer at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, the choir director and organist at the All Saints Anglican Church in Port of Spain and the music director and conductor of Chandelier Productions. His passion for both classical music and the indigenous genres of the Caribbean has led him to produce many works, ranging from Handel’s Dixit Dominus, and Haydn’s The Creation to his most recent composition, Te Deum Laudamus, which achieves his goal of combining Caribbean genres with classical composition techniques. Michael holds a Certificate of Music from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, a B.A. in music from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, and an M.M. in conducting from the Eastman School of Music, Rochester and is currently pursuing a D.M.A. in choral conducting from the University of Maryland. 

Conductor Emeritus: Derek Maseloff

Derek Maseloff helped the orchestra to get started in 2023, and was principal conductor until fall 2025 when he left to take an army band conducting position. 

A conductor, horn player, organist, and composer,  Derek is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Great Falls Philharmonic, the region’s newest professional orchestra. He previously served as Music Director of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Great Falls, VA, and was an active freelance horn player in the Washington D.C. area.  Derek is a founding member of Classically Dope, a Washington D.C.-based musical experiment featuring rapper Konshens theMC and a cohort of classically trained musicians. Recent collaborations include a workshop with Yo-Yo Ma and a performance alongside the National Symphony Orchestra at the Anthem. As an administrator, Derek is a passionate advocate for young artists, a believer in the transformative experience of touring. He served as Director of Artistic Planning for the National Youth Orchestra of China, presenting dozens of concerts on three continents with highlights at the Berlin Konzerthaus and Carnegie Hall and as the Festival Director of the Prague Summer Nights Young Artist Music Festival. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in China and Asian-Studies (CAPS) and a Masters in horn performance from the University of Maryland. He lives in Greenbelt.