Conducting Staff & Teaching Artists

Cameron May, Music Director and Conductor

Cameron May
Music Director & Conductor, Conservatory Orchestra

Cameron May is Music Director of the Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia and the SPSCC Symphony Orchestra at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, Washington, and the Portland Festival Symphony in Portland, Oregon. Prior to 2022, Mr. May was a full-time music professor at SPSCC, where, in addition to conducting the orchestra, he taught courses in college and career success, ear training, music fundamentals, and music theory, served as interim director of the SPSCC Jazz Band, and helped to build and launch the Associate in Music direct transfer degree. A strong advocate of collaboration in the musical arts, Mr. May has conducted performances or premieres of works by several contemporary American composers, as well as in ballet, musical theater, and opera settings.

Mr. May received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He continues to maintain his violin playing through his position as Principal Second Violin with the Lake Chelan Bach Fest Orchestra each July. When not conducting, teaching, or playing violin, Mr. May can be found reading on his back porch, walking in the woods, or going out of his way to chase after Amtrak trains.

Greg Allison, Artistic Director and Conductor

Greg Allison
Artistic Director & Conductor, Philharmonic Orchestra, Brass Choir

Greg Allison received his B.A. and M.A. in Music Education from Western Washington University where he studied trumpet with the late William D. Cole. Mr. Allison taught instrumental music in the Olympia School District for 40 years and recently retired. His bands were chosen to perform at the State and Northwest Music Educators’ Conference and the Western International Band Clinic.

Mr. Allison has performed in the Northwest Wind Symphony, the 22nd Ave Dixieland Band, the Tacoma Concert Band, and the Evergreen Brass Quintet. He has been a guest adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor for state and regional festivals and conventions including the Mid-West Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago. He has served on the Washington Music Educator’s board of directors, managed WMEA High School and Junior All-State, and was a recipient of the WMEA Teacher of the Year for middle-level education. In 2014, he was inducted into the WMEA Hall of Fame.

Elizabeth Ward
Assistant Conductor, Brass Choir

Elizabeth Ward received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington and a Master of Musical Arts degree from Yale School of Music. Ms. Ward is a former member of the New Haven Symphony, Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra, Pennsylvania Orchestra, Philadelphia Opera Orchestra, and Young Audiences Inc., of Philadelphia.

Returning to the Northwest, Ms. Ward founded the Evergreen Brass Quintet, well known for its outstanding educational presentations. As a studio teacher, Ms. Ward’s students have consistently received awards on the local and national levels. Ms. Ward is Assistant Conductor of the Tacoma Youth Symphony and Conductor of the Tacoma Youth Symphony’s Brass Choir and Chamber Winds.

Dan Craig
Conductor, Academy Orchestra

Dan Craig is the Director of Bands for the Napavine School District. He received his BA in both Music Education and Tuba Performance from Central Washington University and earned his MS in Curriculum and Instruction.

Mr. Craig is an award-winning tuba player, performing regularly throughout the region. He is a member of the Evergreen Brass Quintet, the Northwest Wind Symphony, and the SPSCC Symphony Orchestra at South Puget Sound Community College. Mr. Craig studied Tuba with Marty Erickson at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he won the Peck School of the Arts Concerto Competition as a freshman. Mr. Craig was the principal tuba for both the Wind Ensemble under Larry Gookin and the Symphony Orchestra under Dr. Nikolas Caoile while at CWU and has performed at many Low Brass Clinics and Symposiums throughout the country. Mr. Craig was the Drum Major for the CWU Marching Band and student director of the CWU Tuba and Euphonium choir.

Linda Pyle
Conductor, Debut Orchestra

Linda Pyle conducts the Debut orchestra and teaches general music, choir, drama, and orchestra for North Thurston Public schools. She holds degrees in music education and classroom management from Pacific Lutheran University and American College of Education. Her orchestras have made appearances at state music teacher conventions and several guest appearances at Disneyland.

Mrs. Pyle’s musical interests are varied: she plays violin with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra, fiddles with a local bluegrass group and plays bass guitar, cello, keyboards, and electric violin with her worship team.

When not making music, Mrs. Pyle enjoys teaching yoga, Pilates, and Sunday school, but most of all, cheering on her two children’s athletic and academic endeavors along with her husband.