Robert Loughran, the founding music director of the Youth Orchestra of Bucks County (YOBC), has announced his retirement, effective at the conclusion of the 2023-2024 season.
He will end his 32-year tenure on the podium after YOBC’s Austrian Concert Tour in July.
Loughran treasures what he calls the “YOBC Family,” and “embodies the joy, artistry, and optimism that defines YOBC,” said an email from YOBC. “The positive effects he has had on both the organization and thousands of students’ lives are incalculable. YOBC is grateful for Mr. Loughran’s incredible dedication and service,” the email said.
YOBC has appointed Sebastian Grand as the music director beginning in the 2024-2025 season. Grand has been the conductor of YOBC’s Philharmonia since 2016; he is also the Music Director of the Delaware County Symphony (Pa.), the McLean Symphony (Va.), and the Assistant Conductor for Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey and the Bucks County Symphony Orchestra.
Loughran is directly responsible for the founding and growth of YOBC and its programs, ever since the beginning of the organization in 1991. He, along with co-founder Joseph Gimbel and his daughter, then eighth-grader Carol Gimbel, worked together to create YOBC. Loughran has helped YOBC grow to an organization that has educated over 5,000 students.
“I thank our entire YOBC musical family for the artistic memories that we have shared through the years, and I am absolutely delighted that Sebastian Grand will be YOBC’s next Music Director. May we continue to be inspired by the potential of what our students can create .... and may we all believe in, and cherish, the boundless future of this wonderful Youth Orchestra of Bucks County,” Loughran said.
Loughran’s last spring concert with the YOBC Symphony Orchestra is at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 14, at Delaware Valley University in Doylestown Township. Tickets and information are available at yobc.org/tickets. To make a tax-deductible contribution in honor of Loughran, visit yobc.org/donate. Funds will go toward YOBC student scholarships and programs.
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