About the Music Directors

Gregory Conway is currently a student in the Instrumental Conducting Master’s Degree program at San Jose State University.  Prior to this, he was the Director of Instrumental Music at William Hopkins Jr. High School in Fremont from 2005-2021.  At Hopkins, Mr. Conway directed the 7th and 8th grade music classes at Hopkins including three concert bands, two string orchestras, two jazz ensembles, and a full orchestra.  Prior to that, Mr. Conway taught elementary band in South San Francisco Unified School District from 2003-2005.  Mr. Conway has been the band director the non-profit Jenny Lin Foundation Summer Music Program in his hometown of Castro Valley since 2007, and is slated to be the orchestra director for 2022.

Mr. Conway received his B.A. in music education and saxophone performance from California State University, Hayward in 2002.  Under his direction, the Hopkins Wind Ensemble was a featured performer at the California Music Educators Association (CMEA) State Conference in 2010, and the Hopkins Advanced Orchestra was a featured performer at the California All-State Music Education Conference (CASMEC) in 2012 and 2017.  Other performances included the CMEA State Band & Orchestra Festival, and the American String Teachers Association Nation Orchestra Festival.

Mr. Conway currently serves on the board of directors for several non-profit music organizations including CMEA Bay Section, the California Orchestra Directors Association (CODA), and the Jenny Lin Foundation.  Mr. Conway is the 2016 recipient of the CMEA Bay Section Gilbert T. Freitas Award for Excellence in Instrumental Music Education, the 2017 recipient of the CMEA Richard L. Levin Outstanding Orchestra Educator Award, and the 2018 recipient of the CMEA Bay Section Outstanding Educator Award.  More recently, Mr. Conway was named “Community Hero 2019” by the California State Assembly (District #25), and is the 2021 recipient of the Alameda County Arts Commission/Board of Supervisors Arts Leadership Award. 

Travis Nasatir is Cofounder and Music Director of the Mission Peak Wind Symphony, a non-profit extra-curricular wind band for students looking for an advanced musical curriculum.  Over the eight years of the program’s existence, the ensemble has been involved in the commissioning of new music and worked with esteemed guest composers and conductors, Dr. Andrew Boysen Jr., Tim Smith, Dr. Ed Harris, and Dr. Jack Stamp.  A current commission project from Dr. Jacob Bancks is on hold due to the pandemic, but will be debuted when the program can resume.

During his time with Mission Peak, the amazing experiences and students have led Travis to commit to a career change.  He left his job in Silicon Valley in late 2020 and is currently a student fulfilling prerequisites on his way to a Master’s degree in instrumental conducting.

Additionally, Travis has been playing music on his primary instrument, trumpet, for 28 years.  Over that time, he has played for more than 50 musical theatre productions and in dozens of ensembles across all genres of music.

Kaia Richards has been a chorister since childhood. She sings with San Francisco Choral Artists and can be heard as a soloist performing around the Bay Area. She teaches a thriving voice studio in the East Bay. She is the artistic director of Silicon Valley Boychoir, and the choral director at Moreau Catholic High School. She received her B.M. in Music from California State University, Hayward; and loved it so much she went on to earn her M.M. and D.M. in Voice Performance from Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University. Ms. Richards is honored to participate in the Jenny Lin Foundation, Summer Youth Music Program.