Our Members
Music Director and Conductor
Dr. Christina Desmond
musicdirector@apcorchestra.org
Janine Budesheim APCO Founder
and Christina Desmond APCO Conductor
Christina grew up in West Sand Lake, NY and attended Averill Park schools, where she was exposed to early music training as an elementary music student of Janine Budesheim, and was also inspired by her grandmother, Jane Barden, an organ instructor at Hilton. Christina began her formal flute training in high school with Albany Symphony Orchestra flutist, Eleanor Barnes, and went on to earn her BM in Music Education at Mercyhurst University and MM in Woodwinds Performance from the University of Akron. Christina has performed on flute and piccolo in the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra, Erie Chamber Orchestra, Delaware Valley Opera, Delaware Valley Chamber Orchestra, and has also donated her time and skills to community ensembles, such as Callicoon Center Band and on percussion with Averill Park Community Orchestra (APCO). While living in the Catskills, she served on the Board of Directors for the Delaware Valley Chamber Orchestra, whose purpose was to provide the local community with music by living, local composers, and occasionally conducted, as well. She has also collaborated with various other musicians in chamber ensembles to perform for weddings, social occasions, and church events.
In addition to performing, Christina has taught private flute/piccolo, voice, percussion, composition, and music theory lessons since 1990, and has taught and conducted instrumental and vocal music in various schools in Erie, PA and Livingston Manor, NY. When APCO founder, Janine Budesheim, opted to step aside in 2016, Christina took on the role of Music Director.
In 2018, Christina earned her DPT and is currently a physical therapist and t’ai chi instructor in Troy, NY, and continues to conduct APCO and teach private flute lessons. She resides in West Sand Lake with her two children and numerous pets, enjoying the wooded environment surrounding her home as a source of respite and inspiration to nurture her diverse skills and interests.