Mission and Vision Statement

Mission 

The Oklahoma Haydn Festival celebrates the works, ideas, and ongoing influence of Joseph Haydn by immersing Oklahoma audiences in a summer festival experience that integrates music, education, and community engagement. 

Vision

The Oklahoma Haydn Festival is a national summer music festival of music and ideas transcending traditional boundaries of performance and presentation throughout Oklahoma.

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Artistic Leadership

Jim Waddelow
Artistic Director
& Conductor

Richard Jobe
Artistic Director
& Conductor

Jim Waddelow is one of the most versatile conductors in the South. A native of Oklahoma, Jim is Music Director and Conductor of the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra. He also serves Meredith College as Director of Instrumental Activities, conducting the Meredith Sinfonietta, Meredith Opera, and musical theater productions for Meredith Ensemble Theater. In 2010 he founded White Iris Light Opera in Raleigh, and the following year he led Meredith musicians on a concert tour of Tuscany, Italy. Guest appearances have included Summerstock Productions at the University of Central Oklahoma, Capitol Opera Raleigh, Durham Savoyards, the Triangle Youth Symphony, and numerous all-state and all-region orchestras. Equally at ease with music for the stage, Jim has conducted over 250 performances of more than 60 musicals and operas at the professional and college level. Previous conducting affiliations include the Oklahoma Youth Symphony, Lubbock Youth Symphony, Texas Tech University, University of Arkansas, University of Central Oklahoma, Lubbock Moonlight Musicals, and Summer Overtures Theater. A strong advocate of music education, since 1999 he has conducted orchestras, choirs, and musicals for youth music camps in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and North Carolina. He is a passionate proponent of the new music of younger composers and is known for innovative programming. Press reviews have referred to performances as “bright, articulate, and beautifully balanced”, and “astonishing precision and polish; a joy from start to finish.” He holds a doctorate in orchestral conducting from Texas Tech University.

Bio coming soon!

Staff and Board

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Jose Batty
Personnel Manager



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Chelsea Waddelow
Media Coordinator

Jose has spent much of his time teaching and performing in many areas of the Midwest including Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kansas. In these states he has served as concertmaster, co-concertmaster, and principal second violin for the University of Central Oklahoma’s Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, Edmond Summerstock pit orchestra, Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony pit orchestra, and Southwestern College Summer Music Festival Orchestra. Additionally, Jose has also performed as a member of the Vitale Quartet and the String Cubed Trio. He also enjoys teaching at the IPFAC string camp and SWCSMF as a counselor and as a Junior Faculty violin instructor for the Central Community Music School. He has shared the stage with notable artists such as Franc D’Ambrosio, Claude Chalhoub, Christian Howes, and the Altius Quartet. He has also worked under key conductors such as Christian Knapp, Jeffery Grogan, and Jim Waddelow.

​Chelsea Waddelow is a board-certified music therapist, teacher, and pianist. She owns her own private music therapy practice, Opus 1 Music Therapy, and specializes in working with children and teens with disabilities.  In addition to teaching piano students, Chelsea teaches music therapy courses at Meredith College.  She performs on harpsichord and piano in the Oklahoma Haydn Festival, serves as pianist for the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra, writes critiques of music, theater, and dance performances, and works as the Minister of Music at Church of the Holy Family.