Our Conductors

Conductor

Mark Lowery is a graduate of California State University Long Beach with a degree in Music Education and studied bassoon with Norman Hertzberg. Mark taught in Anaheim and Mission Viejo and then moved south to teach at El Camino High School until his retirement. During his 38 teaching years, his bands and orchestras received many awards and superior ratings. Mark was Oceanside Unified School District Teacher of the year in 2010. He served on the Board of Directors for the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association including two terms as President and received Honorary Life Membership in 2014. Mr. Lowery currently judges music festivals for the SCSBOA and plays with bands, orchestras, and chamber music groups throughout Southern California.

Conductor

Peter Fournier has had an illustrious career in music starting by earning his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from University of Pacific and USC. His career includes teaching in the Newport-Mesa Unified and the Irvine Unified School Districts spanning over three decades. Peter’s first love has always been teaching and to inspire children to be enthralled with music leading to being selected in 1996 by the LA Times as ”Mr. Hollands Opus” for developing the largest string program in Orange County. His final concert with the 106-member school symphony was at Carnegie Hall. Peter has been Director of the UCI Wind Ensemble and has led musical groups all over the world. His career celebrates being a musician, clinician, adjudicator and conductor. He has played with many big bands and orchestras along with being Music Director of the Irvine Civic Light Opera. For the past two decades he has been the Director of Tuba Christmas in Downtown Disney where he conducted over 500 participants for the Guinness World Record. Peter’s greatest joy is being a part of the Laguna Community Concert Band. Peter and his wife live in Newport Beach where they enjoy biking and boating.

JaZz Band Director

R. Lynn Olinger, Director of Laguna JaZz has served on the Laguna Community Concert Band (LCCB) Board of Directors since 2016 and plays sax in both the concert and jazz bands. He is a retired music teacher of high school, middle school and elementary levels for 36 years in the Capistrano Unified School District. Lynn holds Bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Certificate in Electronic Music from UC Irvine. Lynn has served as a Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association board member, VP of Festivals, an adjudicator as well as an expert clinician for electronic music programs for schools since 1985. Lynn has been the LCCB Manager and Laguna JaZz Manager since 2017 with responsibilities for booking Jazz performances as well as all band sound reinforcement needs. While teaching at Capistrano High School for 20 years he led music education in Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Big Band, Commercial Electronic Music and Marching Band. Lynn continues to play in several Jazz groups as well as playing in the excellent Laguna Community Concert Band. Lynn manages several different sized jazz groups that perform in venues throughout Laguna Beach and Orange County.