Severna Park’s Anna Binneweg Strikes A Chord As Orchestra Director And Conductor

Growing up in scenic Lake Tahoe, California, Anna Binneweg was a Nordic skier long before her ultimate career path came into focus. In Nordic skiing, a kick turn is a maneuver used to change direction up to 180 degrees; metaphorically, Binneweg did a career kick turn when she pivoted away from competitive skiing and followed her instincts to pursue music in college and beyond.

Though many genres of music echoed throughout Binneweg’s home when she was young, no one in her family was a musician, save perhaps her grandfather who “noodled around” on the piano.

Her only exposure to musicianship was playing the clarinet in high school, but that didn’t stop Binneweg from pursuing a bachelor’s degree in music at California Polytechnic State University. There, a faculty member saw in her a skill set that could lead Binneweg down the rigorous path toward conducting, and she began working with him privately. A study abroad program in London solidified her desire to become adept with the baton.

Binneweg holds a master’s degree in conducting from Southern Methodist University and a doctorate degree in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University. In 2007, she was hired to direct an orchestra 2,600 miles away from home, at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC).

In the upcoming academic year, she will celebrate 20 years at AACC, where she now serves as professor of music. Binneweg directs the school’s orchestra, frequently conducts opera productions, and collaborates with AACC’s choir as well.

She is also the music director/conductor of the Naptown Philharmonic Orchestra (NPO) (formerly the Londontowne Symphony Orchestra), a position she has held since 2009, and of the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic in Alexandria, Virginia.

“I’ve lived in many different locations throughout the U.S., and the greater Annapolis community is just wonderful,” said Binneweg, who has resided in Severna Park for eight years after relocating from Alexandria. “It’s just a very kind, respectful, connected community that really supports the arts.”

Mom to a rising sophomore at Severna Park High School, Binneweg pulled back the curtain on what leading an orchestra involves.

She shared that most people don’t realize that the responsibilities of a music director/conductor extend far beyond the performance component. The director portion of the title entails overseeing all administrative facets of an organization, from developing relationships with the board of directors to fundraising to strategic planning.

There are no interludes between the many roles she plays; the fast tempo is set by the crescendos of concerts and the obbligatos of keeping the season progressing.

“A lot of people that may be less experienced with orchestras or the field of conducting think, ‘Oh, how fun, you get to go onstage and wave your arms around,’” she said humorously. “It’s definitely not that simple.”

“Before the first rehearsal, the conductor has already prepared the score on their own, months in advance,” she noted, explaining that she selects the repertoire for each performance and is steeped in its pieces for many weeks. Whatever the score, and whoever the composer, it’s the job of the conductor to know the historical background, to perform theoretical analysis, to understand instrumental techniques, and more, to lead the orchestra through its performance.

“Style, phrasing, character, color – all of those – you have to have in mind to bring the piece to life and make sure it holds true to the integrity of the piece and what the composer intended,” Binneweg expounded.

It’s no wonder, then, that when asked if any composers or pieces stand out as favorites, Binneweg shared a refrain that resonates with many conductors.

“When you’re in production for a concert cycle, you’re so engrossed in that particular set of pieces that that’s, in the moment, your favorite, right?” she said. “Because it’s kind of like acting — you have to be the character. So you get so completely consumed by that music.”

That isn’t to say that a few composers don’t rise to the top for her.

“I absolutely love the works of Johannes Brahms. His music is just so pure and meaningful and deep and has such artistic integrity to it. I’m also a real sucker for Tchaikovsky symphonies – just the … yearning and the longing and the drama of it all,” she shared.

In selecting programming across the three orchestras she conducts, Binneweg stated she chooses repertoires that she not only loves but that she knows will be great fits for the orchestra and the community.

Binneweg is a firm believer that music of all types is for all people, and that making it accessible to the community is essential. That is why the NPO’s concerts are designed to be family friendly and speak to multiple generations.

The concerts also feature multiple generations, with high school students playing in the orchestra through auditions and side-by-side opportunities. “It’s on us to excite them and bring them along this journey so that it cycles through the generations to come,” Binneweg said of the younger musicians.

As for members of the AACC orchestra, she has taken them on tour with colleague and AACC choir director Doug Byerly to Austria and Spain, enthused to give students the opportunity not only to perform abroad but also to connect with other cultures. In November 2026, Binneweg and Byerly will take the orchestra and choir to perform at Carnegie Hall, a celebration of both Byerly’s upcoming retirement and Binneweg’s two decades at the community college.

Looking toward the future, Binneweg is excited to continue building the music program at AACC and for the NPO’s upcoming season.

“I love to study and perform the music, of course, but I think what is more fulfilling to me is that I have the opportunity to bring people together through music. So, creating a shared experience and a shared energy in our community,” Binneweg said. “For me, it’s really about bringing our community together through joy, through fulfilling experiences that are, of course, through live music and artistic outlets.”