Dr. Brian Norcross

Dr. Brian Norcross is the conductor of the Millersville University Orchestra for the 2026-2027 season. He also served as the interim conductor of the Millersville Chamber Orchestra for the 2025-2026 season, and taught conducting.

He was the Senior Director of Instrumental Music and Conducting Studies at Franklin & Marshall College, a position he held since 1986, directing the Franklin & Marshall Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, and Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and he taught conducting. A champion of new music he has directed over 120 premiere performances with various ensembles. In addition, he is also the Director of Music at the First United Methodist Church in Lancaster, where he directs the Chancel Choir and administers the music program.

Dr. Norcross has been the Artistic Director and founding conductor of the Allegro Orchestra Lancaster since 2000. Allegro is a professional ensemble, performing music of all orchestral time periods with an exciting 21st century twist. The members of Allegro greet audience members before the performance and during intermission creating a unique, accessible concert experience. Allegro also presents the critically acclaimed Music in the Round series which positions the orchestra in the middle of the performance space and the audience sits around them. Dr. Norcross is also the Artistic Director of the Allegro NextGEN Youth Orchestra Program and conducts the Allegretto Youth Orchestra which he founded in 2009.

Dr. Norcross is an active guest conductor and clinician in the mid-Atlantic states including appearances with the New England Music Festival Orchestra, Pennsylvania Music Educators (PMEA) All-State Wind Ensemble, PMEA Region VI Orchestra, the PMEA Region IV/V Orchestra, PMEA Western Region Orchestra, the PMEA District 7, 10, 11 and District 12 Orchestras, Allegheny Valley Honors Band (PA), Harford (MD) All-County Orchestra and Band, Cecile (MD) All-County Band, the Lancaster-Lebanon County Orchestra, the Lancaster-Lebanon County Wind Ensemble, the Lancaster County Youth Symphony, the Lancaster Bible College Orchestra, Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey, OperaLancaster (Lancaster PA), and the Old York Road Symphony Orchestra (Jenkintown PA). He has also arranged and conducted ten benefit concerts for the Susquehanna Association for the Blind and Vision Impaired in Lancaster, PA.

He has a number of publications including a book, titled "One Band that Took a Chance," and a conducting textbook titled “A Vision for Conducting, Teaching, and Leadership” (All I Want Is Everything…Now). Dr. Norcross is a recipient of the Massachusetts Music Educators Lowell Mason award for outstanding contributions to the field of music education. The Franklin & Marshall senior classes of 2004 and 2008 voted him "Most Influential Professor in the Arts and Humanities." In 2018 he was selected to give “the last lecture” to the Franklin & Marshall Senior Class Honorary Black Pyramid Society, and in 2026 he presented a lecture for the F&M Harbaugh Club.

Dr. Norcross is also a composer with works written and premiered for various ensembles ranging from chamber ensembles, through full orchestra, wind ensemble, and chorus.

He received his doctorate, with distinction, from The Catholic University of America in Washington D. C.; his master's, with performance and academic honors from New England Conservatory in Boston, MA; and his bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. He and his wife Kim are both educators and have four children: Molly, Megan, Greyson and Gloria.