Justin Vibbard

A member of the Sarasota Music Festival faculty since 2015

Justin Vibbard joined what was then the Florida West Coast Symphony and is now the Sarasota Orchestra as Principal Librarian in 2004.  He was also named Principal Librarian for the Sarasota Music Festival starting with the 2005 season and has been Faculty Librarian for the same festival since 2015 when a Library position was added to the student body.

While pursuing a BM degree in Trombone Performance, Justin was instructed and mentored by Tim Howe, then 2nd Trombone and Librarian for the Omaha Symphony (NE).  He also served as Librarian for the Lincoln Symphony (NE) before interrupting his studies and joining the Civic Orchestra of Chicago where he studied with Chicago Symphony Orchestra Librarians Peter Conover, Carole Keller, and Mark Swanson.  In addition, Justin has received mentorship and tutelage by Robert Sutherland of the Metropolitan Opera and Robert O'Brien of The Cleveland Orchestra.

Justin has provided library and music preparation services for the Santa Fe Opera, Mostly Mozart Music Festival – Lincoln Center (2007-2014), Sarasota Ballet, Sarasota Opera, Britt Classical Festival, Joffrey Ballet, Metropolitan Opera, Grant Park Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, National Youth Orchestra (USA), and Columbia University (NY).

As a member of the Sarasota Orchestra and their collaborations with the Sarasota Ballet, Justin has been instrumental in updating and improving ballet materials for numerous performances, most notably several American Premieres and Florida Premieres of Ashton ballets.

In a changing performing arts world where music publishing equally excites and disappoints, Justin has digitally remastered, and in some cases edited, scores and parts to several works. These include Tchaikovky's first symphony and Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra.

An advocate for new music, Justin has been involved in ensemble NEWSRQ since its inception in 2015, currently serving on the Board of Directors, and has served as a panelist for the Copland Fund.

A strong proponent and advocate for performance library education in a rapidly shifting and demanding field, Justin is also a frequent mentor and teacher to those interested in pursuing Performance Library careers.

Justin has been a member of the Major Orchestra Librarians Association (MOLA), the professional organization for performance librarians since 2000 and has served on the MOLA Publications Committee for many years.