Max Oppenheimer, Director

Max Oppenheimer is the Orchestra Director at Oakton High School in Vienna, Virginia, currently in his twelfth year teaching in Fairfax County Public Schools.

Orchestras under his direction, throughout his career, have garnered superior ratings from both state assessments and national performance competitions. The Oakton Chamber Orchestra was invited to perform at the 2016 Virginia Music Educators Association Conference.

A graduate of the James Madison University School of Music with a Bachelor of Music in instrumental music education, Mr. Oppenheimer was the 2010 recipient of the Samuel G. Cross Scholarship for String Music Education and served as principal violist in the JMU Symphony Orchestra and Camerata Strings.

During past summers, he was on staff from 2009-2011 at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan, including serving as staff violist with the 2010 International String Orchestra and 2011 International Youth Symphony Orchestra (IYSO) performing overseas in communities in France, Germany and Belgium. He could also be heard with the IYSO on NPR station WBLU - Grand Rapids, during its simulcast of a live concert from Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Mr. Oppenheimer is a member of the American String Teachers’ Association as well as VMEA and VBODA. He was the VBODA orchestra representative in the 2014 and 2015 VMEA Leadership Symposium for young teachers. He was also invited to conduct the 2015 Alexandria All-City 7th grade Honors Orchestra and served as a performance assessment judge for the 2018 District IV middle and high school District Orchestra Assessment in Virginia Beach. Also in 2018, the Oakton HS Performing Arts Department production of Titanic The Musical was awarded two region-wide Cappie awards including the prize for Best Orchestra.

In addition to his work with students and in the schools, Mr. Oppenheimer is an avid performer and appears regularly directing the Fairfax Chamber Players, an orchestra comprised of FCPS orchestra, band, general music and other educators. He also served as a section violist and librarian for the Tysons McLean Orchestra.  He lives in Reston, Virginia with his dog Ally and enjoys hiking, the outdoors, roller coasters and travel.