Chuk Cushinery

Dr. Chuk Cushinery made his living playing violin in the Midwest part of the U.S. until becoming the orchestra director at Clark High School (Clark County School District, Las Vegas, Nevada) in 1997. His program began with 39 string players and grew to an enrollment of over 400. After 28 years of service, he retired from the Clark County School District in 2022. While at Clark High School, the Clark Chamber Orchestra won the Grand National Orchestra Championship at the ASTA Conference in Salt Lake City. The Clark Orchestra program was selected to perform at the prestigious Midwest Clinic in December of 2016 and 2019. In addition to his accomplishments as orchestra director at Clark High School, Chuk founded the Clark guitar, piano, and electronic music programs. Currently, he is the director of the Nevada School of the Arts Chamber Orchestra.

Chuk has served as president of the Nevada Chapter of the American String Teachers Association twice, served as president of The Nevada Music Educators Association, has chaired local and state honors groups, has been on the staff of the National High School Honors Orchestra and is a member of numerous committees. He is a two-time top ten finalist for the Grammy Music Educator of the year award.

In 2017, Dr. Cushinery became an Education Clinician for the Conn-Selmer Corporation and began presenting clinics around the country. Additionally, he has conducted honor groups and All-State orchestras across the United States. He was a clinician at the 2024 Midwest Clinic and presented a topic regarding neglected masterworks for school orchestras. Chuk currently dedicates his time working on myriad projects he never could complete as a full-time classroom teacher – writing that method book, composing, arranging, presenting clinics, conducting, and his most ambitious project: finally adding almost thirty years of experience and data to his website, chukcush.com.