Meet the Team

Charlotte Raby, President & Treasurer

Toru Tagawa, from Hiroshima, Japan, began playing violin at age 6, and joined the Kurashiki Junior Philharmonic Orchestra at age 9. He received his BA in violin performance from the University of Tulsa, MA in music from Florida State University, and a ME from the University of Arizona (UA). Tagawa has been the music conductor of the Tucson Repertory Orchestra (TRO) from 2011 and the Sierra Vista Symphony from 2016. In 2015 and 2019, the TRO toured Japan, performing in Hiroshima, Okayama, Osaka and Aichi prefectures. He has been the orchestra director at Canyon del Oro High School since 2008 and in 2017 directed the school orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Tagawa was a finalist for the UA online Amazing Teacher of the Year in 2020-2021. He guest-conducted in AMEA High School Regional Orchestras, CODA All State Orchestra, the Tucson Pops Orchestra, and participated in conducting workshops across the country. He served as president of the American String Teachers Association of Arizona from 2018-2020 and is a member of the Conductor’s Guild. He officially became the Foothills Philharmonic Musical Director in 2023.

Rafael Reyes-Worman is a Tucson native who began his music career in TUSD’s Opening Minds through the Arts (OMA) program. He earned a BA in Music degree from the University of Arizona in December 2020. As a violinist, he studied with local teachers Dennis Bourret, Anna Gendler, and Lauren Roth. He joined Tucson Junior Strings as a student and now serves them as a violin coach. Reyes-Worman has conducted under mentors Dr. Alexander Tentser, László Veres, and Charles Bontrager. He is the first and current music director/conductor of the Tucson Mandolin Orchestra, and has guest-conducted with the Pima Community College Orchestra, the Foothills Philharmonic, the Tucson Flute Club, and the Civic Orchestra of Tucson. He officially became the Foothills Philharmonic Assistant Conductor in 2023.