Dr. Fagner Magrinelli Rocha

Dr. Fagner Magrinelli Rocha is the Music Director for the Big Spring Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as Associate Professor of Music at Angelo State University where he teaches violin, viola and directs the ASU Symphony Orcahestra. Before his appointment at Angelo State, Dr. Rocha served as Assistant Professor of Violin at the Universidade Federal de Alagoas in Maceió, Brazil. He currently serves as concertmaster for the Ballet San Angelo and San Angelo Symphony Orchestras.

A versatile musician, Dr. Rocha has appeared as a performer, conductor and clinician in concerts and festivals through South and North America, as well as in Europe. As an ensemble musician, Dr. Rocha has performed with several orchestras in the United States and Brazil. Dr. Rocha is a constant guest in Texas public schools, having conducted multiple Honors, All-Region and Youth Orchestras around Texas. He has also published music and arrangements. His most recent project is the musical “The Pearl”, a collaboration with composer and writer Cynthia Jordan, which tells the story of San Angelo in the 1920s during the first West Texas oil boom. The musical was premiered in San Angelo in June 2023. His “Valse for Livy” was premiered by the ASU Symphony in November 2023. His doctoral research, entitled “An Analysis of Violin Sound Spectra with Different Shoulder Rests” was awarded 1^st Prize at the 6^th Annual Arts and Humanities Research Conference hosted by Texas Tech University.

Dr. Rocha holds a Bachelor of Music in Violin performance from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alegre, Brazil) and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Violin Performance from Texas Tech University. He studied conducting with renowned conductor and educator, Dr. David Becker. His major violin teachers include Dr. Fredi Gierling, Prof. Hella Frank, Dr. Kirsten Yon and Prof. Annie Chalex-Boyle.

Dr. Rocha lives in San Angelo with his wife Emilee and his daughters Olivia and Emma. During the Summer months, Dr. Rocha teaches at the Angelo State Music Camp. When not working with music, he enjoys reading, running, and doing home projects.