Editor’s note: The responses in this report have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

DeKALB – As of fall 2023, Silas Huff is the new director of the NIU Philharmonic and Opera Orchestras and the director of Orchestras for the School of Music. Huff spoke with the Northern Star about his time so far at NIU.
CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF?
“I’m originally from Texas, but I have lived all over the world and all over America, so I don’t really feel like a Texan anymore. I just feel like a citizen of the world. But ever since I was very young, I knew I would be a musician, and eventually, about 25 years ago, I found my way into conducting an orchestra, and I’ve been doing that ever since. I like to bicycle, and I compete in triathlons and I like sleeping in late, which I never get to do. I travel a lot for work outside of NIU for musical reasons, but I’d like to travel anyway if I wasn’t traveling for work.”
WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE AS AN ORCHESTRAL DIRECTOR?
“I come in usually about 9 in the morning, and I teach a class in the morning. This semester, I’m teaching conducting (MUSP 335: Conducting I). In the spring semester, I teach orchestration (MUTC 305: Orchestration). But then, after I teach my academic classes, I usually have rehearsals in the afternoon so I rehearse with the NIU Philharmonic, or with a section from the Philharmonic, or with the Opera Studio.”
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT NIU SO FAR?
“Conducting the Philharmonic is my favorite. I love it. It’s about 55 or 60 musicians on the stage. They all have to work together as a team to make a really beautiful thing that sounds kind of simple, maybe to the audience, but takes a lot of coordination and a lot of individual discipline and that’s just really fun. It’s like an amazing sports team, and everyone has a role and they have to work together to succeed, and I think that’s fun. I just love the students, and the faculty are great, but I love those rehearsals with the Philharmonic.”
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT THE STUDENT BODY TO KNOW ABOUT YOU?
“I think music is one of the things that makes humans human and one that reaches across national and language barriers and everything else. It’s an international art form, and it’s a way for people to communicate across cultures. And I think it’s really powerful, and that’s why I’m so glad students choose to study music, and I’m really happy to teach it. I’m only in my second year at NIU, so I’m relatively new here. So far, I really enjoy the campus and am proud to be a Huskie.”