Rock Hill Symphony...The Orchestra of York County
A Musical Tapestry of Folk & Classical Traditions - 09/10/22
KELLEN GRAY, GUEST CONDUCTOR
Kellen Gray has earned a reputation as a versatile and imaginative conductor through his enthusiasm for traditional, experimental, and integrative multimedia art programs. Presently, he serves as Assistant Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (UK) and Associate Conductor of the Charleston Symphony (USA).
Prior to his present appointments, Kellen was a Project Inclusion Freeman Conducting Fellow, and later, Assistant Conductor at Chicago Sinfonietta, under Music Director, Mei-Ann Chen. Before leaving Chicago, Kellen made his Chicago Symphony Center debut, which Chicago’s Picture This Post, described as, “...laser-like focus that allowed the entire orchestra to seem to become one organism.”
From 2014-16, Kellen was Assistant Conductor at the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra under Music Director - Howard Hsu, Music Director of the Valdosta Symphony Youth Orchestra, and one of eight Conducting Fellows selected to attend Eastern Music Festival, under the tutelage of Gerard Schwarz, Grant Cooper, and Jose-Luis Novo. Of his North Carolina debut at Eastern Music Festival, Peter Perret of the Classical Voice of North Carolina referred to Kellen as an “...gestures so smooth and polished they’re almost choreography...”
At the 2018 League of American Orchestras conference, Kellen was a discussion panelist on the value of leadership pipelines in classical music based on diversity, inclusion, and equity. At a 2017 festival celebrating the 100th birthday of Georgia-born author, Carson McCullers, he was awarded the honor of guest-conducting a collaboration of the music of David Diamond and the premiere of Karen Allen’s debut film, “A Tree, A Rock, A Cloud.”
He earned an undergraduate degree in Violin Performance and an Artists’ Diploma in Orchestral Conducting from the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University, and Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from Valdosta State University.
Kellen’s recent and upcoming conducting endeavors include the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, English National Opera, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Ballet, Chicago Sinfonietta, Chicago Philharmonic, Northwest Florida Symphony, and Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra.
ABIGAIL KENT, HARPIST
One of the brightest young stars of the harp, Abigail Kent is an international award-winning harpist, hailed as “superb” by the South Florida Classical Review and praised for her “immaculate playing and musical sensitivity” in Fanfare Magazine’s review of the Taylor Festival Choir’s 2020 album “So Hallow’d the Time.” Kent was the February 2018 “New Artist” for Musical America International Magazine as well as the touring Harp Ambassador as “Concert Artist” for the American Harp Society 2017-19. With this prize, she presented 25 solo recitals and taught 18 masterclasses throughout the US.
She was also a featured harp soloist for the 2017 World Harp Congress in Hong Kong, a Laureate Finalist at the 2017 Classics Alive management search in Los Angeles, the 2019 Silver Medal at the Medallion International Concerto Competition, and was a Live Finalist for the Young Concert Artist International Auditions in 2020.
In addition to her success as a concert soloist, Ms. Kent is also in high demand as an orchestral harpist. She is Acting Principal Harpist for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Principal Harpist for “Symphony in C” Orchestra in New Jersey, and plays often with the New World Symphony. Additionally, she has performed at international summer music festivals including Spoleto Festival USA, Pacific Music Festival (Sapporo, Japan), National Repertory Orchestra, and the Aspen Music Festival. Her career has taken her across the globe to perform in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and Konzerthaus in Berlin, and work under the batons of Valery Gergiev, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Osmo Vänskä, among others.
A committed pedagogue, her love of teaching stemmed from hosting masterclasses during her two years as Concert Artist. Ms. Kent is on faculty at the Charleston Academy of Music and “Circle Circle” Arts Academy (New York City) and manages a private teaching studio. Most recently, she was appointed as harp faculty at College of Charleston. She has given masterclasses and lectures for the American Harp Academy, the 2019 American Harp Society National Institute, University of Denver, University of North Texas, the Curtis Institute of Music, and The Juilliard School.
An avid proponent of new music, she has premiered commissioned works and solos written for her including dahlianum by Andrew Hsu, The Star at Night and The Angel at Dawn by Ben Yee-Paulson, and The Tolstoy Trio by Nicholas Bentz.
She began her classical pedal harp studies in 2010 with Judy McCoy and has also worked with Jacquelyn Bartlett, Susann McDonald, Jana Bouskova, Maria Luisa Rayan, Anneleen Lenaerts, Chantal Mathieu, and Isabelle Moretti.
Ms. Kent studied for a year in the BMus program at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Catherine White. She was then selected as the Maryjane Mayhew Barton Fellow at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree under Elizabeth Hainen, Principal Harpist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, graduating with the Landis Award for Excellence in Academics. Ms. Kent went on to obtain her Master of Music degree as a Presidential Scholar at the Mannes School of Music in New York City, studying with Emmanuel Ceysson, Principal Harpist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and former Principal Harpist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. In June 2021, she completed the residency of her Doctor of Musical Arts degree as a C.V. Starr Fellow at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Nancy Allen, Principal Harpist of the New York Philharmonic.
A Season of Wonder - 12/17/22
Dr. Elisa Koehler, Guest Conductor
Known for her probing musicianship and versatility, Elisa Koehler is Professor of Music and Chair of the Music Department at Winthrop University, where she conducts the Winthrop Symphony Orchestra and teaches courses in music research. Before moving to Winthrop in 2019, Dr. Koehler was the Music Director and Conductor of the Frederick Symphony Orchestra, as well as Professor of Music and Director of the Center for Dance, Music, and Theatre at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned degrees from the Peabody Conservatory (DMA, Conducting; BM, Trumpet; BME) and the University of Tennessee (MM, Trumpet). Her conducting teachers have included Frederik Prausnitz, Harold Farberman, and Kirk Trevor. She is also the conductor of the period instrument ensemble, Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band, whose second album, The Gilded Age (MSR Classics, MS 1726) was released in March 2021 on all major streaming platforms and CD to critical acclaim.
As a professional trumpeter, Dr. Koehler has performed with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Brass Quintet, and as the solo trumpeter of Baltimore’s Bach Concert Series. She has performed and recorded on period instruments with the Bach Sinfonia, the Handel Choir of Baltimore, and the Washington Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble. A noted writer on historic brass, Dr. Koehler is the author of Fanfares and Finesse: A Performer’s Guide to Trumpet History and Literature (Indiana University Press), A Dictionary for the Modern Trumpet Player (Rowman & Littlefield), numerous articles, and performing editions of the Haydn and Hummel trumpet concertos published by Carl Fischer Music. She has also served on the Board of Directors and as the Secretary of the International Trumpet Guild.
Dr. Koehler has been named a Distinguished Alumna by the University of Tennessee and received a citation from the city of Frederick, Maryland for her contributions to the local arts community during her seventeen years as Music Director of the Frederick Symphony Orchestra. In 2014 she received Goucher College’s highest faculty honor, the Caroline Doebler Bruckerl Award, which recognizes an outstanding faculty member in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service. For more information: http://elisakoehler.com
Aspects of Love - 02/11/23
CHARLES JONES EVANS, GUEST CONDUCTOR
In his twenty-sixth season as Music Director/Conductor, Maestro Charles Jones Evans, continues to deliver an exceptional standard of performances and imaginative programming with The Long Bay Symphony. Evans brings a wealth of musical experience to the area, having held conducting positions with numerous professional orchestras and music festivals throughout the United States including Pine Bluff Symphony (AR), Eastern Philharmonic (Greensboro, NC), Memphis Symphony, Mississippi Symphony, and the Eastman Philharmonia (Rochester, NY). As a guest conductor, he has been featured on the podium of the
Richmond Symphony (VA), North Carolina Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Arkansas Symphony, the Memphis Ballet, and additional ensembles in
Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Spokane and Santa Barbara. In Europe, Evans has made guest appearances with the Oradeo and Giurgiu Philharmonic Orchestras of Romania and has worked with Conservatory orchestras in Bucharest and other cities. Maestro Evans' orchestral performances frequently broadcast on Notional Public Radio.
Critics hove praised Evans' conducting as "exuberant," describing him as on "elegant, enraptured performer" (Norfolk, VA) and a "solid and polished conductor" (Little Rock, AR). A champion of twentieth-century music, he has conducted several world premieres in addition to contemporary concert, dance, and operatic works. His performance of William Schuman's Credendum was praised as "straight ahead, no-nonsense" with "meaty, nicely calculated climaxes and unflagging energy" (Greensboro, NC). The Memphis Commercial Appeal stated that his rendering of the music of Ives and Schoenberg "reaffirmed [Evans'] status as a key interpreter of Modernism."
Maestro Evans has an equally extensive background in both traditional and popular idioms. In addition to performing with major pop artists such as Judy Collins, Maureen McGovern, and Maurice Williams, he has created a wide variety of programs, including the highly acclaimed "Rock n' Roll," "Gospel," and "Beech Music" pops concerts for which he has written many orchestral arrangements.
Evans' conducting training has included a fellowship under eminent American composer/conductor Gunther Schuller at the Festival at Sandpoint, as well as a fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival. He has also studied under Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman, Boris Goldovsky, ond David Effron. In 199 l, he was one of four Americans selected to compete in the Antonio Pedrotti International Conducting Competition in Italy. In 2000, Evans was invited to participate in the Wiener Musikseminar at Vienna's Universitat for Musik and Darstellende Kunst, where he was awarded second prize in performance. Evans holds a B.M. degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, M.M. from Southern Methodist University, and a D.M.A. from the Eastman School of Music.
DR. WILLIAM TERWILLIGER, VIOLINIST
Violinist William Terwilliger enjoys an exceptionally active and diverse career as a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, orchestral musician and teacher throughout the US and on six continents, including performances and master classes in such global centers as New York, Paris, Los Angeles, London, Berlin, Monaco, Nice, Geneva, Beijing, Taipei, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Lima, La Paz, Vladivostok, Accra and Canberra. With pianist Andrew Cooperstock as Opus Two, Terwilliger has performed at New York’s most noteworthy venues including Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, (le) Poisson Rouge, BargeMusic, 54 Below, and the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center.
Internationally, Terwilliger and Cooperstock were featured in recital at London’s St. John’s, Smith Square, at Beijing’s Central Conservatory, and throughout Korea, Japan, Russia and Latin America. As Artistic Ambassadors sponsored by the US State Department, they were featured in various venues throughout Chile, Peru, Bolivia Ecuador, Panama, and Dominican Republic. Other state department-sponsored tours have taken them to France, Switzerland, Germany, Australia and Africa. Festival performances include the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Hong Kong’s Hell Hot! Festival of New Music, Maverick Concerts in Woodstock, NY, Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago, Piccolo Spoleto, Round Top, and Brevard. Their live performances and recordings have been heard on Sirius XM, NPR, the BBC, Radio France, and Latvian and Australian National Radio.
As champions and gifted interpreters of American music, Terwilliger and Cooperstock have recorded critically acclaimed single-composer CDs of Aaron Copland, Lowell Liebermann, Paul Schoenfield, Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin on the Azica, Albany and Naxos labels. Their most recent recording of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, arranged especially for them by legendary Broadway director Eric Stern and brought out by Bridge Records, enjoyed glowing reviews from over a dozen music journals including American Record Guide, BBC Music, The Violin Channel and Musical Theater Review.
As concerto soloist, Dr. Terwilliger has performed abroad with l‘Orchèstre des Alpes Maritimes in Nice and Monaco, the Martinu Philharmonic in the Czech Republic, The National Orchestra of Bolivia in La Paz, and the National Orchestra of Ghana in Accra. In the US, he has appeared as soloist with the Toledo Symphony, the Boulder Philharmonic (CO), the South Carolina Philharmonic, the Long Bay Symphony (SC), and the Rock Hill Symphony (SC).
A noted and committed pedagogue, Dr. Terwilliger has given numerous master classes at conservatories and universities across the US, including the Juilliard School, the Cincinnati Conservatory, Arizona State, and the Universities of Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Oklahoma, Georgia, Colorado, as well as at institutions abroad in France, England, Germany, Sweden, Latvia, Ukraine, China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, Peru, Bolivia and Ghana, among others. He has served as an Artist Faculty member at numerous summer festivals including Brevard (NC), Round Top (TX), and Rocky Ridge (CO) as well the Vianden Festival in Luxembourg, the Saarburg Festival in Germany, and the International Concerto Festival in the Czech Republic. Currently, he is Professor of Violin at the University of South Carolina, and concertmaster of the Long Bay and the Rock Hill Symphonies in South Carolina. He earned his doctoral degree from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Zvi Zeitlin and Donald Weilerstein.
