Kalena Bovell. Project Inclusion Alum Civic Orchestra of New Haven

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1 Kalena Bovell Project Inclusion Alum Civic Orchestra of New Haven Praised for her brilliant conducting skills (Chicago Tribune) Kalena Bovell was named Music Director of the Civic Orchestra of New Haven and will begin her tenure for the season. Described as a conductor who possesses innate confidence and charisma, Kalena was a conducting fellow with the Allentown Symphony for their season. She was also a Freeman Conducting Fellow with the for the season. This opportunity allowed her to work closely with Mei-Ann Chen and take part in Maestro Paul Freeman s vision of fostering and promoting cultural diversity and inclusion within classical music. Kalena was later promoted to Assistant Conductor with Sinfonietta for the season; making her professional debut in Chicago Symphony Center in January of That same year, Kalena was a Semi Finalist for Marin Alsop s prestigious Taki Concordia Fellowship and was awarded 3rd place in the American Prize for the college/university division in Kalena also traveled to Memphis, Tennessee in May of 2016 and assisted Mei-Ann Chen for her final masterworks concert with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, conducting the off-stage brass in Mahler s First Symphony. Kalena has also served as the cover conductor to the St. Louis Symphony and the Hartford Symphony. She has assisted conductors Gemma New, Carolyn Kuan, Bill Eddins and Gerard Schwartz. Kalena has also been fortunate to work with with renowned conductors Johannes Schlaefli, James Lowe, Donald Portnoy, Maurice Peress, Jorge Mester, Diane Wittry, Peter Jaffe, John Koshak, Kenneth Kiesler and has received coachings from Michael Morgan, Rossen Milanov, Gerard Schwarz and Bill Eddins. Currently the Orchestra Director at the Loomis Chaffee School, Kalena received a Master s Degree and Graduate Professional Diploma in instrumental conducting from The Hartt School. She was a student of Edward Cumming.

2 Kellen Gray Departing Assisant Conductor Incoming Assisatnat Conductor Charleston Symphony Orchestra programs. The season marks Kellen Gray s first as Assistant Conductor at the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra. Kellen has earned a reputation as a versatile and imaginative conductor through his enthusiasm for traditional, experimental, and integrative multimedia art Previously, Kellen served as Assistant Conductor and Project Inclusion Freeman Conducting Fellow at, under Mei-Ann Chen, while fulfilling duties as Associate Conductor of the Columbus Ballet(GA) from From , Kellen was Assistant Conductor at the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, under Howard Hsu and Music Director of the Valdosta Symphony Youth Orchestra of Georgia. Also in 2016, he was one of eight Conducting Fellows at Eastern Music Festival where he studied with 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...imposing young Georgian with gestures so smooth and polished they re almost choreography in themselves. Kellen is a frequent cover conductor at the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra for both subscription series and Pops programs. As a part of his commitment to music education, since 2015, Kellen has been a frequent Guest Conductor for the GISA(Georgia Independent Schools Association) All-Select Honors Orchestra, and often volunteered time to work with public school orchestras in Georgia. During the holidays of 2014 and 2015, he was cover conductor for the Hollywood Concert Orchestra during their tours of China. Kellen received his earliest musical training from the public school system of South Carolina in his hometown of Rock Hill. He earned an undergraduate degree in Violin Performance and an Artist s Diploma in Orchestral Conducting from the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University(GA), and his Master s degree in Orchestral Conducting from Valdosta State University. 2

3 Roslyn Green Civic Orchestra Fellow Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association A dual citizen from Toronto, Canada, Roslyn Green now finds herself in Chicago as the Viola Fellow with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Having trained on violin from a young age, in particular with the late Jacques Israelievitch, Roslyn completed a BAH in English and Drama at Queen's University while working as a contract violinist with the Kingston Symphony. Upon graduation, she returned to Toronto and studied violin privately with iconic Canadian violin pedagogue David Zafer. She began viola studies with Yosef Tamir in 2013, and subsequently won a spot at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory the following year. Roslyn completed her Artist Diploma on the Dean's List in 2016 under the tutelage of renowned violist Steven Dann. She has played in masterclasses for artists including Kim Kashkashian, Ettore Causa, Geoff Nuttall, Kikuei Ikeda, and the Juilliard Quartet. As well as playing with the Civic Orchestra starting in 2016, Roslyn has appeared in the viola sections of the Chicago Symphony, the Windsor Symphony, the Hamilton Philharmonic and for three seasons with the National Academy Orchestra of Canada. She has recorded extensively as a session player and with her former rock band, The C'mons. She is the director of the brand new branch of the Chicago Metamorphosis Orchestra Project at Hamilton Elementary School and teaches violin and piano privately. Hilary Mercer Project Inclusion Manager Hilary Mercer manages the conductors and instrumentalists in the Project Inclusion Freeman Fellowship Program at the, a groundbreaking program that fosters the development of musicians of diverse backgrounds who are on the verge of professional careers. She also manages the Project Inclusion program for one of 's partnership organizations, the Grant Park Music Festival, where she serves as Education & Community Engagement Manager. In 2017, she successfully launched the Project Inclusion Vocal Fellowship to add to the suite of programs offered between the two 3

4 organizations. A Milwaukee native, Hilary also has extensive experience in concert production and educational programming with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. She holds a violin performance degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and enjoys performing violin and viola in orchestras across Southeastern Wisconsin and Illinois and electric violin in a rock band. Courtney Perkins Chief Operating Officer Courtney has over fifteen years of not-for-profit and grassroots fundraising and leadership experience, both in arts and social service organizations. She left the practice of law to commit to her passion, equity work in the arts. As Chief Operating Officer, Courtney has spent almost eleven years at Chicago Sinfonietta, the nation s most diverse orchestra. Through her work, Courtney enjoys consensus building, challenging stereotypes, cultivating the next generation of leaders and change makers, and relationship building and development. She is also part-time faculty at Columbia College, where she teaches fundraising and business writing. She lectures frequently on cultivating a culture of philanthropy and also cultivating diverse voices throughout Chicago s corporate and non-profit community. She has a Master of Arts Degree in Art History from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a law degree from the John Marshall Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Comparative Literature and Italian from Indiana University. She is also an independent curator and a published author. She has two Jack Russell terriers, Scout and Atticus, a two-flat in Logan Square with her husband, and a wicked sense of humor. 4

5 Marlea Simpson Violinist Chicago Sionfietta Orchestra / Grant Park Orchestra Marlea Simpson has been hailed by the Chicago Tribune as Grant Park s new...wunderkind. She became a permanent member of the orchestra in 2016 after having participated in the festival s Project Inclusion program in Simpson is also the Principal violist of the. Currently, Simpson is pursuing a Masters of Music at the Yale School of Music, and is a student of Steven Tenenbom. She received her Bachelor s of Music at the Oberlin Conservatory where she studied with Peter Slowik. She made her solo debut in 2012 with the Allen Philharmonic. 5