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john emory bush helmuth rilling jerome lenk michael beetham ben jones lauren groff kaileen miller sfcc membership |
John
Emory Bush, Music Director and Conductor, began musical studies at the
age of seven in his native Michigan. Trained as a conductor, pianist,
organist, and harpist, he has a Bachelor’s degree from Albion
College in Michigan and a Master's degree from the Juilliard School of
Music. Mr. Bush has been privileged to study and coach with the
distinguished conductors Leonard Bernstein, Erich Leinsdorf, Helmuth
Rilling and Robert Shaw. In 1988, he was one of five musicians (and the
only American) to be invited to study conducting with Antal Dorati in
Bern and Basel, Switzerland. He has studied with the renowned organists
Joan Lippincott, Albert Fuller and the late Leonard Raver. |
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 Helmuth Rilling, Guest Artist"Music should startle people and reach deep down inside them forcing them to reflect. It should never be merely 'comfortable,' never fossilized, never soothing." This is Helmuth Rilling's "credo." Born in 1933 in Stuttgart, Mr. Rilling is active as a conductor, pedagogue, and an ambassador for the music of J. S. Bach worldwide. In 1954 Helmuth Rilling founded the Gächinger Kantorei and 11 years later in 1965, founded the Bach Collegium Stuttgart as the choir's regular orchestral partner. Ever since, Mr. Rilling has been intensely involved with the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and has felt a strong link to this composer's works. In addition, Mr. Rilling has been a fervent advocate of "neglected" romantic choral music as well as commissioning and performing contemporary choral music. His latest project was a critically acclaimed premiere of "Passions" composed by Wolfgang Rihm, Sofia Gubaidulina, Osvaldo Golijov, and Tan Dun in 2000. Furthering his devotion to Bach, in 1981 Mr. Rilling founded the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart dedicated to furthering the music and personality of J. S. Bach through public concerts, master classes for singers and conductors, symposia, and residencies all over the world, in addition to special annual projects such as the Bach Week Stuttgart and the European Music Festival Stuttgart. Of special importance to Mr. Rilling is the encouragement of young musicians and in 2001 he founded the Festvalensemble Stuttgart. This ensemble, consisting of choir and orchestra, draws on the participation of talented young musicians from 25 different countries. Combining the roles of pedagogue and conductor, Mr. Rilling has devised a system of "lecture concerts" in which he says he "peers over the composer's shoulder" as he explains to the audience certain aspects of a composer's work by means of musical examples. Either together with his house ensembles in Stuttgart or as a guest conductor, Mr. Rilling is active on the international concert podium, performing regularly throughout Europe, US, and Canada. He has a special friendship dating back some 30 years with the Israel Philharmonic, and since 1970 has been the Artistic Director of the Oregon Bach Festival. Upcoming engagements in North America include performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (where he appears annually as part of the Toronto International Bach Festival), the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, the Minnesota Orchestra, as well as residencies at the University of Miami, Dartmouth College, and Yale University. Recent engagements in the US include performances with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, as well as leading a Choral Workshop at Carnegie Hall that culminated in a performance of J.S. Bach's St. Matthew's Passion. In January 2005, he led a highly acclaimed premiere of Robert Levin's new completion of Mozart's Mass in C Minor at Carnegie Hall. As a testament to his inexhaustible activity are hundreds of CD, radio and TV recordings. From 1970 to 1984, Mr. Rilling was the first musician to record all of Bach's Cantatas (Hänssler Classic). Furthermore, his was the guiding hand behind the Internationale Bachakademie's critically-acclaimed project to record the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach (172 CDs) for Hänssler Classic which was released in 2000 to coincinde with the 250th Anniversary of Bach's death. The many prizes Helmuth Rilling has received include the UNESCO International Music Prize in 1994 and the Theodor Heuss Prize in 1995. In 2003 he became an Honorary Member of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences. He won a coveted Grammy Award in 2000 for his recording of Krzystof Penderecki's Credo and was again nominated in 2001 for his recording of Wolfgang Rihm's "Deus Passus." |
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 Jerome LenkAssistant to the Director and Accompanist Jerome Lenk began his
musical studies in piano at the age of seven and the organ at age nine. He
holds the Master of Fine Arts degree in performance from The University of Iowa
and the Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance with an organ minor from
He has performed organ concerts and conducted the outstanding Mission Dolores Basilica Choir in the Mr. Lenk is active as a recitalist and accompanist, and maintains a private studio. He has a recording of organ music from the Basilica entitled A Dedicatory Recital. He conducted a recording of the soon-to-be-released Basilica Choir, featuring music of their recent tour to
His professional memberships included the American Guild of Organists, The National
Association of Pastoral Musicians, and Phi Mu Alpha Music Fraternity.
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Michael Beetham, baritone, has appeared
on the operatic stage as Bob (The Old Maid and the Thief,) Count
Almaviva, Guglielmo, Danilo (The Merry Widow,) Paris, Frederick (A
Little Night Music,) and Frederic (Lakmé.) He received his master’s
degree in Voice Performance from the |
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 Ben Jones, Tenor Section LeaderBen Jones holds a B.A. with high distinction from the University of
Illinois and is currently working toward an M.M. in Voice at the San Francisco
Conservatory of Music, where he is the recipient of a major talent scholarship.
Jones has appeared as a soloist in concert with the Shola Cantorum at both Notre
Dame des Victoires and St. Dominic's Catholic Church in San Francisco, as a
section leader and conductor with the University of Illinois Varsity Men's Glee
Club, the acclaimed comedy octet: The Other Guys, which he directed in its 35th
year in 2004, acclaimed soloists Alex DiFulvio, Ricardo Herrera and Nathan Gunn,
and in workshop with Andrew Gant, director of the choir at the Chapel Royal of
St. James' Palace, and Nico Castel, head coach for the Metropolitan Opera in New
York. Roles Jones has performed include Charlie (Mahagonny Songspiel),
Pepe (La Vida Breve), King Theseus (Enescu's Oedipe), Tobias
(Sweeney Todd), and The Dying Swan (Carmina Burana).
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Lauren Groff, Alto Section Leader
Mezzo-soprano Lauren Groff is a 2nd year master's student at the San Francisco
Conservatory of Music. She holds a B.A . in Music from California Polytechnic
State University, San Luis Obispo, and a minor in English. She held the title
of alto section leader for 2 years at the Idyllwild Arts summer program, under
the tutelage of Grant Gershon, and was the alto section leader of the Cal Poly
PolyPhonics. Last year, Lauren created the role of Claudio in the world
premiere of Silla by Handel, was the
mezzo soloist in the Mozart Grand Mass in C
minor, performed the roles of Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, and Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Lauren's upcoming
engagements include Meg in Mark Adamo's Little
Women , and Lidio in Cavalli's L'Egisto. Lauren is privileged to study with
mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook.
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 Kaileen Miller, Soprano Section Leader Kaileen Miller, lyric soprano, is a second year Master's student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studies voice with mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook. Her recent operatic roles include Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte) and Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream). She received her undergraduate degree from Whitman College, where she performed the roles of Yum Yum (The Mikado) and Rowan (The Little Sweep). She is an active singer in the Bay Area and in addition to singing with the San Francisco Concert Chorale, she has also worked with the Valley Concert Chorale, Les Choristes at Notre Dame des Victoires, and the Schola at the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi. Top |
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