The Grant Park Orchestra was formed in 1944 when the Chicago Park District assembled a single resident orchestra under the direction of Principal Conductor Nikolai Malko to perform at the Grant Park Music Festival (which began in 1935 and featured a series of visiting orchestras). Since then, other prestigious conductors have held the position, including Irwin Hoffman, Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman, Zdnek Macal and Hugh Wolff. In 2000, Carlos Kalmar was named the Festival’s Principal Conductor.

Today, the Grant Park Orchestra draws its musicians from different orchestras and musical institutions throughout the United States. Each summer, all of the orchestra members gather in Millennium Park for a ten-week long season consisting of intensive rehearsals and performances. During the year, the musicians can be found across the country performing with major orchestras, teaching at numerous universities and appearing frequently in concert stages across the country. Some organizations represented by Grant Park Orchestra musicians include the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, the Buffalo, Colorado, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Milwaukee, New Mexico, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Richmond, San Antonio, Seattle, and Utah Symphonies. The Grant Park Orchestra was nominated for a Grammy award for its recording entitled Robert Kurka: Symphonic Works.

Six-time GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor Giancarlo Guerrero named artistic leader of Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival.

The internationally renowned conductor and longtime music director of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and music director designate of the Sarasota Orchestra becomes the Festival’s eighth artistic director and principal conductor. Guerrero led the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus in three acclaimed concerts during the 2024 season and has taken the reins of the Festival’s artistic team for the 2025 season. He will conduct four weeks next summer. The Festival has presented free classical concerts since 1935 and attracts hundreds of thousands each year. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Giancarlo Guerrero to Chicago to lead what is regarded as the United States’ most important free classical music institution,” said Paul Winberg, Grant Park Orchestral Association President and CEO. “Giancarlo is not only a brilliant conductor with a stellar reputation; he has a history of curating programs that are exciting, surprising, and inventive. Also, our musicians are tremendously excited about working with him. His concerts last summer sparked a palpable energy from our audiences. It is a joy to listen to the music he conducts. The Grant Park Music Festival is highly anticipated by Chicagoans each year; we are confident that our future is in excellent hands with Giancarlo at the podium.” 

Praised for his “viscerally powerful performances” (Boston Globe) and described as “at once vigorous, passionate, and nuanced” (BachTrack), Guerrero is one of the most respected orchestra conductors in the world. He succeeds Carlos Kalmar, who served in the position for 25 seasons, and will now hold the title of conductor laureate. Guerrero is familiar to Chicago audiences through his frequent appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he has led multiple programs with the Grant Park Music Festival since his 2008 debut.

“From the moment I first walked onto the stage of the glorious Pritzker Pavilion, and looked out at the sea of people – a snapshot of the entire city of Chicago – it was immediately apparent what a gift the Grant Park Music Festival is to the community. In the heart of this vibrant downtown, in one of the most exciting cities in the world, here is a festival dedicated to orchestral music and designed to be enjoyed by everyone. The mission of the Festival aligns closely with my philosophy that music is meant to be enjoyed by people from all walks of life, without boundaries,” said Guerrero. “I felt such a natural, easy connection with these incredible musicians – including both the stellar orchestra and the spectacular chorus. I recognized sparks flying, musically speaking, from my first interactions with them from the podium. These musicians, hailing from orchestras and opera companies from the region and throughout the world, are really the best of the best.”

During the 2024 Festival, Guerrero led two programs: the first featuring Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 on July 10, and the second featuring Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with Maurice Duruflé's Requiem on July 12 and 13. Reviewing the Shostakovich program for the Chicago Tribune, Hannah Edgar praised Guerrero’s “curatorial and interpretive creativity” and added that his pre-performance remarks to the audience “provided context for both pieces… that mirrored his interpretation of the symphony: emphatic, practiced and assertive.” Recognizing that he might be a candidate to replace Kalmar, Edgar concluded that “Guerrero will have no problem leaving his mark.” 

Festival concertmaster Jeremy Black also lauded Guerrero’s leadership of the orchestra, saying, “Giancarlo established a genuine rapport with the orchestra. I remember hearing one of my orchestra colleagues say, ‘he lit a fire under us!’ He's a superb musician who can inspire us to perform at the highest level.” 

“The Grant Park Music Festival drew hundreds of thousands of people during our recently concluded summer season,” added Grant Park Orchestral Association Board Chair Adam Grais. “Not only do our concerts attract dedicated music lovers and introduce thousands of young people to classical music, we also present some of the world’s most esteemed musicians to our stage. Concertgoers tell me that the Festival is one of the things they most love about Chicago. And Giancarlo possesses the talent, relationships, vision and drive to lead our organization to even greater accomplishments in the future.”

The board of directors of the Grant Park Orchestral Association enthusiastically voted unanimously at an August 15 meeting to name Guerrero as the successor to Kalmar, who had announced in 2021 that he was stepping down at the end of the Festival 2024. The search for Kalmar’s replacement was a three-year process undertaken by a search committee composed of musicians, members of the board of directors and community leaders. The Festival team will announce Guerrero’s plans for the 2025 season in January.

About Giancarlo Guerrero

In the 2024-2025 season, Guerrero will serve in his 16th and final year as music director of the Nashville Symphony. Guerrero collaborated with the Nashville Symphony to premiere over two dozen new works and release 22 commercial albums. These definitive recordings garnered 13 GRAMMY® Award nominations and six GRAMMY® wins, cementing Guerrero and the Symphony’s international reputation as standard-bearers for recordings of contemporary American music. As part of his commitment to fostering the work of contemporary composers, Guerrero, together with composer Aaron Jay Kernis, also guided the creation of Nashville Symphony’s biannual Composer Lab & Workshop for young and emerging composers.

Guerrero has collaborated throughout his career with leading ensembles in North America, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra, among others. Internationally, he has maintained longstanding relationships with esteemed orchestras in Europe, Latin America and Australia/New Zealand. Guerrero also recently completed a six-season tenure as music director of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic in Poland. Guerrero previously held posts as the principal guest conductor of both the Cleveland Orchestra Miami Residency and the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, music director of the Eugene Symphony, and associate conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra. 

Born in Nicaragua, Guerrero immigrated during his childhood to Costa Rica, where he joined the local youth symphony. He studied percussion and conducting at Baylor University in Texas and earned his master’s degree in conducting at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Given his beginnings in civic youth orchestras, Guerrero is particularly engaged with conducting training orchestras and has worked with the Curtis School of Music, Colburn School in Los Angeles, National Youth Orchestra (NYO2) and Yale Philharmonia, as well as with the Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando program, which provides an intensive music education to promising young students from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Now celebrating its 60th anniversary season, the 80+ member Grant Park Chorus was formed in 1962 by Thomas Peck, who led the group until his death in 1994. His protégé, Michael Cullen, then led the chorus until 1997, after which a series of guest conductors worked with the ensemble until 2002 when an international search identified current chorus director, Christopher Bell. 

Winners of the 2006 Margaret Hillis Award for artistic excellence, the Grant Park Chorus is a fully professional ensemble and the majority of the vocalists reside in Illinois. In addition to frequent solo appearances and teaching careers, members of the Grant Park Chorus perform with ensembles such as Chicago a cappella, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Chicago Symphony Chorus. 

Christopher Bell has served as Chorus Director of the Grant Park Chorus since 2002. Bell oversees a chorus of more than 100 singers, along with the Project Inclusion Vocal Fellows, a unique program designed to encourage singers under-represented in the field. Bell prepares all of the Festival’s choral programs, and conducts the orchestra and chorus for several concerts.

During his tenure, he and the chorus have been recipients of the coveted Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence given by Chorus America, as well as glowing reviews from both critics and audiences alike. In 2013, Bell won the Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art.

In a career spanning thirty years thus far, Christopher has been chorusmaster of the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union (1987–1990), Chorus Master of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus (1989–2002) the Belfast Philharmonic Choir (2005–2011) the Edinburgh Festival Chorus (2007–2018) and the Washington Chorus (2017–2020).

Largely responsible for the formation of the National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCOS) in 1996, he has been its Artistic Director ever since. The National Youth Choir of Scotland has toured to Sweden, Ireland, Chicago, Hungary, Germany and Central Europe, has won a prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award, and performed at the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival to great acclaim. NYCOS organisation has expanded to has expanded over 25 years to include fifteen regional choirs, three national choirs and an extensive education and publishing arm.

Bell was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the Royal Conservatoire in Scotland in 2012, in recognition of his contribution to performing arts in Scotland. In 2015, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music from the University of Aberdeen.

Born in Belfast, Bell was educated at Edinburgh University and held his first post as Associate Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony. Since then, he has worked with many of the major orchestras in the UK and Ireland, including the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National, BBC Scottish Symphony, Ulster Orchestra, Scottish Chamber, City of London Sinfonia, London Concert, RTE National Symphony, RTE Concert and the Bournemouth Symphony. Between 2009 and 2017 he was Associate Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra. Recent orchestral performances have included San Francisco Symphony and the Orchestra of Opera North.

He is well-known for his work with young musicians. Before his current post with the National Youth Choir of Scotland, he was the founding conductor of the Ulster Youth Choir, director of the Total Aberdeen Youth Choir for six years, and director of the prestigious RSNO Junior Chorus for twenty four years. 

Uniting Voices (formerly known as Chicago Children’s Choir) is a nonprofit organization that empowers and unites youth from diverse backgrounds to find their voice and celebrate their common humanity through the power of music.

Founded at the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement on the South side of Chicago, Uniting Voices has grown from one community-based choir into a vast network of school-based and after-school programs that serve thousands of youth from every zip code of Chicago and beyond.

Helmed by Emmy-winner and Grammy-nominee Josephine Lee, Uniting Voices has also established itself as a renowned artistic powerhouse in its own right, opening doors to life-changing performance experiences that inspire young people to develop leadership and collaboration skills. In addition to musical productions (including original works Sita Ram, Long Way Home, and Rainbow Beach), Uniting Voices has worked with some of the world’s most influential musicians and musical institutions, including Beyoncé, Bobby McFerrin, Karol G, the Eagles, Yo Yo Ma, Luciano Pavoratti, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Chance the Rapper, Common, the Q Brothers, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera, Ravinia Festival, and others. Through more than 55 years of touring, Uniting Voices has performed for leaders around the world (former President Obama, former South African President Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama) and is celebrated for using music as a tool to transcend cultural barriers, forging meaningful bonds between young people across the nation and the globe.

With its vision of a harmonious world, Uniting Voices has impacted the lives of tens of thousands of diverse youth throughout its history. Since its founding in 1956, the organization has built programs that reflect the racial and economic diversity of Chicago. Eighty percent of the youth it serves are from low-to-moderate income households. High school seniors enrolled in its choir programs have a 100 percent graduation and college acceptance rate, and they go on to become global ambassadors who embody Uniting Voices’ core values of education, expression, and excellence in a wide array of professional fields.

- versatile and dynamic in both repertoire and style, she is known for her brilliant vocal agility and powerful stage presence. She captivates audiences with her “dancer’s grace, mercurial wit, and vibrant soprano tone” (Opera Magazine). With “movie star looks and the poise to match, she has everything it takes to make it to the top” (Opera Wire). Her precision and unique expressiveness across the repertoire have put her on the map as one of the most exciting young singers to see. 

This season marks many important debuts and new collaborations. Ms. McIntyre sings Improvisations sur Mallarmé I and II from Boulez’s Pli selon pli with The New York Philharmonic under the baton of Maestro David Robertson, protege of the late Pierre Boulez. She also debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Maestro Gustavo Dudamel singing the soprano solo in Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They tour from Walt Disney Hall to Carnegie Hall and Teatro Mayor in Bogotá, Colombia. Ms. McIntyre makes an awaited debut with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Tytania in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She also returns to Opera Santa Barbara for the title role in La fille du Régiment. Further engagements include performances of Mahler Symphony No. 4 and her first performances of Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder with The Orchestra Now. She also joins Detroit Opera for their co-production of Rinaldo as well as Erie Philharmonic for Handel’s Messiah.

The 23/24 season included a return to Opera Santa Barbara for La Divina: The Art of Maria Callas. Additional season engagements included debuts with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, rejoining Maestro Xian Zhang for Carmina Burana and the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra for their Rodgers and Hammerstein Celebration. She also returned to Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera, debuting Adele in their new production of Die Fledermaus and joined the roster of San Francisco Opera for their productions of Innocence (Kaija Saariaho) and Die Zauberflöte.

Other recent successes have included Ms. McIntyre’s Carnegie Hall debut with the American Symphony Orchestra in Richard Strauss’ rarely heard Daphne (Title Role), Die Zauberflöte highlights with  the San Francisco Symphony, Semele (Semele), Norina (Don Pasquale) and Giulia (La scala di seta) with Opera Santa Barbara as well as Aminta for a new production of Die Schweigsame Frau with Bard SummerScape Festival, and Cinderella with Tulsa Opera for their new production of Sondheim’s Into the Woods. She debuted Carmina Burana with the Santa Barbara Symphony and the Seattle Symphony. With the Rally Cat in New York City, she created the role of Marianne in recording and workshop of Aferidan Stephens and Marella Martin Koch’s Elinor and Marianne based on the Jane Austen novel Sense and Sensibility. She also performed in chamber concert with Jerod Impichchaachaaha Tate and Tulsa’s Signature Symphony.

Ms. McIntyre has recently been included on the rosters of Lyric Opera of Chicago (Cendrillon), Palm Beach Opera (Die Zauberflöte) and Tulsa Opera (Rigoletto, The Little Prince, Don Giovanni). She was scheduled to make company debuts with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Canadian Opera Company among other notable returns to theaters which have been postponed/canceled due to the pandemic.

She is a George London Foundation top prize winner as well as a Metropolitan Opera National Council grand finalist. She performed Ännchen in Heart Beat Opera’s new production of Der Freischütz and joined Santa Fe Opera for their workshop of the completed version of M. Butterfly in New York City and for whom she was to return as Sister 1 in Mark Adamo and John Corgliano’s newly commissioned Lord of Cries which was canceled in March of 2020. She also debuted with the Sacramento Philharmonic singing from Così fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro as Despina and Susanna in their “Mozart Favorites” Concert.

Early career highlights include critical acclaim for her portrayal of Andromède in the American premiere of Ibert’s Persée et Andromède which made the New York Times “Best Classical Music of 2016;” her professional debut as the Amore in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice alongside Anthony Roth Costanzo and Kiera Duffy in an installment of “Orphic Moments” with Brooklyn’s National Sawdust Theater under the baton of Matthew Aucoin; as well as performing in the west coast premiere of Jonathan Scheffer’s Blood on the Dining Room Floor (Rose) at age 19. Collaborations with Maestro George Manahan to perform Joaquin Rodrigo’s Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios in concert with the Manhattan Chamber Sinfonia and also sang Mater Gloriosa in Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the Manhattan Oratorio Society at St. John the Divine Cathedral. She later performed and recorded Mahler 8 as a part of David Briggs’ organ transcription which was released by Albany Records in 2016.

Miss McIntyre won first prize in the Alan M. and Joan Taub Ades Competition which gave her the opportunity to travel to Buenos Aires to sing a series of concerts at various venues including El Salon Dorado at the Teatro Colón. She is an award winner from the Jensen Foundation, Giulio Gari Foundation, George London Foundation, Art Song Preservation Society, Gerda Lissner, among others. She is a Richard F. Gold grant recipient from the Shoshana Foundation, and the winner of the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition at Manhattan School of Music.

Jana has been an apprentice with Tulsa Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and the Merola Opera Program. She did her academic work at the University of California, Los Angeles in Psychology (B.A.) and Music (B.A.). She received her Masters in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music.

American baritone Troy Cook made notable debuts in past seasons as Ford in Hamburgische Staatsoper’s Falstaff, following his debut with the company as Marcello in La bohème, and with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte.

Troy's 2024-2025 season begins with his home company, Opera Philadelphia, singing the role of Paul Devon in the North American premiere of The Listeners. A champion of new music, he bows in Virginia Opera’s world premiere, Loving v. Virginia (Geter/Murphy Moo), portraying ACLU attorney Bernard Cohen. Cook joins Spoleto Festival USA reprising the role of Athanael in a newly produced concert version of Thaïs.  Also during the season, Cook revives his hugely popular Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance for Knoxville Opera, bows as Giorgio Germont in Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s performances of La traviata (conducted by JoAnn Falletta), joins the American Symphony Orchestra for a concert of works by C.P.E. Bach, and sings Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra

During the 2023-2024 season, Troy Cook made an anticipated role debut as Athanaël in Massenet’s Thaïs with Utah Opera, and returned to several favorite portrayals, including Giorgio Germont for Florida Grand Opera, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Boston Lyric Opera, and Major-General Stanley with Kentucky Opera. In the summer, he took the stage with Glimmerglass Opera as both Tonio in Pagliacci and Major-General Stanley.

The baritone's engagements during the 2022-2023 season included returns to Opera Philadelphia, reprising Marcello in La bohème in his fourth different production with the company, and Virginia Opera, for his role debut as Major General Stanley. With Palm Beach Opera, he made his company debut in one of his most-frequently performed roles, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, and also sang Germont in La traviata with Inland Northwest Opera. During the summer, he returned to Bard Summerscape, appearing as Mr. Page in the Music Festival's presentation of Vaughan Williams' Sir John in Love.

Mr. Cook’s 2019-2020 season begins with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra as he joins them for a night of arias and ensembles to open their concert season. He then travels to Oregon to make his house debut with Portland Opera as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, followed by another house debut with Teatro San Carlo Napoli as “Watty” Watkins in Gershwin & Gershwin’s Lady Be Good. He also returns to the Indianopolis Symphony as the baritone soloist for Handel's Messiah.  He returns to  Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, and brings his Father Palmer, the role he created in the acclaimed American opera Silent Night, to Utah Opera, where he will also be seen as Athanaël in Thaïs. 

Previous seasons found Troy singing Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with Opera Philadelphia, returning in spring to sing Marcello in La bohème. He also appeared with Minnesota Opera and Austin Opera to reprise the role of Father Palmer in Silent Night, and appeared with the Tucson Symphony for Handel’s Messiah. He finished the season with Central City Opera as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly. He also appeared in recital with the Tuesday Musical Club.

​He also created the role of John Cree in the world premiere of Elizabeth Cree with Opera Philadelphia. He bowed as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with Florida Grand Opera, Rodrigo in Don Carlo with Washington National Opera, and Falke in Die Fledermaus with Utah Opera and Des Moines Metro Opera. He also appeared in concert with the Charlotte Symphony and Memphis Symphony for Handel’s Messiah. Troy sang his first Peter in Hansel and Gretel in a return to Lyric Opera of Kansas City, followed by his Atlanta Opera debut as Father Palmer in his second production of Silent Night.  He made his debut at the San Diego Opera as Ford in Falstaff, and a role debut in the title role in Eugene Onegin at the Syracuse Opera.  He also made his Washington National Opera debut as Sharpless in the eye popping Kaneko Production of Madama Butterfly.  

Troy began the 2015-2016 season as Jupiter in Virginia Opera’s production of Orpheus in the Underworld, followed by debuts with the Dallas Opera as de Brètigny in Manon and the Macau Festival as Valentin in Faust. He finishes the season with a return to North Carolina Opera as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, a role which also serves as his debut with Austin Opera. He concludes the 15/16 season with his debut at the Des Moines Metro Opera as Brètigny in Manon and Young Galileo in Phillip Glass’ Galileo Galilei.  On the concert stage, he sang Handel’s Messiah with the Pacific Symphony and Indianapolis Symphony.

The 2014-2015 season brought important role debuts for the baritone, including Germont in La Traviata with Central City Opera and a critically acclaimed Rodrigo in Don Carlo with Opera Philadelphia. He appeared in Lady Be Good at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, made his company debut with Utah Opera as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, and returned to the role of the Marquis de la Force in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites with both the Portland and Winston-Salem Symphonies. Additionally, he debuted with the San Francisco Symphony for Handel’s Messiah, and appeared in concert with both the Portland Symphony and AZ Music Fest.

The 2013-2014 season brought performances as Paolo in Simon Boccanegra with Kentucky Opera, Riccardo in Boston Lyric Opera’s I puritani, Marcello in La bohème with Pittsburgh Opera and North Carolina Opera, and the Marquis de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites with Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Mr. Cook also appeared in concert with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and Winston Salem Symphony. He closed the season as Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music with Central City Opera.

During the 2012-2013 season, Troy Cook appeared as Marcello in La bohème and Father Palmer in Silent Night with Opera Philadelphia, in Handel’s Messiah with the Boise Philharmonic, and Lord Cecil in Maria Stuarda with Washington Concert Opera. He concluded the season with a debut as Silvio in Pagliacci with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and in a return to Central City Opera as Gaylord Ravenal in Show Boat.

Troy Cook’s 2011-2012 season included appearances with Minnesota Opera, as Father Palmer in the world premiere of Silent Night; the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, as Marcello in La bohème; Opera Philadelphia, as Lescaut in Manon Lescaut; and the Winston-Salem Symphony, for performances of Carmina Burana. Additionally, he joined Opera Rara for a recording of Donizetti’s Caterina Cornaro.

In the 2010-2011 season, Mr. Cook returned to Lyric Opera of Kansas City as the Count in Le nozze di Figaro, sang his first Escamillo in Carmen at Green Mountain Opera Festival, and appeared on the concert stage in performances of the Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Pacific Symphony and the Arizona Musicfest, the St. John Passion with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, and Handel’s Messiah with the Winston-Salem Symphony.

He returned to Opera Philadelphia as Sharpless to open the 2009-10 season, appeared at the Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao for Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias and was recently seen in Santander and Bilbao for Il viaggio a Rheims. He also performed concerts with the Portland Symphony and the Arizona Musicfest and was Albert in Kentucky Opera’s Werther.  2009-2010 also included Marcello in Florida Grand Opera’s new La bohème and just prior he was Enrico at Amigos Canarias de la Opera's Lucia di Lammermoor in Las Palmas.

Troy Cook opened 2007-08 as Zurga with Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Just prior, he sang in a gala concert with Opera Pacific, as Marcello in La bohème with Berkshire Opera and performed Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia for Opera Omaha. 2007 began with his German debut with the Semperoper Dresden as Marcello, and he also performed Marcello in his Opera Philadelphia debut to open their season. In addition, he returned to the American Ballet Theater in New York and Washington D.C. for the Kindertotenlieder. In 2006 he was Sharpless for Berkshire Opera and debuted with La Monnaie, Brussels in a gala concert of Pagliacci.  In spring 2006, he performed with the LA Philharmonic in a world-premiere conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen; bowed as Enrico in Kansas City’s Lucia; appeared as a soloist in Carmina burana with the San Antonio Symphony, and performed Zurga in with Opera Carolina.  He also sang in a Richard Tucker Foundation concert in New York City.  In 2004/05 he returned to San Francisco Opera as Mr. Flint in Billy Budd, where he appeared the previous season as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia.

Other recent appearances include Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia at Fort Worth Opera, Guglielmo with Santa Fe Opera and Toledo Opera, solo recitals under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation and Carmina Burana with the American Ballet Theater at Lincoln Center.  Mr. Cook also appeared with the Metropolitan Opera in L’enfant et les sortileges and in a new production of Sly in 2001.  In the fall of 2000 he made his European debut as Giacomo in Beatrix Cenci with the Grand Théâtre de Genève followed by Schaunard in La bohème and Morales in Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera.

GRAMMY-nominated American countertenor Reginald Mobley is globally renowned for his interpretation of baroque, classical and modern repertoire, and leads a prolific career on both sides of the Atlantic.

An advocate for diversity in music and its programming, Reginald became the first ever Programming Consultant for the Handel & Haydn Society following several years of leading H&H in its community engaging Every Voice concerts. He holds the position of Visiting Artist for Diversity Outreach with Apollo’s Fire and has recently been appointed as Artistic Advisor at the Portland Baroque Orchestra. Reginald is also leading a research project in the UK funded by the AHRC to uncover music by composers from diverse backgrounds.

Highlights of this and next seasons include a diverse range of recitals, with piano and continuo (Chicago, De Bijloke in Gent, Wigmore Hall, MA Festival in Bruges, Bayreuth Baroque festival) as well as regular appearances with specialized ensembles; in North America: the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Early Music Vancouver, Collegium San Diego, Agave, Seraphic Fire, Washington Bach Consort and, in Europe: Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Wiener Akademie, Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, and Bach Oxford Soloists. Reginald will also tour Australia with Bach Akademie in May 2025, and will perform Bach’s St John’s Passion with Orchestre de Chambre de Paris as part of the St Denis festival in June 2025.

Reginald has been invited to sing with the US main orchestras including Pittsburgh Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Washington National Symphony, Philadelphia (both chamber and symphony), Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota, Montreal Symphony, Houston Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony and Orchestra of St Luke’s (at Carnegie Hall) for a repertoire comprising Handel’s Messiah, Carmina Burana and the Mozart Requiem.

In Europe, he has appeared with Orchester Wiener Akademie, Balthasar Neumann Chor & Ensemble, Freiburger Barockorchester, I Barocchisti, Bach Society in Stuttgart, Holland Baroque Orchestra, Dutch Bach Society, Monteverdi Choir and English baroque soloists, as well as the City of Birmingham Orchestra and the Budapest Festival Orchestra for a series of performances as Ottone in L'incoronazione di Poppea. He has also engaged in projects together with the Academy of Ancient Music in Cambridge, singing the role of Disinganno in Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno and devising a new programme, Sons of England, supported by UKAHRC, which reflects his research under their umbrella, which toured England in May 2024. Reginald gave a Purcell, Handel and Sancho programme for his solo debut recital in Paris, which he repeated as part of the Bayreuth baroque opera festival in September 2023.

His first solo CD with ALPHA Classics was released in June 2023 to coincide with a major series of concerts with pianist Baptiste Trotignon at the Aix-en-Provence and BBC Proms festivals. The CD has been recently awarded the Opus Klassik Awards in the ‘Classics without limits’ category. His second recording will take place this autumn: it gives tribute to English baroque music (Purcell, Dowland and Sancho) and its resonance in the more recent American repertoire (with theorb/guitar and violone/doublebass). In addition, Reginald features on several albums with the Monteverdi Choir, Agave Baroque and Stuttgart Bach Society.

Born near Saint Petersburg in a town called Tikhvin on March 18th 1844, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, member of The Five and a strong believer in nationalist music. Many of his works have become important parts of the regularly performed orchestral repertory – works such as Capriccio Espagnol, the Russian Easter Festival Overture, and the symphonic suite Scheherazade. He undertook a substantial career in the military and so much of his compositional study early in his career took place in small bursts whilst he was onshore. He eventually decided that he should terminate his career in the military and devote himself to music. Through this time he had been studying Hector Berlioz’ treatise on orchestration and had been working through his compositions with Balakirev. As such, he had gained quite a strong hold on traditional Western compositional methods and techniques and was appointed professor of composition, harmony and orchestration at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1871. In this time he spent significant amounts of time in personal study in order to master the techniques of composition, whilst also incorporating influences from other members of The Five. 

Rimsky-Korsakov is a very important figure in the progression of Russian music – he composed a significant body of Russian nationalist compositions; he helped to edit and prepare many of the works by The Five for performance; he influenced a generation of future composers and musicians for decades whilst working as an educator. He is therefore often considered the main architect of what the public may think of as the Russian style of composition. He died on June 21st 1908 near Luga from heart problems.

Souce: G. Schirmer

(March 8, 1911 – June 21, 2000) American composer Alan Hovhaness was one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His works include at least 67 symphonies, as well as other works numbering over 500. Influenced by the music of other cultures, his works are often described as sounding New Agey or mystical.

Carl Orff (1895-1982) was a prominent German composer and music educator. He displayed musical talent from a young age, studying at the Munich Academy of Music and later developing a unique style that blended elements of ancient Greek tragedy with Baroque influences. Orff's innovative approach to music composition and education has left a lasting impact on the world of music.

Orff is best known for his iconic cantata Carmina Burana, composed in 1937, which remains one of the most performed choral works today. His other notable compositions include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1939) and Antigonae (1949), showcasing his ability to fuse dramatic narratives with compelling musical structures. Throughout his career, Orff sought to make music accessible and engaging, leading to the creation of the Orff-Schulwerk, a groundbreaking educational method that emphasizes rhythm, movement, and improvisation.

In recognition of his contributions to music and education, Orff received numerous awards and honorary doctorates throughout his lifetime. He leaves behind a rich legacy that continues to inspire musicians and educators worldwide. His work not only transformed the landscape of 20th-century music but also established a new paradigm for music education that remains influential today.