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Sarah
Ioannides Sarah Ioannides has served as Music Director for the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, Texas, and the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra, South Carolina since 2005. She focuses on creative programming and has been noted for her artistic vision and creativity in both El Paso and Spartanburg. Recent guest conducting engagements include the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra in Korea, the Orquesta Sinfónica Municipal de Caracas in Venezuela, the Flemish Radio Orchestra at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Bachakademie in Stuttgart, the Naumburg Concert Series in New York City, Indiana University's Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Annapolis Symphony. Most recently, Sarah Ioannides conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in a recording with violinist Lara St. John to be released in early 2008. Born in Canberra, Australia to a Scottish mother and Cypriot father, Sarah Ioannides grew up in England. She studied violin, piano and French horn and earned a Masters of Arts in Music at Oxford University. Formerly a member of the National Youth Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, she played professionally as a violinist. In 1996, Ms. Ioannides was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and entered the Curtis Institute of Music as a conductor. From there, she was awarded the Presser Foundation Scholarship to study in St. Petersburg. She subsequently received a Masters of Music in Conducting at the Juilliard School, was awarded the Bruno Walter Scholarship, and served as assistant conductor to Otto Werner-Mueller. From 1997-2000, Ms. Ioannides was Music Director of the Swarthmore Orchestra and Associate in Performance at Swarthmore College. From 2002 until 2004, she served as Assistant Conductor and cover conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra and was awarded the Bruno Walter Assistant Conductor Chair during her tenure with the orchestra. Ms. Ioannides served as Assistant Conductor to composer Tan Dun from 1999 to 2003, touring Japan, China, Hong Kong, Russia, France, Germany, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom. As such, she conducted the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Flemish Radio Orchestra, and the Oregon Bach Festival. In 2002, she was selected by American Symphony Orchestra League to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic, working with Esa-Pekka Salonen. Ms. Ioannides was Choir Director for the RIAS Kammerchor and Production Coordinator for the world premiere of Tan Dun's Water Passion in 2000. She served as Production Coordinator and Assistant Conductor to the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta for the Tan Dun Fire Crossing Water Festival at the Barbican Center. In 2004 she was Guest Music Director for the Dessoff Choirs in New York. Special multimedia performances include the Tan Dun Water Passion in Perth, Australia in 2005 as the first conductor to perform this work other than the composer, multimedia performances of Steve Reich's The Desert Music with film commissioned by the El Paso Symphony Orchestra in 2006 and live video multi-media production of Tan Dun’s Water Percussion Concerto in 2007. Ms. Ioannides is an active supporter of living composers, having conducted numerous world premieres and been responsible for several commissions. In 2001, she received the JoAnne Falletta Award for the most promising female conductor. Reviews
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current positions
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Philharmonic
Staff
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Hurteau A native of Birmingham, AL, Mrs. Hurteau earned a degree in Sociology from Newberry College and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Tennessee. She has been an active community volunteer, spearheading the Red Shirt Relief Effort for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. She lives in Spartanburg with her husband Doug and her two children, Richard and Emily Lynn. Teri Block A former news anchor/reporter in Savannah, GA, Block's primary responsibilities will be to promote and market the foundation’s events, including the SPO. Block earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Webster University, MO-Greenville Campus Center and a Bachelor of Arts degree at Texas A&M University. She resides in Simpsonville with her husband, Sasha and their mini-schnauzer, Coco. David
Stack Brenda
Leonard Besides her administrative responsibilities with the Music Foundation, Brenda also plays in the cello section of the Spartanburg Philharmonic and for several other orchestras in the region. She holds a B.A. in Music History and a M.M. in Performance from Northern Illinois University. She and her family moved to Boiling Springs in 2006. Sharon
Atherton A native of Charleston, SC, Mrs. Atherton earned a degree in Music Education from the University of South Carolina and a Masters degree in Flute Performance from Converse College. She teaches band and drama at Oakbrook Preparatory School and is Executive Director of the Palmetto Youth Orchestra. She lives in Spartanburg with her husband and three children. |
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The Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Sarah
Johnson Currently Associate Professor of Violin and Viola at the Petrie School of Music at Converse College, Johnson is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with the legendary Ivan Galamian. She made her solo debut with the Minneapolis Symphony at the age of ten and has since gone onto a multi-faceted career as a soloist, chamber musician, teacher, and musical entrepeneur. She was the founding director and host of a popular chamber music series which ran for nine years at the historic Dock Street
Theatre in Charleston. She has premiered the violin concerti of Robert Ward, Zelman Bokser and Gian Carlo Menotti in Washington, DC, given recitals in major cities including Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta, toured internationally in Europe, South America and South Africa. She has participated in many American festivals as soloist and chamber musician, including those of Bear Lake Idaho, Cabrillo California, Austin Texas Chamber Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, Steamboat Springs Colorado, Brevard North Carolina, and the Grand Teton Music Festival. She has served on the faculties of the North Carolina School of the Arts, the Eastman School of Music, Duke University and the College of Charleston. She was a member of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and has played with the Orpheus Ensemble in New York City. Her discography includes 3 recordings of American music on the Albany/Troy label.
Mark E. Britt, principal trombone, joined the Spartanburg Philharmonic in 1995. He is Associate Professor of Low Brass at Furman University where he serves as a coach for the brass chamber music program, teaches music education courses, conducts the Trombone and Brass choirs and has been a featured soloist with both the Furman Wind Ensemble and Furman Symphony Orchestra. In addition he is principal trombonist with the Hendersonville Symphony and is a former member of the Tallahassee Symphony, the Winston-Salem Symphony, the Valdosta Symphony, the Salisbury Symphony, and the Western Piedmont Symphony. Britt can be heard frequently with the Greenville Symphony and has performed with the symphonies in Charleston and Savannah. Britt is founder and music director of the Palmetto Posaunen, a professional trombone ensemble, and a member of the Zephyr Brass Trio. Among their credits include performances for the Eastern Trombone Workshop, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the International Horn Society Symposium, the College Band Directors National Association, the Music Educators National Conference, the International Trumpet Guild and the International BrassFest. He also maintains a keen interest in music education and in 2007 received a Citation of Excellence from the National Band Association. Britt is the former Teacher Education Chairman for the South Carolina Music Educators Association and is the College Division President-elect for that same organization. He is on the Music Educators National Conference Collegiate Advisory Council where he is the immediate Past-President of the Collegiate Membership for MENC. Prior to his appointment at Furman, Dr. Britt served on the faculties of Valdosta State University, Columbus State University, and Appalachian State University. In addition to his university experience, he taught four years in the North Carolina public schools as a band and choral director. He received degrees from Appalachian State University, Northwestern University, and The Florida State University. His principal teachers have been Harold McKinney, the late Frank Crisafulli (Chicago Symphony), and John Drew. He and his wife Bette, have three wonderful children, Jonathan, Sarah, and Logan. Lisa
Clough Lisa started playing violin in 1969 and was the first Suzuki student in the Buffalo, NY area. She attended Ithaca College in New York where she studied with Pamela Gearhart and earned a degree in Violin Performance. She has also studied with Charles Castleman from the Eastman School of Music and Charles Haupt, the former Concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Mostly Mozart ensemble. She recorded violin music for 'Brer Rabbit' - a children's book and tape narrated by Eartha Kitt. She started playing the viola in the orchestra in 1994. Lisa currently works at the School for the Deaf and the Blind in Spartanburg.
Dan Kirsop grew up in Kent, Washington where he was a student of Roy Cummings in Jr. High and High School. He received a bachelor's and master's degree in music education and trumpet from Bob Jones University where he has been professor of Trumpet since 1981. He serves as the Music Director at Community Baptist Church in Greer, and performs frequently in the community and has been a featured soloist with the Anderson Chamber Orchestra, Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Greenville Symphony Orchestra. Dan currently is principal trumpet for the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the GAMAC Chamber Orchestra. He is a member of the Foundation Brass, a member of the International Trumpet Guild and MTNA. Happily married for almost 30 years, Dan and Linda have three wonderful children, Nathan, who is now married and serves as a music director and educator in Mt Laurel, N.J. and two daughters Lisa, who teaches strings at Woodmont Middle and High School, and Laura Beth who is a Freshmen Speech Major at BJU. Besides his musical activities, Dan enjoys bike riding and other sports activities.
Kenneth Law is Associate Professor of Violoncello at the Petrie School of Music of Converse College. In addition to his participation in the Converse Trio, he is a member of of the Jacksonville (FL)-based Ritz Chamber Players, and principal cellist of the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a past president of the South Carolina Chapter of the American String Teachers Association, and is a founding member of the Harlaxton International Chamber Music Festival in England. Mr. Law has appeared as soloist and recitalist throughout the southeast, and chamber music performances include appearances at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, and Alice Tully Hall in New York City. Mr. Law has also performed in England, France, Scotland, Panama and the Czech Republic as a member of the Converse Trio. He has collaborated with such artists as Earl Carlyss (Juilliard String Quartet), Michael Tree (Guarneri Quartet), Ying String Quartet, Norman Carroll (concertmaster emeritus, Philadelphia Orchestra) and the late Samuel Baron, and has recorded orchestral and chamber music for the New Albion and Telarc labels. Mr. Law received undergraduate and graduate degrees in performance from the Eastman School of Music and Cleveland Institute of Music, and a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory. He also served as a chamber music fellow at the Juilliard School. Virginia
Zeblisky Metzger A native of Long Island, Metzger holds an M.A. degree from the City University of New York, Hunter College, and a B.F.A. degree from the State University of New York, Purchase College. She also did postgraduate studies with John Mack, former principal oboist of the Cleveland Symphony. Ginny has held the position of Principal Oboe with the Spartanburg Symphony since 2003. In addition to her position with the SPO, she currently holds principal oboe positions with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, Hendersonville Symphony and the Greater Anderson Musical Arts Consortium. She previously held principal oboe positions with the Asheville Symphony and Brevard Chamber Orchestra, and has performed with many other regional orchestras, including the North Carolina Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, and Charleston Symphony. She has been featured as a soloist with various orchestras, including the Greenville Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Hendersonville Symphony, and Brevard Chamber Orchestra. Before coming to South Carolina, Ginny was a founding member of the Kaiser Woodwind Quintet, a group which was sponsored by Carnegie Neighborhood Concerts and which performed throughout the tri-state area. She also played regularly with the Amato Opera and New Amsterdam Symphony, and free-lanced with diverse musical organizations such as Scovasso Opera, Putnam Symphony, and Darien Dinner Theatre. She spent the 1984-1985 season touring Europe with ‘Showboat’ before moving to Greenville. In South Carolina, Ginny has also been active on the chamber music scene. She currently performs various chamber works in the Greenville Symphony’s ‘Spotlight Series’. She has performed with the Galliard Woodwind Quintet, the Bob Jones University Woodwind Quintet, and the Heritage Woodwind Quintet, and was a founding member of the French Broad River Woodwind Quintet. As part of the Greenville Symphony’s Edreach program, she currently performs with the Windrum Trio and the Greenville Symphony Woodwind Quintet, giving educational concerts in all the elementary schools in Greenville County. Ginny has served as artist-in-residence at the Greenville Fine Arts Center, and has taught oboe at Furman University. She currently teaches a small class of private students. Her reeds have been sold nationally through Covey Oboes in Atlanta. She is married to Robert Metzger, a non-musician but appreciative audience member.
Frank Watson holds music degrees from Furman University and from the University of Southern Mississippi, and studied with Dr. Robert Chesebro, Dr. Donald Munesell, and Mr. William Polisi. Mr. Watson has been a Middle School Band Director for over 30 years, and has performed with symphony orchestras in Biloxi and Jackson, Mississippi, Hendersonville, Brevard and Asheville North Carolina, as well as Charleston, Greenville and Spartanburg, South Carolina. A versatile multi-woodwind artist, Frank has also performed with Ringling Brothers Circus, Holiday on Ice, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Franki Valli and the Four Seasons, Natalie Cole, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Bob Hope, Red Skelton and many other touring shows. In his spare time, Frank enjoys playing golf, and was the 2002 Spartanburg County Senior Amateur Champion. Frank resides in Moore, SC with his wife Linda, a retired school teacher. Their daughter, Lauren, teaches Choral Music in Laurens, SC.
Anneka Zuehlke joined the Spartanburg Philharmonic as Principal Horn in 2006. She is also the Principal Horn of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra and Third horn of the Asheville Symphony. Anneka also began as the Adjunct Horn Instructor at Converse College Petrie School of Music this September. Anneka earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Music from the Curtis Institute of Music, and her Master’s Degree at the Yale School of Music where she was awarded the John Swallow Prize for outstanding brass performance. |
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Kenneth
Law, cello
Mark
Britt 
Dan
Kirsop
Kenneth
Law 
Frank
Watson
Anneka
Zuehlke