2023
BBC Symphony Chorus & National Radio Symphony Orchestra Chorus of Poland
preparation for Marin Alsop Too Hot to Handel
Conductor
Adding another layer to my professional journey:
Director of Orchestras and Director of Graduate Orchestral Conducting, University of New Mexico, since 2025
Missing: what’s next. A few lines about the concerts you’ll conduct in the coming months open this page; send them when you have them. Missing: your work since 2024. This list follows your CV, which ends in 2024. Your current CV goes here to download, and its new concerts at the top of the list.
PROFESSIONAL CONDUCTING
When you become a music director, you have a greater long-term sense of impact, but the demand in the room has to stay absolutely the same.
2023–24
BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra & BBC National Orchestra of Wales
BBC Proms Ocean Adventure Tour London · Glasgow · Cardiff 14 concerts
Howard, Le Gendre, Telemann, Ravel, Britten, Bates, Whibley, Alberga
2024
Orquestra Sinfônica da Universidade de São Paulo
São Paulo The film
Strauss, Bruch, Mendelssohn
2023
Opera Holland Park
Music Director Humperdinck, Hansel & Gretel (in German) London 5 performances Interview, Opera Holland Park
2023
Sinfonia Viva: Classic FM Concert Favorites
Loughborough
Mozart, Fauré, Handel, Tchaikovsky, Gershwin, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Jenkins, Brahms, Delibes
2022
Manchester Camerata: British Consulate Concert
Manchester
Various symphonic excerpts
2022
London Symphony Orchestra: Young Peoples Concerts
London 3 concerts The first rehearsal
Farrenc, Smyth, Bacewicz, Kendall, Price, Derbyshire, Leach, Montgomery
2022
Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra: The Joy of Dance
England
Tchaikovsky, Anderson, Borodin, Prokofiev, Khachaturian, ABBA
2021
BBC Philharmonic: Live Christmas Radio Broadcast
Manchester
Berlin, Wood, Anderson, Bart, Tormé, Wheetman, Leontovych, Carpenter, Pola
2021
Belgian National Orchestra: Mozart Opera Gala
Brussels
Mozart
2021
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra: with Dame Evelyn Glennie, for audio-impaired children
CBSO Centre, Birmingham
Dunkley, Hunt, Ramírez
2020
Orchestre national d’Île-de-France: Christmas in New York
Paris
Bernstein, Anderson, Gershwin, O Holy Night
2019–20
Gulbenkian Orchestra
Assistant Conductor; preparation for Music Director Lorenzo Viotti Tchaikovsky, Eugene Onegin (semi-staged) Lisbon
Mahler, Mussorgsky
2018–20
Royal Northern Sinfonia
Assistant Conductor to Music Director Lars Vogt England multiple concerts
Adams, Mendelssohn, Copland, Prokofiev, Beethoven, Bartók, Barber, Glass, Grieg, Pärt, Sibelius, Rossini, Strauss, Mozart, Haydn, Tchaikovsky, Purcell, Walton, 2018 & 2019 Composer Competition
All the way from Choralis at the very first audition until Royal Northern Sinfonia, I think those are the only two auditions that I’ve ever won. But loads of other great jobs in between.
2019
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Assistant Conductor to Vladimir Jurowski BBC Proms
Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninoff, Lyadov, Glazunov
2019
Longborough Festival Opera
Assistant Conductor to Jeremy Silver Donizetti, Anna Bolena England
2017–19
Southbank Sinfonia
London · recorded for Rubicon
Schoenberg, Saint-Saëns, Frances-Hoad, Haydn, Sibelius, Maxwell Davies
2018–19
Bristol Metropolitan Orchestra
Music Director England
Barber, Gershwin, Dvořák, Ridley, Shostakovich, Rimsky-Korsakov
I’m the new conductor for the Bristol Metropolitan Orchestra. I’m really excited to meet everyone at what will be my first concert. And as it is my first concert, I’ve chosen to highlight some other firsts on the day as well.
2018
London Mozart Players: Classical Roadshow: FIRE!
London
Brown
2017
The Royal Opera House
Chorus Master Monteverdi, Ulysses (in English) London
2017
Britten Pears Orchestra: Young Persons Concert
Aldeburgh
Clyne, Adams, Britten
2017
Bloomsbury Opera
Music Director Bernstein, Trouble in Tahiti Haley, Pacific Pleasure (commission & premiere) London
2017
The Royal Ballet
Assistant Conductor to Music Director Koen Kessels Crystal Pite, Flight Pattern London
Górecki
I’ve spent the last eight weeks in my first assignment as a cover conductor for The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden. My days are spent either in one of the five possible studios with the dancers, ballet masters and a piano; with the orchestra during their rehearsals in the pit; out in the hall during wider company rehearsals; or, like today, in the music director’s office during a performance, standing by for the unlikely situation that he cannot perform.
While in the office, two screens show live video feeds, one of the stage, one of the conductor in the pit. The stage manager can reach me via a speaker in the office so that if I am needed I can be called without the performance being disturbed.
2016
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Assistant Conductor to Marin Alsop Verdi, Requiem BBC Proms
2016
Fuel Opera
Music Director Melanie Wilson, Opera for the Unknown Woman (tour) London · Nottingham · Cardiff
2016
Voices Beyond Divisions
Asha Parkinson, What War? London
2016
KidMaestro!: Silly and Serious Sounds
Wrote/presented children’s concert London
Mozart, Shaw, Baadsvik, Knox, Rossini
2016
Ensemble Eroica
London
Mozart, Beethoven
2015
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra: Jackie Evancho in Concert
Heinz Hall
2015
Nashville Symphony Orchestra: Jackie Evancho in Concert
Schermerhorn Concert Hall
2015
Kammersymphonie Graz
Austria
Mozart
2014
Orchestra of St John’s
Apprentice conductor London
Purcell
2014
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Cover Conductor (children’s concert)
Prokofiev
2014
KidMaestro!
Wrote, presented, and conducted youth interaction for young listeners New Wilmington Elementary School
Peter and the Wolf and the Wolf’s Secret Stash of Instruments
The kids were supposed to go down to Pittsburgh to hear Peter and the Wolf. And there was a massive snowstorm on the very day, so it was canceled. I went to the principal and I just said, hi, my name’s Kǎrin, and I went to school here, and I know you have to cancel Peter and the Wolf, but I would like to bring an orchestra here to do that. And this principal looked at me and said, what do you need?
2013
Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
Assistant Conductor Santa Cruz, California
Bermel, Puts, Rouse, Friar, Newman, Dean, Norman, Chapela, Glass, Walker, Lindberg, Clyne
2013
BBC Proms Plus
Param Vir, Constellations London · also BBC Radio 3 broadcast
2013
LSO St Luke’s New Opera Workshop
Daren Bloom, Little Kettlehead London
2012
São Paulo Symphony Orchestra
Assistant Conductor to Marin Alsop European tour: BBC Proms, Concertgebouw, Rheingau Musik Festival, Southbank Centre
Berio, Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, Villa-Lobos, Guarnieri
2010
Ligeti Split Contemporary Music Ensemble
Baltimore
Berio, New compositions by Peabody Conservatory composers
2009
Peabody Computer Music: 40th Anniversary Concert
Baltimore
Burtner
2008
Baltimore Opera Company
Assistant Conductor, Andrea Licata Verdi, Aida
2008
Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra
Guest Apprentice Conductor Weber, Overture to Oberon
Weber, Holst
I had attended a workshop in its first year, about two and a half years ago, and Raymond Harvey was the lead clinician, and worked with him for about four days. And then we went on our merry way, and about six months later my cell phone rang, and it was Raymond Harvey, inviting me to come and conduct on this particular program. And he had a certain vision in mind with the Kalamazoo Symphony, and I was going to be a part of it, and I was very excited, as you can imagine.
2006–08
Choralis
Assistant Conductor to Gretchen Kuhrmann Washington, D.C.
My actual first job, professionally, was for choir, not for orchestra. And that was a huge curve for me, but I had a great, great music director and a great mentor there named Gretchen Kuhrmann, and she’s still heading up this organization called Choralis, and she was a fantastic mentor for me, and certainly things that I learned from her I still use now.
PREPARATION OF YOUNG ORCHESTRAS FOR CONDUCTORS
Today we had 6 hours of sectionals to cover the new repertoire. All I can tell you – it is a LOT of notes!!
Lorenzo Viotti
2019
Gulbenkian Orchestra
side-by-side with Academy players Mahler, Symphony No. 3 Portugal
Michael Tilson Thomas
2019
London Symphony Orchestra / Guildhall School of Music
side-by-side Stravinsky, Symphony in Three Movements Stravinsky, Symphony of Wind Instruments
Marin Alsop
2019
Women of the World Orchestra
World Economic Forum, Davos
Beethoven, Mozart, Clyne, Mendelssohn
2018
National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain / Chineke! Junior Orchestra
Bernstein, MASS Southbank Centre, London
2017
Britten Pears Orchestra
Aldeburgh
Ravel, Bartók, Britten, Stravinsky, Turnage, Adams
Just before morning rehearsal today, Marin, Roger Wright, and I were standing outside of the rehearsal hall catching up before the start of the day. The players arrive at about 9:15 every morning via transport, and by 9:30 they are often all sitting in the rehearsal hall warming up. Suddenly, we heard the orchestra start to tune, and then break into a rendition of “Happy Birthday”, improvising together. It turns out today is concertmaster Benjamin Hoffmann’s birthday.
2014
National Youth Orchestra & Chorus, Children’s Chorus of Southbank Centre
Britten, War Requiem London
Gustavo Dudamel
2016
Young Orchestra East
LA Phil / LSO exchange Copland, Appalachian Spring Barbican Centre, London
EDUCATIONAL RESIDENCY / CONDUCTING
If you’re a professional conductor and you’re not spending 30% of your time with training ensembles, you’re not doing your job. Working at the top of the profession can be obviously comfortable and lucrative, and it’s nice to feel fancy. But the success of our profession depends on the success of our future musicians.
2024
University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra
Boulanger, Debussy, Mussorgsky
2024
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama: Gala Concert
Cardiff
Torke, Jenkins, Berlioz
2022–24
Royal Academy of Music Repertoire Orchestra
London
Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, Mozart
15 more
2023
Concertgebouworkest Young
Aside from 2 weeks of conducting, and workshop, this was also preparation for Andrés Orozco-Estrada Netherlands
Tchaikovsky, Bruch, Metsalaar, Mussorgsky
2021, 2023
Chetham’s School of Music Senior Orchestra
England
Munktell, Sibelius, Brahms, Beethoven, Ye, Elgar
2022
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Glasgow
Smyth, Britten, Mussorgsky
2022
Royal Conservatory of Ghent
Puccini, Suor Angelica Belgium
2021
Orchestras for All
Taught teacher/ensemble education modules focused on helping educators learn basic conducting and rehearsal skills England
Purcell
2021
National Youth Orchestra of Scotland
Easter and Summer Senior Orchestra Residencies (online due to COVID)
Copland, Wagner
2018–20
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Bernstein, MASS (2018) Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker (2019) The Nutcracker (film, 2020) Winston-Salem
This is the fourth production I’ll work on. I’ve worked on three productions as assistant conductor. This will be my first production as a music director. And amazingly, my first ever production as assistant conductor was with Doug Webster, the now director of this production, when he was doing the celebrant role, which he has done widely. And there’s probably no better dictionary of who the celebrant is than Doug Webster in the United States.
2018–20
Royal Northern Sinfonia Young Sinfonia
Music Director
Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Vaughan Williams, Strauss, Edis, Rossini, Fauré, Brahms, Gordon, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Sibelius, Rameau, Mozart, Goldberg
2017, 2019, 2020, 2022
National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain
Orchestra Residencies; INSPIRE! Orchestra
Prokofiev, Auerbach, Tchaikovsky, Bernstein, Copland, Chávez, Ginastera, Rachmaninoff, Clyne, Wallen, Holst, Elgar, Weber, Liszt, Williams, Price
2016, 2017
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra: Leadership Education Projects
Bruno Mars, Pasek & Paul, Lloyd Webber, Fonsi
2016
Garsington Youth Opera
Music Director John Barber, Mighty Oak England
2013
The Purcell School: 24-Hour Opera project
London
2009
Peabody Contemporary Opera
Music Director (sabbatical replacement for Director of Opera JoAnn Kuleza) Melissa Shiflett, DORA Baltimore
2009
The California Ballet
Assistant Conductor to John Stubbs, Music Director Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker San Diego
2006, 2007, 2008
Choralis Summer Festival
Conductor/clinician
TEACHING
October 2024
University of Illinois
Graduate conducting symposium, 4 sessions Champaign-Urbana, IL
August 2023
Concertgebouworkest Young
Guest Lecture : Finding Yourself in the Music Business Ede, Netherlands
July 2023
The Conductors Institute of South Carolina
Workshop Leader : How you get from there to here: A Conducting Roadmap for early-career conductors Columbia, SC
15 more
November 2021
University of Iowa
Concerto Competition Judge (Orchestral Division), Required External Member Iowa City, IA
April 2020
Ghent/KASK Music Conservatorium
Audition Panel (instrumental and vocal), Required External Member Ghent
February 2020
The Catholic University of America
Guest Instructor: Conducting Workshop; Concert Programming Workshop Washington, D.C.
November 2019
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Guest Artist: Conducting Masterclasses Winston-Salem
2019, 2020
Sage Gateshead, Center for Education in Music
Guest Instructor: Conducting, Solo Musicianship
2020, 2022
The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Guest Instructor: Conducting. Workshop : Mock Assistant Conductor Interview Workshop Cardiff
2019
The Guildhall School of Music
Guest Instructor: Conducting Workshop; Wind Excerpt ensemble (with full orchestra) London
2018
The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Guest Adjudicator: Conducting; Guest Instructor: Conducting workshop
2018
The Southbank Centre, Composers Collective Forum
Workshop leader : Composers Collective Conducting Crash Course London
2016–18
The Royal Philharmonic Society Women Conductor Programme
Associate Artist Teacher: workshops for young women and girls schools (aged 10–18) at multiple schools London
Spring 2016
Morley College
Instructor: 20th C. Composition Techniques London
2009–10
The Peabody Conservatory
Graduate Assistant: Symphonic Chorus, Mixed Chorus Baltimore
2005
Chantilly High School
Associate Director of Choirs (illness replacement) Chantilly, Virginia
2003
George Mason University
Instructor (faculty illness replacement): Music Theory; History of Musical Theatre Fairfax, Virginia
1997–99
Grove City College
Teacher’s Assistant: Civilisation and the Arts; Music History (Dr. Beverly Carter) Grove City, Pennsylvania
COMPOSITION
2005
Dancing at Lughnasa
Incidental music Theatre Westminster, Westminster College, New Wilmington PA
2002
Carry the Flame
Olympic Games Torch Relay Theme Song, Salt Lake City; recorded to NBC Records by Aretha Franklin
2001
We Are America
9-11 Benefit Concert Fairfax, Virginia
AWARDS
2024
Jack Kennedy Memorial Alumni Achievement Award
Grove City College
2022
Associate of the Royal Academy of Music
highest award given to graduates London
2019–20
European Network of Opera Academies Young Conductor Residency
January 2019
Classical Music Magazine: Artist of the Month
2016
Salzburg Festival/Nestlé Young Conductors Award
Nominee
2013
Taki-Alsop Fellowship
Honorable Mention
2012, 2013
Campos do Jordão Music Festival
Conducting Fellow São Paulo
2012
Talent grant for Conducting
Mozarteum, Austria
EDUCATION
1999
Grove City College
Bachelor of Music, cum laude. Majors: Piano Performance; Business/Business Law
And although I was excelling academically and athletically, recital after recital, jury after jury, was a major struggle. However, the musical village at Grove City College stuck with me. Dr. Beverly Carter, a music history professor and a member of the piano faculty, became and still is an important musical and personal mentor, and saw me through each year. And especially, very especially – Dr. Melva Huebert. Early in my junior year, a faculty member went on health leave. It was at this time Dr. Huebert joined Grove City College and inherited me as a piano student. I was 12 months away from my senior piano recital, which would have to be performed entirely from memory. Dr. Huebert found a way to untangle my musical head, heart, and hands enough that by my seventh month with her as my teacher, playing in my final junior jury from memory, I received the highest jury mark amongst all pianists at the college. I still have that score sheet, and I tell you that story not as a testament to me, but as a testament to her. And these two excellent women are also here with me tonight, and I can tell you I would not be on this podium or any other podium had it not been for them.
Alumni award, Grove City College, 2024 · 1:13
Michaelmas 2001
Oxford University
Music Fellow
2003
George Mason University
Master of Music, Conducting. Major Professor: Anthony Maiello
So I applied at George Mason, I applied at Northwestern. Northwestern said, we’d rather see you have teaching experience, so maybe you should go get your education certificate and teach. That was the way it was back then, if I can even say the words back then. And my mom is an alum of Northwestern, actually. She came to the interview with me, and we both walked out, and I was like, but did they hear me that I don’t want to be a teacher? You know, like, why? And this is not to say that I didn’t want to teach. But what I meant was, I didn’t want to go back, get a high school certification, spend four or five years teaching a high school band, or maybe, if I was lucky, a high school orchestra, because I wanted to work in orchestra, you know, to then try to find my way forward. I just thought those are five years I can do other things with, for me anyway.
So I found my way to George Mason University with a wonderful teacher, Anthony Maiello. He was so good for me as a human being and also as a technician, as a musician, very demanding, but very warm.
2011
The Peabody Conservatory
Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting, cum laude. Major Professor: Gustav Meier
And then I spent a few years out. I worked as an interim executive director for an orchestra in the Northern Virginia area for a while, to gain a bit of experience then, and then I worked at Chantilly High School, and I was continuing to apply, because I knew I needed to keep pushing my training. I had to apply twice to get into Peabody Conservatory, but on my second application, I did.
2013
The Royal Academy of Music
Performance Diploma in Orchestral Conducting, with Distinction. Major Professor: Colin Metters. Fred Southall Memorial Prize; Gordon Foundation Winner London
I applied the first time at both the Royal Academy of Music and Peabody in the same year, and I didn’t get into either. So as I was doing my time at Peabody, the teacher from the Royal Academy of Music came to Peabody to do a guest lecture, a guest kind of teaching stint, Colin Metters. And suddenly, I’m now conducting in front of Colin Metters, who I had auditioned for, I think, two years prior now. And we chatted after, and he said, you know, I think you might be ready for the Academy now. You needed more experience, you needed more time, you needed bigger challenges. But if it’s something that interests you, come back and audition. And so I did.
I don’t want it to sound too romantic, because actually it’s sometimes incredibly difficult and disheartening work. Learning to conduct is such a public experience. You cannot hide your mistakes, because you’re standing in front of 50 to 80 people. So yeah, it was a long journey. It is rewarding, it’s still rewarding. It was hard. It’s still hard. So yeah, I mean, I’m still here. I still feel I have more to get out of myself. So we’ll just see what the next stages are, I think.