Event Calendar
Meet the Artist
Friday, March 10, 2023, 12:00 pm
Hear what’s behind the notes as Diane Wittry leads a talk about the music for the weekend’s concerts with the the following guest artists:
Composer Chris Rogerson has been hailed as a “confident, fully-grown composing talent” (The Washington Post) whose music has “virtuosic exuberance” and “haunting beauty” (The New York Times). He has received commissions and performances from orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, and Houston Symphony.
As the 2010-12 Young Concert Artists Composer-in-Residence, two of his works premiered in the YCA Series in New York at Merkin Concert Hall and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He served as Composer-in-Residence and Artistic Advisor at the Amarillo Symphony from 2014-1017, where the Symphony premiered his orchestral work “Dolos Sielut as well as his clarinet concerto “Four Autumn Landscapes” with soloist Anthony McGill. Mr. Rogerson’s music has also been performed by the VERGE ensemble, the Prism Saxophone Quartet, Third Angle New Music Ensemble, the Norfolk Contemporary Ensemble, and the New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall. He has held residencies at the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and Copland House, and was a Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, where he won the Jacob Druckman Award.
Recipient of the 2012 Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Mr. Rogerson has also won BMI Student Composer Awards, the New York Art Ensemble Composition Competition, the Presser Music Award, the ASCAP’s Morton Gould Young Composer Award, and prizes from the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts and the National Association for Music Education. He is a co-founder and Artistic Director of Kettle Corn New Music, a concert series held at the DiMenna Center in New York City.
Born in Amherst, NY, Mr. Rogerson started playing the piano at the age of two and the cello at eight. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he currently serves on the Musical Studies Faculty, the Yale School of Music, and Princeton University with Jennifer Higdon, Aaron Jay Kernis, Martin Bresnick, and Steve Mackey. Mr. Rogerson has participated in composition master classes with John Corigliano, Osvaldo Golijov, Michael Tilson Thomas, William Bolcom, Krystof Penderecki, and Christopher Theofanidis.
David J. Fitzpatrick, is known for his innovative programming, creative and strategic thinking, and a collaborative leadership style that has allowed him to grow flourishing programs with singers and instrumentalists from a variety of backgrounds
Currently, David is the Artistic Director and Conductor of The Montgomery County Chorale and Orchestra (MCCO) in Fort Washington, PA. In this role, he serves as the principal conductor of the chorale and orchestra. Since his appointment, MCCO has seen substantial growth including a 23% increase in donations and 26% increase in concert attendance. In addition, the organization has welcomed over 50 new members in just three years. As Artistic Director and Conductor Designate, David was instrumental in creating many new initiatives, goals, and ideas to ensure MCCO’s future success in the greater Philadelphia region.
Prior to his appointment with MCCO, David was Director of Music and the Arts at Doylestown Presbyterian Church for seven years. In this capacity, he conducted the 50-voice Chancel Choir, the DPC orchestra, two handbell choirs, and a middle school children’s choir, and founded and conducted the 70-voice Bucks County Ecumenical Choir. As the administrator of the program, David oversaw three staff members, a graded children’s choir and handbell program, the “Celebrate the Arts” performing and visual arts series, and the overall administrative needs of the program. From 2016-2019 David served as the Assistant Conductor of the Bucks County Choral Society, a 100-voice auditioned community choir. In this capacity, he assisted the artistic director with any artistic necessities, aided in the preparation of all concerts, and helped plan programming for each concert season. He was responsible for the direction of the chamber choir, the family Christmas concert, the Singing for Seniors program, and the Voices of the Future scholarship program.
An experienced conductor in choral-orchestral works, David has conducted, prepared, and assisted in the preparation of numerous major works. Equally at home working with instrumental ensembles, David has also conducted works by Beethoven, Brahms, Copland, Haydn, Mozart, Saint-Saëns, and others. David is an honors graduate of both Westminster Choir College and The University of Arizona. He studied conducting with Dr. Bruce Chamberlain, Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt, Dr. James Jordan, Sun Min Lee, Dr. Andrew Megill and Dr. Elizabeth Schauer. He also holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Drexel University.
Yuchi Chou enjoys an international career as a conductor and pianist, active on both symphonic and operatic stages. Yuchi was made winner of International Conductors Competition and Workshop in Atlanta, and a finalist for International Erno Lanyi Competition. Born in Taiwan, Dr. Chou has performed throughout USA, Europe, and Asia. Notable invitations are Ansbacher Fellowship with Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Conducting Fellow and Assistant Conductor at Peninsula Music Festival and San Francisco Shenson Fellowship, among other international engagements. Dr. Chou has performed at Carnegie Hall, Chicago Symphony Hall, San Francisco Davies Symphony Hall, and Cleveland Severance Hall. Notable positions Yuchi Chou held include Music Director of Seattle Young Philharmonic, Mercer Island Baroque Ensemble, Community Women’s Orchestra; Assistant Conductor of Peninsula Music Festival, and Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra; Coaching Conducting of San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. Yuchi Chou is an alumnus of Northwestern University (Doctor of Music in Orchestral Conducting), San Francisco Conservatory (Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting) and Oberlin Conservatory (Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance). Dr. Chou is currently the President of the Bellevue Federated Music Club, and has a full piano studio where she challenges and nurtures young talented musicians.