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Biographies of our 2008 Adjudicators
· Kenneth Woods · Susan E. Pickett · Reid Kajikawa
Kenneth Woods
Music Director of the Oregon East Symphony and Chorale since 2000, Kenneth Woods is rapidly emerging as one of the busiest and most accomplished conductors of the new generation. Hailed by the Washington Post as an “up-an-coming conductor” and a “true star” of the podium, Ken currently serves as Music Director of the Surrey Mozart Players, Principal Guest Conductor of the Rose City Chamber Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Lancashire Chamber Orchestra. In the current season, Ken will make debuts with the Kelvin Ensemble in Glasgow, the Nottingham Philharmonic, the Wrexham Symphony and the Hereford Symphony, and returns to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, national Symphony Orchestra and the Kent County Youth Orchestra. As Music Director the Oregon East Symphony, he has been the founding artistic director of a new preparatory orchestra, the A-Sharp Players, and an annual Summer Music Camp for young people. He has overseen a massive expansion of educational and outreach activities, and brought the orchestra substantial new artistic acclaim, while expanding their repertoire. During this period, the orchestra has presented several world-premieres and hosted their first composer-in-residence. Ken lives in Cardiff, Wales with his wife Suzanne where they enjoy camping, hiking, dog-walking and cooking. Susan Pickett Susan Pickett, violinist and musicologist, is a native of Los Angeles. She graduated Magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Occidental College, holds an M.M. degree from Indiana University in Violin Performance, and a Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Texas Tech University. Her violin teachers have included John Browning, Sr., James Buswell, Franco Gulli, and James Barber. Dr. Pickett joined the faculty of Whitman College in 1981. In 1996 she was appointed Catharine Gould Chism Professor of Music. During the past two decades, Dr. Pickett has uncovered the music of several hundred women composers from the 17th - 20th centuries, collected over 30,000 pages of music by them, and she has published more than 30 editions of music by classical and romantic-era women (Hildegard Publishing Company and Simon and Schuster). She formed a group Donne e Doni (Women and Gifts) that includes Debra Richter (piano) and Sonja Gourley (soprano) which has performed over 50 recitals in the Northwest and California. Donne e Doni released the first CD in 1994 which includes music by Isabella Leonarda, Anna Amalie, Clara Schumann, Marion Bauer, Amy Beach, and Gwyneth Walker. Their second CD, released in 1997, features music by Mathilde von Kralik, Marion Bauer, Gwyneth Walker, Amy Beach, and Elfrida Andrée. Gwyneth Walker composed An American Concerto for Dr. Pickett, which she premiered in 1996 with the Walla Walla Symphony; a CD recording of the work (live-performance) with the Mid-Columbia Symphony was released in 1997. In 1998 the Walla Walla Symphony performed Elfrida Andree's Concert-Ouverture, a work reconstructed from manuscript by Dr. Pickett, which was subsequently performed in 1999 by the Swedish Broadcast Orchestra for Swedish television. She is currently writing the first biography about the composer Marion Bauer and the music critic Emilie Frances Bauer. Dr. Pickett's research has been featured by the Associated Press, Chronicle of Higher Education, "Voice of America," numerous NPR stations, as well as a special segment on ABC's "Good Morning America." Reid Kajikawa Reid Kajikawa has been the principal bassoon player of the Oregon East Symphony and has sat on its Board of Directors for the past two seasons. He and his wife moved to Pendleton from the Midwest in 2004, where he received his Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance and Bachelor of Arts in Government from Lawrence University, as well as studying at the Conductor’s Institute of South Carolina. He received a law degree from Washington University in Saint Louis and is currently practicing law as a public defense attorney in Pendleton. In addition to the Oregon East Symphony, Mr. Kajikawa has also performed with the Grande Ronde Symphony in La Grande, Oregon where he was a featured soloist in a recent performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. This season he is acting as guest conductor of the Oregon East Symphony Chorale, and recently directed a performance of Britten’s Ceremony of Carols at the Symphony’s annual Holiday Music Festival. Mr. Kajikawa also plays the saxophone and has performed with area jazz bands and ensembles.
For a registration form or for more information, please email programs@oregoneastsymphony.org or call (541) 276-0320. |
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The Mission of the Oregon East Symphony is to operate, support, and maintain a symphony orchestra in Eastern Oregon, and thereby to enhance the quality of life in the region by providing to the population of this rural area a dependable source of live orchestral and choral music, with special emphasis on youth educational opportunities.
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PO Box 1436 Pendleton, OR 97801 P: (541) 276-0320 F: (541) 278-6114 info@oregoneastsymphony.org |
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