Mussorgsky- A Night on Bald Mountain - 29 October 2021

My first performance with the WKU Symphony was to open the annual Halloween concert with the chilling tone poem A Night on Bald Mountain.

Ravel- Le Tombeau de Couperin- 1 August 2017

This was my first time in front of an orchestra. I had not yet taken any formal conducting training such as a conducting class, but hard-headed person that I am, I got a group together anyway and performed one of Ravel’s most delightful works. This was the premiere performance of UAH’s Summer Orchestra.

Sibelius- Finlandia - 26 June 2018

Summer Orchestra 2.0 closed out its program with Jean Sibelius’s beautiful tone poem Finlandia, one of my favorite orchestral works.

Mozart- Gran Partita “Adagio” - 22 April 2018

For UAHuntsville’s advanced conducting class, we were required to assemble a small ensemble, then rehearse and perform a concert. I chose Mozart’s majestic Adagio from the Gran Partita for winds, used notably in the film Amadeus.

Mozart- Cosi fan Tutte Overture - 13 March 2020

My first experience in operatic conducting was with Encore Opera Theater’s (now Opera Huntsville) production of Cosi fan tutte in March 2020. I learned and grew so much from the experience. This performance was a particular challenge, as we had limited rehearsal time and the orchestra, while talented, was made up of many members who were either young, inexperienced, or both. It was a challenge to get the ensemble performance-ready in a very short amount of time, especially with the COVID-19 lockdown just over the horizon. But the whole organization rose to the occasion admirably for a successful, memorable performance.