a. barron breland
Dr. A. Barron Breland has emerged as a conductor set apart from others by his eclectic skills, equipped to perform music from masterworks of the Baroque and Classic eras to great contemporary works of art, including repertoire in various popular styles. Recent choral performances conducted include the Duruflé, Brahms and Mozart Requiem, Haydn'sLord Nelson Mass, Bach's Cantata 140, Handel's Alexander's Feast, Honegger's King David, Brahms's Neue Liebeslieder Walzer and Vivaldi's Magnificat. He also conducted the Einhorn's Voices of Light with the Bach Chorale Singers of Lafayette, Indiana; and prepared opera choruses for the Indiana University Opera Theaters's productions of Bizet's Carmen, Rossini's Il Turco in Italia and Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado and HMS Pinafore. Critics have praised the warmth and communicative power of his performances and choruses.
Breland completed his doctorate in choral conducting at the Jacobs School of Music, where he had been a member of the choral conducting faculty, preparing the University Singers for a performance with Dale Warland in 2008, and the previous fall giving over 12 performances as guest conductor of the 120-member Grammy-nominated Singing Hoosiers. Breland is chair of the fine and performing arts as well as on faculty at Creighton University. The Chamber Choir he conducts has performed at NMEA and North Central ACDA conferences and appears regularly with the Omaha Symphony.
Breland has degrees in music theory and choral conducting from the University of Georgia and Indiana University. He is presently as the artistic director of the River City Mixed Chorus and is associate conductor of Apollo's Voice, a professional choral ensemble which regularly appears with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. His conducting teachers include Jan Harrington, John Poole, William Jon Gray, Carmen Tellez and Allen Crowell.
As a performer, Breland has been a member of the Indiana University Singers and the University of Georgia Concert Choir and Men's Glee Club. On occasion, Breland has also been seen on the opera stage, performing in various choruses from Rossini's La Cenerentola to Bock and Harnicks's She Loves Me.
Read more about A. Barron Breland at barronbreland.com.
Breland completed his doctorate in choral conducting at the Jacobs School of Music, where he had been a member of the choral conducting faculty, preparing the University Singers for a performance with Dale Warland in 2008, and the previous fall giving over 12 performances as guest conductor of the 120-member Grammy-nominated Singing Hoosiers. Breland is chair of the fine and performing arts as well as on faculty at Creighton University. The Chamber Choir he conducts has performed at NMEA and North Central ACDA conferences and appears regularly with the Omaha Symphony.
Breland has degrees in music theory and choral conducting from the University of Georgia and Indiana University. He is presently as the artistic director of the River City Mixed Chorus and is associate conductor of Apollo's Voice, a professional choral ensemble which regularly appears with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. His conducting teachers include Jan Harrington, John Poole, William Jon Gray, Carmen Tellez and Allen Crowell.
As a performer, Breland has been a member of the Indiana University Singers and the University of Georgia Concert Choir and Men's Glee Club. On occasion, Breland has also been seen on the opera stage, performing in various choruses from Rossini's La Cenerentola to Bock and Harnicks's She Loves Me.
Read more about A. Barron Breland at barronbreland.com.
Mark Kurtz
|
Originally from North Dakota, Mark Kurtz has lived and worked in Omaha since 2000. He has become known for being adept in an unusually broad spectrum of genres, including both art music and popular music. A sought-after performer and inventive creator, his work can be found in concert halls, churches, theaters, cabarets and convention centers.
His colorful, multi-stylistic compositions have been performed at GALA international choral festivals (Miami in 2008 and Montréal in 2004), regional conventions (Nebraska Choral Directors Association in 2016 and the American Guild of Organists – Southeast in 2011), many churches and community choruses from Washington, D.C. (2014 and 2012) to St. Paul, MN (2017) to Los Altos, CA (2006), and in his local vicinity of Omaha by organizations like Gallup (2017 and 2016), Circle Theater (2017), Résonance (2016), the American Guild of Organists (hymn festivals 2016 and 2015), Horizons of Faith (2011) and the River City Mixed Chorus (2014, 2008, and 2007). A choral piece was featured on the radio broadcast "Going Beyond Words." (2012) |
|
Besides being the music director at First United Methodist Church (Omaha) and associate music director and collaborative pianist for Résonance, he frequently works with the Omaha Symphony as rehearsal pianist and substitute pianist/organist for concerts, and has performed chamber music alongside symphony members. He frequently receives commissions for new work, from organizations such as the Willa Cather Foundation (2017), the Anti Defamation League (2012), Why Arts (2011), the River City Mixed Chorus (2014 and 2008), as well as many churches and individuals, for example, poet Fred Zydek (2013) and Omaha Symphony members Craig and Mary Bircher (2012). He has received numerous scholastic, performance and composition awards, most recently from the American Guild of Organists (2018 and 2011) and Omaha Entertainment and Arts (2011).
His teachers have included organist and early music specialist John Mueller at the North Carolina School of the Arts, composer/organist William Albright at the University of Michigan, and composer Dominik Argento at the University of Minnesota. Significant mentors in his career have been composer/organist Robert Hebble, composer Alex Lubet, and conductor/composer Ernest Richardson.
A series of choral music is available from J.W. Pepper and more information can be found at markkurtzmusic.com.
His teachers have included organist and early music specialist John Mueller at the North Carolina School of the Arts, composer/organist William Albright at the University of Michigan, and composer Dominik Argento at the University of Minnesota. Significant mentors in his career have been composer/organist Robert Hebble, composer Alex Lubet, and conductor/composer Ernest Richardson.
A series of choral music is available from J.W. Pepper and more information can be found at markkurtzmusic.com.
