Music Director - Dr. TIFFANY LU

Conductor Tiffany Lu is proud to be the newly-appointed Music Director of the Pierre Monteux School and Music Festival in Hancock, ME; she has completed her second season as Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Florida, earning particular accolades for her music directorship of UF Opera's production of Carmen in April 2023. This season, she conducted the New York All-State Symphony Orchestra at the 2023 NYSSMA Conference and guest conducted the Cumberland Symphony Orchestra at the 2023 Sewanee Summer Music Festival. Previous guest-conducting appearances include Symphony New Hampshire and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. From 2020-2022, Lu was Director of the Sewanee Symphony Orchestra at Sewanee University of the South. Prior to her current appointment, Lu served for five seasons as Associate Conductor of the Pierre Monteux Music Festival.

Over seven years, Lu developed a diverse portfolio of work in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia areas and Delaware. She held the position of Assistant Conductor with the Prince Georges’ Philharmonic (MD) from ‘19-’22, was Music Director of the Wilmington Community Orchestra (DE) for five seasons, and also Assistant and then Associate Conductor with Washington, D.C.’s Capital City Symphony from ‘15-’22, creating groundbreaking and creative programming. She was also selected as Conducting Fellow for the Allentown (PA) Symphony in 2019 and 2020. Other positions have included Music Director of the University of Maryland Repertoire Orchestra, cover conductor and principal librarian at the 2016 and 2017 National Orchestral Institute, and conductor with the DC Youth Orchestra Program and Annapolis Symphony Academy. Lu has guest-conducted the Symphony New Hampshire as well as the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra; and acted as cover conductor with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Symphony New Hampshire, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Georgetown University Orchestra, and Cornell University Orchestra. She has also served as lead producer on two recordings by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra as well as the Smithsonian Chamber Players. 

Lu maintains an active performing profile as an orchestral violinist, chamber music collaborator, and private violin teacher. Her doctoral research focused on new models in the orchestral education of undergraduate string players. Her primary conducting mentors have included Michael Jinbo, Jim Ross, and Jeffery Meyer.

Lu grew up in Tampa, FL and holds degrees from Princeton University, Ithaca College, and the University of Maryland.

Associate Conductor - Kyle Ritenauer

New York City-based conductor Kyle Ritenauer is a rising presence in the classical music world. Kyle is on faculty at the Manhattan School of Music as a member of the conducting staff, Director of Orchestras at the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University, and regularly serves as Cover Conductor for the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, DC) and the New York Philharmonic.

Kyle’s 2023-24 season is headlined by a production of Francis Poulenc’s Dialogue des Carmélites with the Cali Opera Program at Montclair State University, where he serves as principal conductor. Also at the Cali School Kyle will lead a full season of concerts including Tchaikovsky’s Symphony no, 5, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (1919), Mahler’s Symphony no. 4, Bernstein’s Westside Story, Ravel’s Bolero, and will host guest artist Eric Whitacre. At the Manhattan School of Music, Kyle’s season is highlighted by a program featuring Copland’s Appalachian Spring alongside Wynton Marsalis’s A Fiddler’s Tale. Close to Kyle’s heart are the four world premiere commissions that will come to life with the MSM Percussion Ensemble programmed alongside Alberto Ginastera’s epic work for dramatic soprano and percussion orchestra, Cantata para America Magica.

Kyle is currently entering his second year as principal conductor of the Cali Opera Program and Director of the Cali Orchestra at Montclair State University. In his first season, Kyle led productions of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Michael Ching’s Buoso’s Ghost. In the world of opera, Kyle has worked as associate conductor with organizations such as Opera de Montreal with Orchestre Mertopolitain, and the Des Moines Metro Opera with the Des Moines Symphony. Kyle has also premiered several productions of new operas and is very much at home with contemporary opera.

Throughout his career, Kyle has appeared as guest conductor with the Elgin Symphony, the Norwalk Symphony, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Symphony New Hampshire, and Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect. In the role of cover conductor, Ritenauer has worked with the National Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain (Montreal), American Composers Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. 

Well versed in the world of ballet, Kyle, while serving as assistant conductor of the Juilliard Orchestra, stepped in on a moment's notice to lead the orchestra and dancers through a successful performance of Stravinsky’s Le sacre du printemps at Lincoln Center. He has also led productions of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker as guest conductor with the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions (2018, 2019, and 2021). In the world of contemporary ballet Kyle served as principal conductor for productions of Richard Danielpour’s Cassandra’s Curse (world premiere) and Aaron J. Kernis’s On Distant Shores with RIOULT Dance NY at New York City’s Joyce Theater.

Ritenauer has led orchestras in a myriad of genres, including collaborations with Broadway superstars Kelli O’Hara and Matthew Morrison, and giants of contemporary music such as John Adams, Claire Chase and Richard Danielpour. He was particularly honored to conduct a Juilliard School workshop of American Symphony by Jon Batiste, former bandleader of the Stephen Colbert Late Show. Kyle recently worked with The Knights (New York City) to workshop ATTENTION! in collaboration with mandolinist and composer Chris Thile.

Kyle is a passionate teaching artist and holds a particular fondness for bringing classical music to underserved communities. Through the Bridge Arts Ensemble, an ensemble which he founded in 2015, Ritenauer curated interactive, grade-specific concerts and workshops for 50,000 students across the Adirondack region of New York State on a yearly basis.

Kyle has had the honor and priviledge to assist conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Gianandrea Noseda, David Robertson, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Gemma New, Jader Bignamini, John Adams, and Marin Alsop among others. Kyle served for many year as the assistant conductor of New York City’s Camerata Notturna, a group that supported Kyle through a large part of his development as a young conductor.

Kyle is a student of David Robertson and a graduate of The Juilliard School’s Orchestral Conducting Program where, upon graduation, he received the Charles Schiff Conducting Prize for outstanding achievement. He also attended the Aspen Conducting Academy as a student of Robert Spano, and spent nine summers at The Pierre Monteux School studying with Michael Jinbo.

Guest Conducting Faculty - Ludovic Morlot

Ludovic Morlot’s élan, elegance and intensity on stage have endeared him to audiences and orchestras worldwide, from the Berliner Philharmonic to the Boston Symphony. Music Director of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra since September 2021, he is concurrently Conductor Emeritus of the Seattle Symphony (where he was Music Director 2011-2019) and was Associate Artist of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra 2019-2024. He was Artistic Director and a founding member of the National Youth Orchestra of China 2017-2021, conducting their inaugural concerts at Carnegie Hall and in China in 2017, and touring with them to Europe in 2019. He was Chief Conductor of La Monnaie from 2012-2014 conducting new productions in Brussels and at the Aix Easter Festival – including La Clemenza di Tito, Jenufa and Pelléas et Mélisande.

In 24/25 Morlot takes the Barcelona Symphony to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Aix Easter Festival and to l’Auditorium in his home city of Lyon, on the back of their successes together last season at the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie and Stockholm Royal Concert Hall.  They continue their acclaimed Ravel CD cycle and champion the best of the Catalan composers on the orchestra’s own label, and repeat their hugely popular concert on the Beach (20,000 live attendance, 30,000 online). 

Guest highlights include a return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boulez celebrations at Manchester Bridgewater Hall with the BBC Philharmonic, and two opera productions – Pelléas et Mélisande at Dallas Opera and Part 2 of Les Troyens at Seattle Opera, where in the past three seasons he has had great success with Rheingold, Die Walküre and Samson et Dalila.

Morlot has previously guested with the Berliner Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Czech Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, London Philharmonic, and Budapest Festival orchestras, and with many of the leading North American orchestras, notably the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago, and Philadelphia Symphony Orchestras. Morlot has a particularly strong connection with Boston, having been the Seiji Ozawa Fellowship Conductor at Tanglewood and subsequently appointed assistant conductor for the Boston Symphony. He has since conducted the orchestra in subscription concerts, at Tanglewood, and on a tour to the west coast of America. He has also appeared extensively in Asia and Australasia, notably with the Seoul Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras. Festival appearances include the BBC Proms, Wien Modern, Edinburgh, Aspen, and Grant Park festivals.

Morlot’s tenure in Seattle formed a hugely significant period in the orchestra’s musical journey and he still returns for several weeks each season. His innovative programming encompassed not only his choice of repertoire and commissions, but theatrical productions and performances outside the traditional concert hall space. Some of these projects, including John Luther Adams’ Become Ocean, Aaron Jay Kernis’ Violin Concerto performed by James Ehnes and an exploration of Dutilleux’s music, have earned the orchestra five Grammy Awards, as well as the distinction of being named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. To date Morlot has released 21 recordings with the Seattle Symphony Media label, including Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux etoiles in 2023.

Trained as a violinist, he studied conducting at the Pierre Monteux School (USA) with Charles Bruck and Michael Jinbo. He continued his education in London at the Royal Academy and then at the Royal College as recipient of the Norman del Mar Conducting Fellowship. Ludovic is Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington School of Music in Seattle and a Visiting Artist at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. He sat on the jury of the Leeds International Piano Competition (2021) and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2014 in recognition of his significant contribution to music.

Ludovic Morlot is represented by Intermusica.

Guest Conducting Faculty - Jeffery Meyer

Jeffery Meyer is professor of music in orchestral conducting and cochair of the Department of Orchestral Conducting at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he has been on faculty since 2023.

Distinguished for insightful performances, visionary programming, and wide-ranging collaborations, he has captivated audiences in the contemporary orchestral scene around the globe. In addition to his work as the Jacobs School, Meyer is artistic partner with the Northwest Sinfonietta, one of the Northwest United States’ most dynamic orchestras.

As artistic director of the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic for two decades, Meyer’s work with the orchestra was noted for its breadth and innovation. The orchestra’s American debut with three performances at Symphony Space’s Wall-to-Wall Festival in New York City was described by The New York Times as “impressive,” “powerful,” “splendid,” and “blazing.”  His programming has been awarded multiple prizes, including three ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming and two Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Awards in Orchestral Programming.

A champion of contemporary orchestral music, Meyer’s passion to fuse classical tradition with contemporary insight imagines the orchestral experience as a powerful medium for emotion, story, and cultural dialogue, fostering transformative collaborations with composers and performers, as well as multimedia visionaries, activists, and urban artists. His recorded catalogue includes repertoire from the early baroque to the music of our time. His most recent album,Illuminations: Music of Narong Prangcharoen, was released on the Albany Records label in 2023.

Recent projects include a newly developed multimedia performance of Stravinsky’s TheRite of Spring and Petrushka with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra and a world-premiere choreography of Petrushka in collaboration with the Jacobs School of Music Ballet Department; the world premiere of Carlos Simon’s Graffiti performed and recorded alongside internationally renowned graffiti artists; a theatrical symphonic concert focused on themes of social justice developed in collaboration with Daniel Bernard Roumain and Marc Bamuthi Joseph; the world- premiere recording of Laura Kaminsky’s Piano Concerto with pianist Ursula Oppens; a new, semi-staged production of Nkeiru Okoye’s Invitation to a Die-In; and multiple collaborations with the American Composers Orchestra’s EarShot program.

Recent and upcoming engagements include appearances with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong with soprano Dawn Upshaw, the Sichuan Symphony, Xalapa Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Juvenil Universitaria Eduardo Mata, Texas Festival Orchestra at Round Top, and the Grossman Ensemble in Chicago.

Meyer’s commitment to the innovative future of classical music positions him as a sought-after educator and mentor. His guidance extends beyond technique, diving into the philosophy and intricacies of civic leadership in today’s evolving cultural scene.

Prior to his appointment at the Jacobs School of Music, he led the acclaimed orchestral programs at Arizona State University and Ithaca College. He has given master classes throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, and Asia and has led conducting master classes at the Central Conservatory in Beijing, China, Tianjin Conservatory, the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, and the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Meyer holds degrees in piano as well as composition and completed his Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance with Gilbert Kalish at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

artist in Residence - Violinist Blake Pouliot

Pouliot “surged onstage in rock star pants, presenting Brahms as a composer of

great passion...compellingly—indeed, irresistibly—done.”

Dallas Morning News

Described as “immaculate, at once refined and impassioned,” (ArtsAtlanta) violinist Blake Pouliot (pool-YACHT) has anchored himself among the ranks of classical phenoms. A tenacious young artist with a passion that enraptures his audience in every performance, Pouliot has established himself as “one of those special talents that comes along once in a lifetime” (Toronto Star).

Pouliot ventures into a spectacular 2022/23 season highlighted with debuts at the symphonies of Arkansas, Bangor, Elgin, North Carolina, Oregon, Tacoma, and Westmoreland. He returns to the stages of the Madison and Milwaukee symphonies as well as the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal performing the works of Beethoven, Saint-Saens, and Paganini. Pouliot also brings his recital programming to Temecula, Paris and to his debuts in Boston and at Toronto’s Koerner Hall; He widens his artistic lens in the Boston performance by commissioning the world premiere of Derrick Skye’s solo for violin and electronics, entitled “God of the Gaps”. A prolific collaborator, Pouliot rounds out this season with his debut at the Seattle Chamber Music Society and a return to La Jolla Summerfest. He also returns to the National Youth Orchestra of Canada to embark on his second year as Artist-in Residence, following last season’s inaugural residency in which the organization welcomed him to cultivate a curated program for students and faculty.

Recent highlights include debuts with the Boise Philharmonic, Omaha Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Plano Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra and Winnipeg Symphony; and being named Artist-in-Residence at Orchestre Métropolitain where he deepened his relationship with the orchestra’s music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Pouliot released his debut album on Analekta Records in 2019 to critical acclaim including a five-star rating from BBC Music Magazine as well as a 2019 Juno Award nomination for Best Classical Album. Adding to his accolades that year, Pouliot won both the Career Development Award from the Women’s Club of Toronto and the Virginia Parker Prize Career Grant from the Canada Arts Council. He has been featured twice on Rob Kapilow’s What Makes it Great? series and was NPR’s Performance Today Artist-in-Residence for the 2017-18 season in Minnesota the 2018-19 season in Hawaii, and the 2021-22 season across Europe. In 2016, he was awarded the Grand Prize at the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Manulife Competition and was named First Laureate of both the 2018 and 2015 Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.

Since his orchestral debut at age 11, Pouliot has performed with the orchestras of Aspen, Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, Madison, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, and Seattle, among many. Internationally, he has performed as soloist with the Sofia Philharmonic in Bulgaria, Orchestras of the Americas on its South American tour, and was the featured soloist for the first ever joint tour of the European Union Youth Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Canada. He has collaborated with many musical luminaries including conductors Sir Neville Marriner, David Afkham, Pablo Heras-Casado, David Danzmayr, JoAnn Falletta, Marcelo Lehninger, Nicholas McGegan, Alexander Prior, Vasily Petrenko and Thomas Søndergård.

Pouliot studied violin in Canada with Marie Bérard and Erika Raum, and he completed his training as an associate of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He graduated from the Colburn School Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Robert Lipsett, the Jascha Heifetz Distinguished Violin Chair.

Pouliot performs on the 1729 Guarneri del Gesù on generous loan from an anonymous donor.

artist in Residence - Pianist Jasmin Arakawa

Jasmin Arakawa is a world-renowned pianist, educator and researcher who is widely recognized as a leading specialist in piano performance and research, for which she garners frequent performance and workshop engagements at universities and premier music events worldwide.

Arakawa’s has performed at such iconic venues as Carnegie Hall, Salle Gaveau in Paris and Victoria Hall in Geneva. She has also performed on the BBC, PBS and Radio France. Arakawa has been a soloist with many notable ensembles, including the Philips Symfonie Orkest in Amsterdam, Orquestra Sinfonica de Piracicaba in Brazil, and numerous orchestras in the United States and her native Japan. She also directs the UF International Piano Festival.

“Professor Arakawa’s meaningful contributions to the commercial recording catalogue include four solo CDs with focal points upon women composers, American composers, French composers, and newly composed music,” says Kevin Robert Orr, director of the School of Music in the College of the Arts.
Her research includes a multi-media recording project with renowned producer Joseph Patrych and a research and performance project about how women pianists were impacted by World War II.

Arakawa holds a Doctor of Music and Master of Music in Piano Performance from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. She is a recipient of the 2016 Steinway Top Teacher Award and her extensive master class series has taken her to prestigious institutions worldwide.

“Dr. Arakawa uses her significant platform as a performing artist to advance the ‘globalization of piano performance,’ brilliantly intersecting performance, pedagogy and technology in service to international music education,” Orr says.

Arakawa is sought after as a judge at international and national competitions, including the International Chopin Piano Competition for Latin American Pianists in Peru, the New Orleans Piano Institute Competition and the Beethoven International Piano Competition ASIA in Japan.

“She must also be counted among UF’s most impactful pedagogical innovators during the height of COVID-19, as evidenced by her important invitation to speak about her work at the Pandemic Pedagogy Research Symposium, sponsored by the preeminent institutions of Duke University, Princeton University, University of Michigan, Stanford University and University of Pennsylvania,” Orr says.

artist in Residence - Trumpeter Jason Bergman

American trumpeter Jason Bergman was appointed Associate Professor of Music (Trumpet) at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2022.

He has performed throughout the United States, South America, Europe, and China. In 2008, Bergman was named Associate Principal Trumpet of the Santiago Philharmonic in Chile and more recently has been Principal Trumpet of the Mobile Symphony Orchestra and Mobile Opera. He has also performed with the Utah Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Dallas Opera, Fort Worth Symphony, and the Dallas Winds, including on their Grammy-nominated album featuring the music of John Williams. He has also been a member of the Orchestra at Temple Square where he performed weekly with the renowned Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City, Utah. Additionally, Bergman has performed in concert with the Canadian Brass, Rhythm & Brass and with conductor David Robertson at Carnegie Hall as part of the Weill Music Institute. He also performed as a fellow at the Music Academy of the West.

Bergman has given recitals and master classes at numerous institutions worldwide and has performed and presented clinics at conferences of the International Trumpet Guild, College Music Society, International Tuba and Euphonium Conference, Mississippi Bandmasters Association, Mississippi Music Teachers Association, Utah Music Educators Conference, and the Texas Music Educators Association Annual Convention. As a soloist, he has performed with the Royal Belgian Air Force Band, Garland Symphony Orchestra, Timpanogos Symphony, and the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music Wind Ensemble among many other groups.

In the United States, he has been a faculty member at the Idyllwild Chamber Fest, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and Grand Valley International Trumpet Seminar, and abroad at the Música nas Montanhas Festival and Festival de Música de Santa Catarina in Brazil and Semana de la Trompeta Peruana in Peru. A committed educator, Bergman previously served on the faculties of Brigham Young University, the University of North Texas, and the University of Southern Mississippi. He received the Class of ‘49 Young Scholar Award from Brigham Young University and the Nina Bell Suggs Endowed Professorship from the University of Southern Mississippi.

He currently serves as President of the International Trumpet Guild where he has also served as an elected member of the Board of Directors. He is a regular adjudicator with the National Trumpet Competition and was host of the 2018 National Trumpet Competition. He also served with Irish trumpet artist, David Collins, as co-host of the 2021 Ellsworth Smith International Trumpet Solo Competition in Dublin, Ireland. Committed to research, Dr. Bergman is a contributing author for the Grove Dictionary of American Music and served as editor of the Orchestra Section Profile in the International Trumpet Guild Journal. He has released three solo albums on the MSR Classics label, each that includes numerous world premiere recordings. Bergman, who earned a MM and DMA at the University of Michigan and a BM at Brigham Young University, is a Yamaha Artist and exclusively plays Yamaha trumpets.

artist in Residence - Bassoonist Rémy Taghavi

Rémy Taghavi is a highly sought-after bassoonist based in the Northeast, and has performed, toured and recorded with numerous groups across North America, South America, and Asia. Praised for his “precise fingerwork…and impeccable breath support” (Washington Classical Review), Rémy is principal bassoon with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra New England, and has performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, the Las Vegas Philharmonic, and the Cape and Princeton Symphonies, among others. He has previously been an associate member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and a substitute member of Symphony in C (NJ). Rémy has performed as a soloist with the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra and the New York Symphonic Ensemble at Fukuoka Symphony Hall (Japan) and the United Nations (NY). 

As a chamber musician, Rémy has given performances at series and venues including the Library of Congress, Chamber Music Northwest, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Luzerne Music Center, the Banff Centre, Domaine Forget, Bravo! Vail, the White Mountains Chamber Music Festival (NH), the Atlantic Music Festival (ME), Montréal/New Musics Festival, the Bermuda Festival, and the Annapolis Chamber Music Festival, of which he is co-director and founder. Mr. Taghavi is the bassoonist in Frisson, the prolific New York-based chamber ensemble whose performances have been called “musical perfection” (Royal Gazette, Bermuda). Rémy is an alumnus of Ensemble Connect, a chamber music, teaching, and career-development fellowship of Carnegie Hall and The Juilliard School. He is a member and co-founder of Bandwidth, the wind faculty ensemble of UMass Amherst at the forefront of commissioning for their unique instrumentation.

Mr. Taghavi is Assistant Professor of Bassoon at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and faculty at the Rocky Ridge Music’s College Intensive (Colorado) and the Charles Ives Music Festival (Connecticut). From 2014 to 2019 he was an instructor of music technology in the Evening Division at The Juilliard School. In addition to his faculty positions, he has given masterclasses at numerous colleges and universities across the country. He is a frequent performer and lecturer at the annual International Double Reed Society conference. Rémy holds degrees from the University of Southern California, The Juilliard School, and Stony Brook University. His primary teachers include Dr. Frank Morelli, Judith Farmer, and Norbert Nielubowski.