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Our
Guest Director for 2007 is
Dr. Sheridan Ball
We are pleased to announce Dr. Sheridan Ball will
be our guest conductor this year. Choirs under Dr. Ball’s
direction have toured Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Israel, England,
Scotland, Ireland, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Russia.
They have performed in New York's famed Carnegie Hall on three separate
occasions and appeared at the Orange County Performing Arts Center,
the Hollywood Bowl, sang a Mass at the Vatican in Rome (twice), and
performed on Radio Vienna . In the Summer of 2008, their tour agenda
will include the cities of Oslo, Norway; Stocholm, Sweden; Helsinki,
Finland and St. Petersburg, Russia concluding with a tour extension
to Berlin, in the German republic.
Dr. Ball currently conducts the Southern
California Master Chorale, the Meritage singers, and has directed choral
ensembles at Cypress College for over 25 years, where he built the choral
department to a strength of five choirs. In addition to teaching
in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas and California public schools, Sheridan
directed church choirs for ten years and, as a choral musician, he has
performed with the Kansas City Philharmonic Chorus, Los Angeles Opera,
Los Angeles Master Chorale, William Hall Chorale, Pacific Chorale and
the John Alexander Singers. Professor Ball has served on the Board of
Directors for the Music Association of California Community Colleges,
the American Choral Directors Association, and the California Choral
Conductors Guild, where he also served as the Orange County Chapter
President. Sheridan also taught music courses in Salzburg, Austria and
Florence, Italy in conjunction with the Cypress College Semester in
Europe program.
A native of Nebraska, Dr. Ball completed
a Bachelor of Arts degree in Voice with a minor in German followed by
a Master of Music degree in Choral Literature and Conducting at the
University of Northern Colorado. He received a fellowship to study and
perform at the Aspen Music Festival in 1984 and studied conducting with
Don Neuen at the Eastman School of Music in 1987. Sheridan received
his doctorate in Conducting from the University of Southern California
in 1995 and, that summer, studied with the renowned scholar/conductor,
Helmut Rilling. We are very excited he has chosen to join us for this
event!
Festival Directors
 Swami
Atmavidyananda (a.k.a. William A. Scott III) is a swami of
the Ramakrishna Order of India. Currently he is organist, choir director,
composer and treasurer of the Vedanta Society of Southern California.
He also serves as occasional lecturer, campus minister for Hinduism
at UCLA, USC, and CSULB. He has composed an operetta and an opera with
interfaith themes, and one oratorio in addition to numerous choral numbers.
He has a major in mathematics and a minor in chemistry from Occidental
College (Magna Cum Laude) and also received his MA and secondary teaching
credential from Stanford University.
 Kenny
Callaghan is Music Director of St. Matthews Lutheran Church.
Mr. Callaghan has directed choirs over 20 years ranging from large to
small community and church groups. As an undergraduate, Kenny studied
choral music under Dr. William Hall at Chapman College in Orange, CA
where he also served as the choir accompanist for three years. Kenny
has also studies under Dr. Jane Hardester, Roger Wagner and John Koshack.
After leaving college Kenny taught elementary school music for fifteen
years before completing an MDiv. at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena.
Besides serving at St. Matthew’s, Kenny is the Events Coordinator
at Many Paths Bookstore in North Hollywood.
 Jose
Antonio Espinal moved to Los Angeles by invitation
to work with Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic,
as his Apprentice in 2000. Jose Antonio Espinal has received many international
recognitions, awards and artistic grants including the Conductor's Award
by the Mexico's National Endowment for the Arts and Culture with an
Annual Grant in 1996-1997 and again in 2000-2001. During his position
as Dean of the St. Thomas School Of Sacred Music (2002-2005), he founded
an all-girls choir: Harmonies of St. Thomas. After leaving his position
in that church, the choir became an independent choral group (Mr. Espinal's
own choir) changing the name to Harmonies Girls Choir. In November 2004,
Mr. Espinal was appointed Music Director of the Spanish Choir at the
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Maestro Espinal has just founded
an International Children's Choir Festival in Aguascalientes, Mexico,
in collaboration with their government.
Prior to his work in USA, Mr. Espinal was a
member of the Piano Faculty at the Mexico 's National Conservatory of
Music from 1989 to 1996. Maestro Espinal worked for 12 years at the
National Opera Company of Mexico, as vocal coach, opera accompanist,
stage manager and band and choir conductor at the Palacio Nacional de
las Bellas Artes from 1991 to 2002. Mr. Espinal has conducted the most
important major orchestras in Mexico, including the Symphony Orchestra
of Veracruz, Symphony of Querétaro, the Classical Orchestra of
Orizaba and the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico. In the USA he
has conducted the Carnegie Mellon Orchestra (in Pittsburgh, as assistant
conductor), the Contemporary Ensemble of Mexico (performing works by
Esa-Pekka Salonen in Mexico City ) and the members of the Los Angeles
Philharmonic ensemble (with Harmonies). Mr Espinal founded the Opera
Company of Atizapan, fully sponsored by the Government, on January 2001.
Antonio Espinal holds a Bachelors degree
in Piano with Honors from the National University Of Mexico (Unam),
and a Bachelor degree in Orchestral Conducting from the National Conservatory
of Mexico . He received his Master Degree (MFA) in Orchestral and Choral
conducting in year 2000 from Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied
under Juan Pablo Izquierdo (Orchestral) and the legendary Dr. Robert
Page (Choral Conducting).
 Gelo
Francisco is the Choir Master of the Philippine Chamber Singers.
Gelo is highly sought-after as a vocalist for his fluid baritone to
soprano vocal range. As a conductor, he has handled numerous choirs
from small amateur ensembles and college choirs to the 100-voice Grand
Festival Choir of the Cultural Center of the Philippines' during commemorative
events. Originally pursuing a nursing degree, Gelo shifted to the University
of the Philippines College of Music in 1991 where he majored in voice.
That same year, he was invited to join the world-renowned U.P. Madrigal
Singers whom he toured with extensively on international concert tours,
festivals and competitions. In 1995 he formed the pop vocal group 3
of a Kind which stylishly and successfully merged mass appeal and
formal vocal training, thus winning critics' praises at the A Cappella
Harmony Sweepstakes and becoming the Bay Area Champions of 2002.
 Laurie
Franks is a director, soprano soloist, organist, teacher,
broadway performer, television and movie actress, recording artist and
author. Giving service to the church since age 11, she has received
bachelor and masters of music degrees at College of Music in Cincinnati,
Ohio, where she was raised. While in Cincinnati, she was organist/director
at Bond Hill Methodist, soprano soloist at Walnut Hills Methodist, taught
voice and organ at Wilmington College and taught voice at Hendrix College.
She received an honorary Doctorate from Emmanuel United Methodist Church,
Ohio. While in New York she pursued theatre and became soprano soloist
at Park Avenue Methodist as well as becoming involved in over 250 Actors
Equity Shows including Broadway. Her career continued in Los Angeles
as church director, film actress and author of the book "Lucasville
Lore"
Joseph
Lawrence, born in Long Beach and raised in a suburb of Seattle,
has been performing and teaching in Los Angeles since 1985. He is on
call as a solo pianist, rehearsal pianist for operas, musicals and voice
classes, accompanist, arranger and teacher. Graduating from California
State University, Northridge, he studied piano under Dr. Charles Fierro
and Ms. Francois Regnat. He studied composition under Dr. Daniel Kessner.
Currently, he is on staff at Los Angeles Pierce College as dance class
accompanist. Also, Mr. Lawrence is music director at Mt. Hollywood Congregational
Church in Los Feliz where he is the organist, pianist and choir director.
 Eldon
M. Turner III began his work as an organist/choirmaster
when he was 14 at St. Rose Church in Hampton, Virginia. His posts continued
with Trinity Church, Norfolk (the proposed Cathedral of the Diocese
of Southern Virginia), for the historic Newport Parish, St. Luke’s
Shrine - Isle of Wight, Virginia, at St. Matthew’s Church, Glendale
and now at Hollywood Lutheran Church. He studied music at Christopher
Newport College, the Royal College of William and Mary, Williamsburg
and later taught music at the College’s Norfolk, Virginia branch,
Old Dominion University at the Governor’s School of The Arts.
He studied operatic and cantorial singing with Metropolitan Opera soloist
Howard Bender. He was soloist with the Virginia Pro Musica, comprimario
singer and chorus conductor of The Virginia Opera as well as baritone
soloist and ensemble leader of the Virginia Symphony.
 Richard
Warne is Music Director for Hollywood United Methodist Church.
A native of California, Mr. Warne was born in Glendale, and at age 12
became the organist at the First Lutheran Church of Northridge. He obtained
his Master's Degree in Music Education, Baccalaureate Degrees in Psychology
and in Church Music from the University of Southern California. He has
performed with various musical groups including chamber, choral, and
orchestral. He is also the organist at the White Memorial Seventh-Day
Adventist Church and at Kingsley Manor. Besides being a voice and keyboard
instructor, he is also an experienced pipe organ builder and a campanological
technician.
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