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Today's Featured Artist: Todd Skitch, flute - The Brandenburg Affair Who is Todd Skitch? Canadian flutist Todd Skitch joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as Second Flute in September 2013. He is also a member of the Atlanta Chamber Players and is the Artist-in-Residence at Kennesaw State University. Mr. Skitch started his orchestral career with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra in 1997 after completing degrees at the University of Toronto and McGill University in Montreal, where his principal teachers were Timothy Hutchins and Nora Shulman. Mr. Skitch’s career as a teacher and symphony musician includes many credits: an original member of the IRIS Orchestra with Michael Stern; Bellingham Festival of Music; Memphis Chamber Music Society; Tanglewood Music Center; Blossom Music Festival at Kent University, where he received the Maurice Sharp Award for outstanding flute applicant; Spoleto Festival USA; and the National Repertory Orchestra. While in Memphis, Mr. Skitch served as the Chair of the Board of Directors and the Orchestra Manager for the Memphis Youth Symphony Program and taught flute at Rhodes College. Mr. Skitch has been heard on CBC Radio-Canada, WKNO-Memphis, and as a soloist with the Memphis Symphony and IRIS Orchestra. In 2003 Todd joined the Canadian group Ensemble Noir on a historic, three-nation African tour to Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa.
 Today's Featured Artist: Michael Palmer, conductor - The Brandenburg Affair
Who is Maestro Michael Palmer? Michael Palmer is the Artistic Director of the Bellingham Festival of Music and also holds the esteemed position of the Charles Thomas Wurm Distinguished Professor of Orchestral Studies at Georgia State University. He has long been considered one of this country's finest conductors. Mr. Palmer began his career at age 21, when he came to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as assistant conductor at the invitation of Robert Shaw. He was soon made associate conductor, and also founded and was music director of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. While in Atlanta, Mr Palmer was honored as one of five of the first conductors in the United States chosen by the National Endowment for the Arts to be Exxon Arts Endowment Conductor, and he was soon in demand with orchestras throughout the country. While continuing in his post in Atlanta, he was appointed guest conductor of the Houston Symphony Orchestra for a three-year period. He also worked extensively with the National Symphony Orchestra during this period, and he was, subsequently, named co-principal guest conductor of the Denver Symphony Orchestra. After 10 years in Atlanta as associate conductor, Mr. Palmer accepted appointments as music director of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra followed by the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. In 1994 Carnegie Hall invited Michael Palmer and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra to make their New York debut on its distinguished Visiting Orchestra Series. During his tenure as music director in New Haven, Mr. Palmer founded the American Sinfonietta, which toured Europe for 10 seasons under his leadership, playing to critical acclaim in the major concert halls of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This led to the creation of the Bellingham Festival of Music in 1993. Under his artistic leadership, the Festival has become internationally recognized for its artistry. Festival concerts are heard across the nation on NPR and feature some of the finest orchestral musicians and major guest artists from the United States and abroad. As Artistic Director since its formation, Mr. Palmer continues to lead the Festival each summer, having just wrapped up his 22nd season. He also maintains an active international guest conducting career each year. Maestro Palmer also balances his performing career with his dedication to preserving and promoting the legacy of classical music for tomorrow’s generation. In 2009, he co-founded Anacrusis Productions Ltd. where he holds the position of Artistic Director. Why is The Brandenburg Affair so special to Maestro Palmer? "The Brandenburg Concertos are among the greatest works of musical art. They stand at the pinnacle of Bach’s orchestral repertoire. The opportunity to perform all of them in one evening and in an intimate social setting with a virtuoso ensemble is rare and important in any conductor’s experience. I invite you to join me for this unique and special live artistic event." Today's Featured Artist: Christina Smith, flute - The Brandenburg Affair
ATL Symphony Musicians Foundation and Anacrusis Productions Ltd. invite you to join them on August 29, at the Westside Cultural Arts Center for a performance of Bach's entire masterpiece: all Six Brandenburg Concertos in a single evening’s concert, featuring ATL Symphony Musicians, conducted by Michael Palmer. The Brandenburg Affair is a chamber music concert and reception event, to bring musicians, artists and music lovers together, to mark the summer's end and look forward to the 2015-2016 artistic season. Join us! Welcome Reception 6:30 PM Pre-Concert Talk 7:00 PM Performance 7:30 PM  |
AuthorTodd Skitch and Sally Kann for ATL Symphony Musicians Foundation Archives
January 2021
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