Guest Artists, November 17
Richard Watson, trumpet
Hailed by the Boston Globe as "exceedingly gifted," Richard Watson's performance was recently described by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette as "stunning perfection."
Watson spent his final two years of high school at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts, where he was accepted into Benjamin Zander's masterclass and the private studio of Boston Symphony Principal Trumpet Charles Schlueter. At the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Watson continued working with Schlueter while studying solfege with Larry Scripp. He then spent three summers as a member of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, followed by further studies with Vincent Penzarella of the New York Philharmonic and James Pandolfi of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
Principal Trumpet of the Nashua Symphony since 1997, Watson also serves as Principal Trumpet of the Granite State Symphony and is Assistant Principal Trumpet of the Boston Philharmonic.
In addition to his three previous solo appearances here in Nashua, Mr. Watson has soloed with the Granite State, Worcester, and Boston Symphony Orchestras, the Salem and North Shore Philharmonic Orchestras, the New England Chamber Orchestra, and the Waldstadt Kammerorchester Karlsruhe. Hope, his album of music for trumpet and organ, is scheduled to be released this fall.
Pamela Stevens, mezzo-soprano
Coming soon.
Ryan Turner, tenor
Ryan Turner has performed to critical acclaim in oratorio, opera, and recital throughout the U.S. and Europe. The Boston Globe wrote "Turner has a pleasing tenor, and he can spin off coloratura with wonderful fluidity." Recent seasons have featured appearances with the Handel & Haydn Society, Seattle Baroque, Boston Baroque, Mark Morris Dance Group, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Kings Noyse, Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Ensemble Abendmusik, Boston Camerata, Boston Cecilia, Opera Aperta, Lyric Opera Cleveland, and the Handel Society of Dartmouth College. He has worked with distinguished conductors including Christopher Hogwood, Jane Glover, Grant Llewellyn, Benjamin Zander, Paul McCreesh, and John Harbison. Since 1998, he has been a soloist in Emmanuel Music's (Boston) famed Bach Cantata series under the direction of Craig Smith. Mr. Turner's festival appearances include Tanglewood, Holland Festival Oude Muzieke, the Boston Early Music Festival and the Carmel Bach Festival. He has made recordings on Koch, Dorian, and Arsis records. In addition to his work as a tenor soloist, Mr. Turner is the Director of Choirs at Philips Exeter Academy, the Music Director of the Concord Chorale in Concord, MA, and has served as Assistant Director of Choral Activities at the University of Rhode Island and Interim Director of Choral Activities at Plymouth State University. He recently conducted the All-New England Choral Festival, Nashua Area Choral Festival, and the Lakes Region Choral Festival. A frequent guest musical director in opera and musical theater, he has conducted at the Boston Conservatory, Boston College, St. Anselm College, and the Education Theater Collaborative at Plymouth State University.
Mark Cleveland, baritone
Mark Cleveland is a performer with extensive credits as a soloist with many of the premiere choral ensembles in the Northeast. A dramatic operatic performer, he has performed for Granite State Opera and Monadnock Music in New Hampshire and for Prism Opera, Salisbury Opera and Boston University. Mr. Cleveland has recorded for Telarc with Boston Baroque and participated in a Grammy award-winning recording of Barber's opera Antony and Cleopatra with the Spoleto Festival Chorus and Orchestra.
A resident of Nashua, Mr. Cleveland has appeared with many of the community choral groups in the state, including the Concord Chorale, Keene Chorale, Manchester Choral Society, Monadnock Chorus, and Nashua Symphony Chorus. An adjunct faculty member at the University of Massachusetts - Lowell, Mr. Cleveland teaches at the Concord Community Music School and at Phillips Exeter Academy.