Thursday, July 10
Charles Dimmick
Violin – Concertmaster
Violinist Charles Dimmick enjoys a varied and distinguished career as concertmaster, soloist, and chamber musician. Praised by the Boston Globe for his “cool clarity of expression,” Charles is one of New England’s most sought-after orchestral musicians. In addition to his role with the New Hampshire Music Festival, he is co-concertmaster of the Boston Pops Esplanade, and concertmaster of both the Portland Symphony and the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Charles has appeared as guest concertmaster for the Arizona Music Fest and the Winston-Salem Symphony. A frequent soloist, Charles has garnered praise, packed houses, and received standing ovations for what the Portland Press Herald has called his “luxurious and stellar performances” and his “technical and artistic virtuosity.” Recent concerto engagements have included performances with the Portland Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Arizona Musicfest, Chamber Orchestra of Boston, Boston Civic Symphony, and NHMF. As a chamber musician, Charles can be heard collaborating with the Sebago Long Lake Chamber Festival, the Chameleon Arts Ensemble, Radius Ensemble, and Monadnock Music. He is featured as concertmaster on many recordings with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera, including the Grammy-Award winning opera The Fantastic Mr. Fox, by Tobias Picker. His debut recording as concerto soloist in Elliot Schwartz’s Chamber Concerto and his debut solo violin recording of Lisa Bielawa’s Synopsis #7 can be found at bmop.org. Charles lives with his wife, NHMF flutist Rachel Braude, and their daughter Chloe. He performs on a 1784 Joseph Gagliano violin.
William Gunn
NHMF/Pemi Festival Chorus Conductor
William Gunn is the director of music at Plymouth Regional High School where he conducts the Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Concert Choir, Chamber Singers, and teaches a year-long guitar elective. Mr. Gunn received his bachelor of music in music education from Ithaca College and his masters of music in conducting from Colorado State University. Mr. Gunn has studied conducting with Wes Kenney, Dwight Bigler, Steve Peterson, and Eric Hammer. Mr. Gunn is the immediate past president of the New Hampshire chapter of the American Choral Directors’ Association (NHACDA) and serves as the High School Repertoire and Resources chair for ACDA Eastern Region. On March 31, 2023, it was announced that the NHACDA had selected Will as the 2023 Choral Director of the Year.
Mr. Gunn’s choirs have consistently received high ratings at local and regional festivals. In 2014, the PRHS Chamber Singers were chosen to be the featured choir at the All New England Choral Festival. In 2016, the PRHS Concert Choir premiered a new work in collaboration with the ALS Association of New England and raised over two thousand dollars for ALS research. The new composition included text by a local author and community member who lost the battle to ALS in 2015. Mr. Gunn has also collaborated on new commissions with Dr. Jonathan Santore and Michael John Trotta. Mr. Gunn regularly guest conducts and adjudicates at local and regional festivals. In 2018, he was a Conducting Scholar at the Delaware Choral Academy in Aix-en-Provence, France.
Will has been the Music Director of the Pemigewasset Choral Society since 2017, after serving as the Associate Director. This summer will be his debut conducting the New Hampshire Music Festival orchestra.
Mr. Gunn lives in Plymouth with his wife Gaia, their son Nico, and their pitbull mix, Linny.
Lisa Cooper
Soprano
Lisa Cooper, soprano, teaches voice and piano at Lawrence Academy, where she is also the accompanist for the Lawrence Academy Singers. She is the Music Director of the Acton Community Chorus in Acton, MA. She holds the degrees B.A. in Music with a concentration in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy and B.S. in Music Education and graduated summa cum laude from Plymouth State University. Lisa is a regular soloist and currently sings with the New Hampshire Master Chorale. Recent solo performances include the Dan Forrest Requiem with Cambridge Community Chorus, Bernstein’s Mass with Salisbury Singers, the Fauré Requiem with the Pemigewasset Choral Society, and the Bach Christmas Cantata with Manchester Choral Society. She and her wife live in Groton, MA with their three children.
Janet Poisson
Soprano
Janet Poisson is a soprano soloist and ensemble singer throughout New England. Janet’s solo appearances include Manchester Choral Society in Mendelssohn Lobgesang, New Hampshire Music Festival in Bernstein Mass, Concord Community Chorale in Handel Messiah, Concord Chorale in Arnesen The Christmas Alleluias and Finzi In Terra Pax, Manchester Choral Society in Haydn The Seasons, Orff Carmina Burana and Nashua Choral Society in a concert version of Purcell Dido and Aeneas as Belinda and Haydn Paukenmesse. Janet joined the Upper Valley Baroque Chamber Choir, a recently formed professional ensemble, performing Bach B Minor Mass. Janet is also staff singer at First Church Nashua where she has appeared as soloist in Nicholas White’s Magnificat, Pergolesi Stabat Mater and Bach Cantatas No. 61 and No. 147. Janet received a Masters in Music in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory and a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Plymouth State University.
Thursday, July 17
Stilian Kirov
Guest Conductor
First Prize Winner of the “Debut Berlin” Concert Competition, Stilian Kirov made his debut at the Berlin Philharmonic in 2017. The same year he began his tenure as Music Director of the Illinois Philharmonic in Chicago’s Southland and while continuing his music directorship with the Bakersfield Symphony in California. In 2024, Stilian Kirov also joins the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra as Interim Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor. A 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016 recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, Mr. Kirov has proven to be not only a dynamic artistic director, but also an enthusiastic educator and community leader, continuing to build upon his previous successes as Music Director of Symphony in C in New Jersey as well as Associate Conductor of the Seattle Symphony and Associate Conductor of the Memphis Symphony.
Highlights of Mr. Kirov’s guest performances include appearances worldwide with the Israel Camerata, Xi’An Symphony, Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic, Leopolis Chamber Orchestra/Ukraine, Orchestra of Colors/Athens, Orchestre Colonne/Paris, Sofia Festival Orchestra, State Hermitage Orchestra/St. Petersburg, Thüringen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Musical Olympus International Festival in St. Petersburg, and the Victoria Symphony/British Columbia, among others.
In the United States., Mr. Kirov has collaborated with the symphonies of Seattle, Memphis, Chautauqua, Omaha, Kalamazoo, South Bend, and West Virginia as well as Amarillo Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra/Breckenridge, and the Tucson Symphony. Following his highly acclaimed debut in 2012, he also appeared regularly as guest conductor with the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle.
During the 2013/2014 season, Stilian Kirov was engaged as an assistant conductor to Bernard Haitink with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as well as a cover conductor for Stéphane Denève, the late Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Christoph von Dohnányi, and Andrew Davis, all with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Also during that season, he stepped in to replace Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos with the Seattle Symphony, conducting “spectacular” performances of Orff’s Carmina Burana.
A prize winner at Denmark’s 2015 Malko Competition, Stilian Kirov is the recipient of numerous awards and prizes, including an Emmy for the Memphis Symphony’s Soundtrack Project, the Orchestra Preference Award, and Third Prize at the 2010 Mitropoulos Conducting Competition, as well as Juilliard’s Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship and the Charles Schiff Conducting Award for outstanding achievement. He is also the recipient of France’s 2010 ADAMI Conducting Prize, culminating in a showcase concert at the Salle Gaveau with the Orchestre Colonne. Following the performance, Mr. Kirov was invited to conduct the orchestra’s opening concerts of the 2011/2012 season in Paris.
Mr. Kirov is a graduate of The Juilliard School in orchestral conducting, where he was a student of James DePreist. In 2012, he studied at the Aspen Academy of Conducting, and in 2013, was one of three Conducting Fellows at the Tanglewood Music Center. In 2010, he was awarded the Chautauqua Music Festival’s David Effron Conducting Fellowship, and returned in 2012 and 2018 as a guest conductor. Mr. Kirov holds a master’s degree in conducting from the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris, where he studied with Dominique Rouits. He has participated in master classes with such distinguished conductors as the late Kurt Masur, Michael Tilson Thomas, Gianluigi Gelmetti, George Manahan, and Asher Fisch.
Also a gifted pianist, Stilian Kirov was Gold Medalist of the 2001 Claude Kahn International Piano Competition in Paris.
Rachel Ferris
Harp
Rachel Ferris currently holds the position of Principal Harp with the San Antonio Philharmonic, and previously the San Antonio Symphony. She enjoys a varied career as an orchestral harpist, soloist, and chamber musician. Originally from rural upstate New York, Rachel attended high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy, where she studied with Joan Raeburn-Holland. Ms. Ferris received Bachelor’s Degrees in Religion and Harp Performance from Oberlin College and Conservatory, studying harp with renowned harpist and pedagogue, Alice Chalifoux. Ms. Ferris has participated in several music festivals including Aspen, Chautauqua, the National Repertory Orchestra, Colorado Music Festival, Breckenridge Music Festival, and the New Hampshire Music Festival.
Ms. Ferris has held the position of Principal Harp with the Florida West Coast Symphony (now Sarasota Orchestra) and Tulsa Philharmonic. She has performed as guest Principal Harp with several orchestras, including the Houston Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Florida Orchestra and the New World Symphony. She has appeared as a soloist with the Sarasota Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, Youth Orchestras of San Antonio, Victoria Symphony and the Mid-Texas Symphony. She recorded an album, Mélange, on the Centaur label, featuring French works for cello and harp with former Chicago Symphony cellist Donald Moline. An avid chamber musician, Rachel has performed with several San Antonio chamber ensembles, including Olmos Chamber Ensemble, Camerata San Antonio, the Cactus Pear Music Festival and Musical Offerings. In August 2024, she joined the faculty of Trinity University as Professor of Harp. In addition to performing and teaching, Ms. Ferris is also Executive Director of Olmos Ensemble, a premier chamber music group based in San Antonio, TX.
Valerie Watts
Flute
Valerie Watts is principal flute with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra and professor of flute at the University of Oklahoma, School of Music. Her appointment at the University of Oklahoma includes School of Music administrative duties as Assistant Director Undergraduate Studies & Scholarships and membership of its resident faculty quintet, The Oklahoma Woodwind Quintet. During the summers, Dr. Watts taught at the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute (1995-2006) and continues to perform as principal flute with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra since 1998.
A finalist for the 1993 Festivales Internacionales de Flautistas Enterprises, Dr. Watts has been the featured performer at festivals abroad (Classic Music Seminar, Eisentstadt, Austria; Natal, Brazil; Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada and American Music Festival, Geneva, Switzerland) and performed solo and chamber music engagements as well in the United States (California, New Hampshire, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, and South Carolina). She was the artist-in-residence at Xu Beihong, School of the Arts, Remni University in Beijing, China (October 2006). In 2001, she was featured in a concert promoting music by Oklahoman composers performing Michael Hennagin’s Sonata for Flute and Piano at the National Flute Association convention in Dallas, Texas. In 2012, she performed again at the NFA convention in Las Vegas, Nevada to honor her mentor Bonita Boyd, recipient of the NFA Lifetime Achievement Award. Most recently, she recorded the music of Jonathan Leshnoff (Violin Concerto No. 2 & Of Thee I Sing) with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra (Naxos label) and was a featured solo flutist performing Concerto for Flute and Strings by Jack Frederick Kilpatrick, celebrated Native American and Oklahoman composer.
An enthusiastic student of early music performance practice, Dr. Watts was granted a fellowship to attend the 1994 Bach Aria Festival and Institute at Stony Brook, NY. She has recorded with CBS Masterworks, Integra and W.W. Norton labels. Watts holds a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from Northwestern University School of Music and MM and DMA degrees, including the Performer’s Certificate, from the Eastman School of Music.
Thursday, July 24
Mélisse Brunet
Guest Conductor
Renowned as a conductor of “uncommon emotional intensity” (Marie-Celine) and a “force at the podium” (Eugene Scene), American conductor Mélisse Brunet is a native of Paris, France with an active career on both sides of the Atlantic. In July 2022, she became the fifth Music Director of the Lexington Philharmonic, and the first woman to hold the position. She is also in her fifth season as the Music Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic.
Brunet is one of the five conductors featured in the documentary “Maestra” by the Director Maggie Contreras and produced by David Letterman and Melanie Miller (“Navalny”). “Maestra” garnerd 2nd place and the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary.
2024/25 season highlights include her opening the Delaware Symphony Orchestras’s season as one of four Music Director finalists, as well as engagements with the Phoenix Symphony, Carmel Symphony, and Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. In the previous season she also led the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, the Eugene Symphony, the West Virginia Symphony, and the Orchestre National Avignon-Provence (France).
As a dynamic advocate of contemporary music, Brunet has collaborated with composers such as Shawn Okpebholo, Mary D. Watkins, T.J. Cole, Steven Stucky, Michael Daugherty, Shulamit Ran, and Jennifer Higdon, among others. She holds diplomas from the Paris Conservatory, the Université la Sorbonne, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a Doctorate in conducting from the University of Michigan.
Cordula Merks
Violin
Violinist Cordula Merks is the Concertmaster of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, and Professor of Violin at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Previously she was First Assistant concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony and concertmaster of Germany’s Essen Philharmonic, Bochum Symphony and Bergische Symphony. She also served as guest concertmaster for many orchestras, including the Houston Symphony, American Ballet Theater at the Met, Dresden Philharmonic, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Portuguese National Opera.
When not playing in the orchestra, Cordula is active as a soloist and as a chamber musician and has performed in the US, Mexico, Israel, Mexico, and all over Europe. Cordula was born in Germany and spent her childhood in The Netherlands. She started playing the violin at the age of 6 and was accepted to study at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague at the age of 12. Her teachers have included Theodora Geraets, Jaring Walta, Shmuel Ashkenasi, and Herman Krebbers, and she holds degrees from the Amsterdam Conservatory and Northern Illinois University.
Ms. Merks has won prizes at all Dutch national competitions, at various concerto competitions and at several international competitions, including the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria. Cordula is married to contrabassoonist Mike Gamburg, and together they have two daughters, Mia and Emmie.
Thursday, July 24
Mélisse Brunet
Guest Conductor
Renowned as a conductor of “uncommon emotional intensity” (Marie-Celine) and a “force at the podium” (Eugene Scene), American conductor Mélisse Brunet is a native of Paris, France with an active career on both sides of the Atlantic. In July 2022, she became the fifth Music Director of the Lexington Philharmonic, and the first woman to hold the position. She is also in her fifth season as the Music Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic.
Brunet is one of the five conductors featured in the documentary “Maestra” by the Director Maggie Contreras and produced by David Letterman and Melanie Miller (“Navalny”). “Maestra” garnerd 2nd place and the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary.
2024/25 season highlights include her opening the Delaware Symphony Orchestras’s season as one of four Music Director finalists, as well as engagements with the Phoenix Symphony, Carmel Symphony, and Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. In the previous season she also led the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, the Eugene Symphony, the West Virginia Symphony, and the Orchestre National Avignon-Provence (France).
As a dynamic advocate of contemporary music, Brunet has collaborated with composers such as Shawn Okpebholo, Mary D. Watkins, T.J. Cole, Steven Stucky, Michael Daugherty, Shulamit Ran, and Jennifer Higdon, among others. She holds diplomas from the Paris Conservatory, the Université la Sorbonne, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a Doctorate in conducting from the University of Michigan.
Artina McCain
Piano
Hailed by the New York Times as a “virtuoso pianist” Artina McCain, has built a formidable career as a performer, educator and speaker. As a recitalist, her credits include performances at Wigmore Hall and Barbican Centre in London, Weill Hall at Carnegie and Merkin Hall in New York City and more. Other highlights include guest appearances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, she was the mistress of ceremony for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
Dedicated to promoting the works of Black and other underrepresented composers, McCain curates Underrepresented Composers Concerts for multiple arts organizations. She is an American Prize winner for her solo piano recordings of these works and won a Gold Global Music Award for her recent album project Heritage. In 2021, Hal Leonard published her transcriptions of Twenty-Four Traditional African American Folk Songs.
McCain was a featured inspirational leader in the award-winning PBS documentary series Roadtrip Nation: Degree of Impact in an episode exploring the real-world impact of professionals with doctoral degrees in and outside of academia.
McCain’s performances have been heard on the Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), Germany’s WDR and television appearances including features on CSPAN for the MLK 50 Commemoration. McCain is a three-time Global Music Awards winner including collaborative projects I, Too (Naxos), with soprano Icy Monroe, focused on African American Spirituals and Art Songs and Shades, a collaboration with her husband and duo partner Martin McCain.
After not performing for 6 years while battling a performance injury, she now enjoys a prolific concert career with more than 10 years of full injury recovery. She uses her recovery to serve as an advocate of musicians’ wellness–curating articles, lectures, and forums to educate teachers and students. Most recently the BBC featured her on the podcast Sideways telling her miraculous story of injury to recovery. McCain has written and presented on wellness and other topics in the Piano Magazine and at multiple universities, Music Teachers National Association Conference and the National Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy.
McCain graduated cum laude from Southern Methodist University. She received her Master of Music from Cleveland Institute of Music and holds a doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Currently, she is Associate Professor of Piano and Coordinator of the Keyboard Area at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis and Co-Founder/Director of the Memphis International Piano Festival and Competition.
In her spare time, Artina enjoys boutique shopping, traveling internationally and is an avid tea aficionado.
Artina McCain is a Yamaha Artist.