Category: Who’s In

CHARLES “EBBIE” ALFREE III has joined the Delaware Symphony Orchestra as director of development. Alfree goes to the Wilmington-based orchestra from the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement (DANA), where he was the research and evaluation manager. Before working for DANA, Alfree was the director of advancement for the Hickman Friends Senior Community of West Chester in Pennsylvania. He has also had roles at Goodwill Industries of Delaware, AIDS Delaware, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), where he assisted NAMI state and affiliate organizations in creating fundraising plans and oversaw 80 NAMIWalks events nationwide, raising over $10 million annually. Alfree is a board member of City Theater Company and the Rotary Club of West Chester. He was named the 2009 Rising Star of the Year by the Brandywine Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and earned a master of science degree in organizational leadership from Wilmington University in 2010. He graduated from Leadership Chester County in 2018.

ELIZABETH SCHULZE has been appointed music director of the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra. Schulze has served as acting artistic advisor and chief conductor since January 2021, following the August 2020 death of Randall Craig Fleisher, the orchestra’s longtime music director. Schulze is also music director and conductor of the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, a post she will retain. Schulze’s posts with American orchestras include nine years as artistic director and conductor of the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, music director and conductor of the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra, music director and conductor of the Kenosha Symphony Orchestra, associate conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington. D.C., principal guest conductor of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, cover conductor and conducting assistant for the New York Philharmonic, and assistant conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic. She has led orchestras throughout the U.S. and abroad. Schulze holds graduate degrees in orchestral and choral conducting from SUNY at Stony Brook, and was a doctoral fellow in orchestral conducting at Northwestern University and a conducting fellow at L’École d’Arts Americaines in France. She was the recipient of the first Aspen Music School Conducting Award, and was a Tanglewood fellow.

The APEX Ensemble, based in Montclair, New Jersey, has appointed DIEGO GARCIA as the first director of its Youth Program, which will launch in Fall 2022. With several levels for school-age students, APEX Ensemble’s Youth Program will offer ensemble instruction and preparation to music students throughout New Jersey. Originally from Colombia, Garcia began his musical training as a cellist under Batuta, an el Sistema-like program. He currently serves on the faculty for cello and conducting at Dwight-Englewood School in Englewood, NJ, and holds conducting roles at Mannes School of Music Prep Division in Manhattan and the JCC Thurnauer School of Music in Tenafly, NJ. He was most recently lead faculty on conducting and cello for Juilliard’s international Summer Arts Program in Geneva, Switzerland. He served as music director of the Finger Lakes Symphony Orchestra (NY) for several seasons, where he organized ongoing collaborations with the Ithaca Ballet.

NELL FLANDERS has been named artistic director and conductor of the Idaho State-Civic Symphony and Idaho State University Chamber Orchestra, effective in Fall 2022. Flanders will also teach at the University’s College of Arts and Letters. Flanders goes to Pocatello, Idaho from the Princeton Symphony Orchestra in New Jersey, where she was assistant conductor, and the Chelsea Symphony in New York City, where she was conductor and concertmaster. At the Chelsea Symphony, she programmed works by living and underrepresented composers. Flanders has taught and conducted at the Manhattan School of Music High School Division for many years, and is on faculty at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Flanders maintained a professional career in violin, viola, and piano performance for 15 years before pursuing studies as a conductor. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in violin and piano performance from Oberlin Conservatory and a Master of Music degree in violin performance from the University of Akron. She earned a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from Mannes College–The New School for Music. Her Doctor of Musical Arts in orchestral conducting is from Peabody Conservatory.

LAURA REYNOLDS has been appointed to the newly created position of vice president of impact and innovation at the San Diego Symphony, effective May 16, 2022. Reynolds is currently executive director of the Boise Philharmonic, which she joined in 2020. In San Diego, Reynolds will lead initiatives for social impact, learning, and community partnerships, and will work with the CEO, chief of staff, and music director on music education and community programming and activity. At the Boise Philharmonic, Reynolds preserved employment for employees and musicians during the pandemic, oversaw the launch of a new Digital Stage with 27 recorded performances, provided free videos for teachers, and increased community engagement. In 2021-22, the Boise Philharmonic expanded programming to include digital and live concert events for the professional orchestra, youth orchestra, and master chorale. Reynolds was previously vice president of education and community engagement at the Seattle Symphony. Reynolds earned a bachelor of music in French horn performance from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and was the recipient of the 2010 Pepsi Co. Diversity Fellowship, Dean’s Award, and Leadership Award from Stanford Graduate School of Business’ Summer Institute for General Management.

BENJAMIN MANIS has been appointed associate conductor of the Utah Symphony, beginning in the 2022-23 season. Manis succeeds Conner Gray Covington, who completed his four-year tenure as associate conductor at the end of the 2020-21 season. Manis will lead many of the Utah Symphony’s education performances for elementary and secondary school students; Deer Valley Music Festival, Film Series, and Family concerts; and will serve as cover conductor for the orchestra’s Masterworks Series, among other artistic responsibilities. He has been resident conductor since 2019 at Houston Grand Opera. A graduate of the Colburn School and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, Manis spent three years at the Aspen Conducting Academy and returned as assistant conductor, leading two programs with the Aspen Chamber Symphony. Manis was winner of the 2019 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award as well as the Richard S. Weinert Award from Concert Artists Guild, and has served as cover conductor for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Symphony.

The Dallas Symphony Orchestras has appointed Stuart Stephenson as principal trumpet, Matthew Sinno as associate principal viola, and Hayley Grainger as associate principal flute. Hyorim Han has joined the second violin section, and Minji Kim and Zexun Chen have joined the cello section. In addition, Maurice Cohn will continue as the orchestra’s assistant conductor for the 2022-23 season.

STUART STEPHENSON joins the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as principal trumpet. Stephenson has been the principal trumpet of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since 2013, and has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, and Kansas City Symphony. Stephenson is on faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and School and has performed at the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, Grand Teton Music Festival, and Mainly Mozart Festival. He is also on faculty at Emory University and maintains a private studio. Stephenson holds a bachelor’s degree from the Juilliard School and a master’s degree from Northwestern University.

MATTHEW SINNO, the DSO’s new associate principal viola, was associate principal and acting principal viola of the Kansas City Symphony. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Solo appearances include the Kansas City Symphony, Music Academy International Festival Orchestra, and Boston Youth Symphony. He attended the Perlman Music Program, Music Academy of the West, and Colorado College Music Festival. Sinno received his bachelor and master of music degrees from the Juilliard School, where he won the 2014 Juilliard Concerto Competition, and earned a post-baccalaureate diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music.

HAYLEY GRAINGER is the DSO’s new associate principal flute. She has been second flute/piccolo at the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra since September 2019, when she also began teaching at the Eastman Community Music School. Before joining the Rochester Philharmonic, she was second flute/piccolo with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera. Grainger has won several flute competitions. Grainger graduated from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts in 2013 and earned a master’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin. She toured Europe and performed in Carnegie Hall as a member of the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.