Discussion Panel

John Rapson is Principal Clarinet with Symphony Nova Scotia and teacher of clarinet at Dalhousie University Music Department, positions he has held since 1979. He is well-known in Canada as recitalist, soloist and chamber musician, having performed and recorded for over thirty-five years. Many broadcasts for CBC and BBC are to his credit, including the Nielsen Clarinet Concerto with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra and the highly acclaimed CBC SM5000 recording of Patrick Cardy’s [i]Virelai [/i]with CBC Vancouver Orchestra and Mario Bernardi. He has also performed with the Vancouver Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Hamilton Philharmonic, BBC Welsh Orchestra, and the National Ballet of Canada. His solo performances with orchestra have included concertos by Mozart, Nielsen, Weber and Spohr, all of which have been broadcast by CBC. He has given workshops and taught privately at University of British Columbia, Scotia Festival of Music, and Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto).

John Rapson has studied with some of the world’s finest teachers, including Avrahm Galper (Toronto Symphony Orchestra), Daniel Bonade, Stanley Hasty (Eastman School of Music), Robert Marcellus (Cleveland Orchestra) and Yona Ettlinger (Israel Philharmonic).

John has guest conducted orchestras in Europe and Canada and has attended advanced conducting workshops in the Czech Republic and Canada. His arrangements for orchestra and small ensembles have been lauded with high praise. On the lighter side, he has enjoyed “salon” or “light” music with the ensemble RHAPSODY QUINTET, which has four CDs to its credit, two nominations for the East Coast Music Awards and the Best Classical CD for 2005 Award with the Music Industry of Nova Scotia (MIANS).

In addition to his performing career, John has directed several organizations. He was Director of the Maritime Conservatory of Music from 1989-1994, Music Director of Chebucto Orchestra
(local amateur orchestra) for three seasons, founder/director of Halifax Chamber Musicians in the mid-1980s, and Music Director of Kalina Singers.

Geoffrey Moull is Music Director of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. With an increasing artistic reputation built solidly on audience success, the ensemble has grown to become one of the best regional orchestras in the country. Under the direction of Mr. Moull, the CBC now broadcasts the TBSO regularly on national radio; their CD recording of Canadian compositions Variations on a Memory was nominated for a Juno Award in 2005.

Prior to his Thunder Bay appointment, Mr. Moull was Principal Conductor of the Bielefeld Philharmonic Orchestra and Opera in Germany. His international conducting career has included performances with such renowned ensembles as the Southwest German Radio Orchestra, the State Opera Hannover, the State Opera Berlin, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Pays de la Loire, the Metz Opera, the German Rhine Opera, the Luxemburg Opera, the San Remo Symphony, the Szombathely Symphony, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Springfield Symphony and the International May Festival in Wiesbaden.

Mr. Moull's innovative spirit has led him to program and conduct many premiere performances, and he is responsible for the rediscovery of important compositions of the 19th and 20th century, including works of Berlioz, Schumann, Mahler, D'Albert, Schreker, Martinu, Honegger, Krenek and Weill. In addition to recording for both radio and television, his world premiere CD recordings of Louis Spohr's Faust and Theo Loevendie's [i]Esmée[/i] were received with international acclaim. Das Orchester, Germany's leading music magazine, wrote that "his interpretation was magnificent, with wonderful judging of phrasing, atmosphere and warmth" and he is the recipient of Opernwelt's "Opera Production of the Year" prize.

After earning a degree in conducting at McGill University in Montreal, Mr. Moull was awarded the coveted DAAD scholarship of the German government and completed post-graduate degrees in both conducting and piano at the State Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, Germany. He studied with Franco Ferrara, Sergiu Celibidache, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Edward Downes and Kyrill Kondrashin. In the course of his career, Mr. Moull was also Associate Music Director of the Münster Symphony and Opera and Principal Conductor of the Trier Symphony and Opera. Also active as a music educator, he was Music Director of the Orchestra of the State Hochschule für Musik in Münster and has given master classes for the State Music Councils of Bavaria and the Rhineland, and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Robert McCosh was born in Melfort, Saskatchewan. After completing his Bachelor of Music with a gold medal at Brandon University, he studied with Erich Penzel in Cologne, Germany for 2 years, courtesy of a German Academic Exchange Scholarship. He then spent a year at the Banff Centre taking master classes with Philip Farkas and Froydis Ree Wekre, among others.

Robert started his professional career with the woodwind quintet York Winds in 1986, fleshing out his work in the Toronto area by freelancing with all the major orchestras and musicals, such as Cats, Wizard of Oz and Les Miserables. As well, he performed with the Hannaford Street Silver Band and various new music groups, such as the Esprit Orchestra.

In 1990, Robert won the Principal Horn position with Symphony Nova Scotia. While in Halifax, he performed as soloist with the orchestra on several occasions, including playing the Canadian premiere of Peter Lieberson’s Horn Concerto. He was a guest artist at various music festivals, including the Scotia Festival and the New Brunswick Summer Music Festival.

Robert joined the Calgary Philharmonic as Associate Principal Horn in 2000 and was acting Principal in 2002-2003. He was a guest artist at the IHS Banff Horn Summit, Call of the Wild Horn Festival, Banff Summer Arts Festival and has been active as a private teacher, coach of the Calgary Youth Orchestra and chamber musician. In 2003 he was appointed to Principal Horn of the CPO.

Vanessa Goymour was born and raised in Montréal Québec Canada while spending a few years in Berkshire England. She studied violin and viola at Marianopolis College and earned a Licentiate in Music Performance on viola from McGill University in 1991. Her principal teachers were Eva Svensson, Stephen Kondaks and André Roy. She has performed with several orchestras in Montréal & Ontario, including Orchestre Métropolitain, the Montréal Chamber Orchestra, Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Laval, Orchestre Symphonique de Trois Rivières, Les Jeunes Vertuoses, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Vanessa moved to Calgary in 1992, where she continues to perform as a freelance musician. From 1995 - 2003 she managed the Calgary Youth Orchestra, and in 2003 she accepted the position of Manager of Outreach & Education for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.

Katherine Carleton has been executive director of Orchestras Canada/Orchestres Canada since July 2005. She has also worked as a clarinetist, teacher, granting officer, orchestra administrator and consultant in Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, Kingston (ON) and Halifax (NS). Katherine holds a Bachelor of Music degree in performance (clarinet, 1984) from the University of Toronto and a Master’s degree in Management (2002) from Montreal’s McGill University. Her master’s thesis explored orchestral happiness, a subject that continues to fascinate. In addition to her work at OC, Katherine is studying French at Toronto’s Alliance Française and training for her third marathon.

Ann Drinan, Senior Editor, has been a member of the Hartford Symphony viola section for over 30 years. She is a former Chair of the Orchestra Committee, former member of the HSO Board, and has served on many HSO committees. She is also the Executive Director of CONCORA (CT Choral Artists), a professional chorus based in Hartford and New Britain, founded by Artistic Director Richard Coffey. Ann was a member of the Advisory Board of the Symphony Orchestra Institute (SOI), and was the HSO ROPA delegate for 14 years, serving as both Vice President and President of ROPA. In addition to playing the viola and running CONCORA, Ann is a professional writer and editor, and has worked as a consultant and technical writer for software companies in a wide variety of industries for over 3 decades. (She worked for the Yale Computer Science Department in the late 70s, and thus has been on the Internet, then called the DARPAnet, since 1977!) She is married to Algis Kaupas, a sound recordist, and lives a block from Long Island Sound in Branford CT. Together they create websites for musicians: shortbeachwebdesign.com.

Ann holds a BA in Music from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and an MA in International Relations from Yale University.

Read Ann Drinan's blog here. web.esm.rochester.edu/poly/author/ann-drinan

Violinist Fiona Simon, a member of the New York Philharmonic since 1985, made her Philharmonic solo debut in November 1989, performing Vivaldi’s Concerto for Three Violins. Ms. Simon began her career in her native England, where she studied with Szymon Goldberg and won major prizes in the Carl Flesch and Jacques Thibaud competitions. For three consecutive years, she was London’s Young Artist of the Year. She has performed with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the Royal Opera at Covent Garden, and the English Chamber Orchestra, among others. She has also been featured in many recitals and concerts broadcast over the BBC and has made numerous appearances throughout Europe. Ms. Simon is a member of the Arioso Trio, the Vanderspar String Trio, and the Simon String Quartet. She was married to the late New York Philharmonic violinist Richard Simon and has a son, Michael Paul, currently a junior at Brown University.

John Kieser,Director of Operations and Electronic Media, has been with the San Francisco Symphony since 1984. His responsibilities include overseeing symphony performances, Davies Symphony Hall operations, national and international tours, and all three SFS stores. John Kieser directs San Francisco Symphony electronic media activities ranging from the production of a television series and multimedia project titled Keeping Score: MTT on Music, the management of close to one-hundred local, national and international radio broadcasts a year, and the recording of albums—including the SFS’s self-released Mahler series which has won Grammy© Awards for Best Classical Album and Best Orchestral Performance. During his tenure with the San Francisco Symphony, the organization has also won an Emmy Award for its production of Sweeny Todd and a Peabody Award for the radio series produced in association with Minnesota Public Radio .

Robert Levine has been the Principal Violist of the Milwaukee Symphony since September 1987. Before coming to Milwaukee Mr. Levine had been a member of the Orford String Quartet, Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Toronto, with whom he toured extensively throughout Canada, the United States, and South America. Prior to joining the Orford Quartet, Mr. Levine had served as Principal Violist of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for six years. He has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, and the Oklahoma City Symphony, as well as serving as guest principal with the orchestras of Indianapolis and Hong Kong.

He has performed as soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Oklahoma City Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, the Midsummer Mozart Festival (San Francisco), and numerous community orchestras in Northern California and Minnesota. He has also been featured on American Public Radio's nationally broadcast show "St. Paul Sunday Morning" on several occasions.

Mr. Levine has been an active chamber musician, having performed at the Festival Rolandseck in Germany, the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Palm Beach Festival, the "Strings in the Mountains" Festival in Colorado, and numerous concerts in the Twin Cities and Milwaukee. He has also been active in the field of new music, having commissioned and premiered works for viola and orchestra from Minnesota composers Janika Vandervelde and Libby Larsen.

Mr. Levine was chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians from 1996 to 2002 and currently serves as President of the Milwaukee Musicians Association, Local 8 of the American Federation of Musicians, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the League of American Orchestras. He has written extensively about issues concerning orchestra musicians for publications of ICSOM, the AFM, the Symphony Orchestra Institute, and the League of American Orchestras.

Mr. Levine attended Stanford University and the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Switzerland. His primary teachers were Aaron Sten and Pamela Goldsmith. He also studied with Paul Doctor, Walter Trampler, Bruno Giuranna, and David Abel.

He lives with his wife Emily and his son Sam in Glendale.