Dr. David Buck, Conductor
Dr. David Buck, Music Director of the Los Angeles Symphonic Camerata, served concurrently as Music Director and Conductor of the Guild Opera of Los Angeles with which he conducted nearly two hundred performances of works ranging in style from the Magic Flute to the Mikado, and as Professor of Music at California State University, Los Angeles. In 1997 he founded the Los Angeles Symphonic Camerata.
A sampling of his international engagements include: in the fall of 1993 he guest conducted the National Normal Symphony of Taiwan under the auspices of the Cultural Division of the Taiwanese government. In June of 1994 he conducted the Varna Philharmonic in the Varna International Music Festival in Bulgaria. In July 1994 he conducted the Pusan Symphony in Korea. In March and April of 2004 he conducted the Shanghai Opera, the Huangzhao Symphony, and the Hebei Province Symphony in China. In September 1996, Dr. Buck made his New York debut in Avery Fisher Hall under the auspices of the United Nations.
Music Director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, Herbert Blomstedt, commended him for his “sympathetic and inspiring manner”, and went on to say “What I have heard of him and his newly founded Los Angeles Symphonic Camerata confirms my impression of a man of exceptional skills and visionary drive.” Daniel Bareneboim invited Dr. Buck to the Deutsches Staatsoper Berlin “Unter den Linden” in 1995 and subsequently to the Bayreuth Festival in 1996 to work with him in the productions of Wagner’s Goetterdaemmerung, and Die Meistersinger von Nuremburg. The Los Angeles Times commended the excellence of his conducting “The Marriage of Figaro” saying that the performance was “distinguished by meticulous musical preparation…a Figaro production that served Mozart with dedication and success. The orchestra played cohesively, carefully, and stylishly.”
Dr. Buck lives in Altadena, CA, with his wife of fifty-one years (as of 2019), Linda, who is a noted piano performer and teacher.
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Dr. Jeong W. Jin, Conductor
Dr. Jeong W. Jin, who founded and served as Music Director at the California Central Philharmonic Orchestra, New Music Ensemble of UCLA, Pilgrim Chamber Ensemble and the L.A. Seoul Chorale’s Chamber Orchestra, appeared as a guest conductor for the Glendale Symphony Orchestra, Korean Philharmonic Orchestra and Busan National Philharmonic in Korea. Dr. Jin has led performances with notable soloists such as the sopranos ; Sumi Jo, Young-Mi Kim and Yoon-Ah Lee, Joo Young Oh (violin), Alpin Hong (piano) and Jang Sa-ik (Korean Sori-kun). As a choral conductor, he founded and served as music director for the L.A. Pilgrim Men’s Chorus and Gloria Senior Ladies Choir, and appeared as a guest conductor for the Daegu Male Choir in Korea and L.A. Seoul Chorale. Currently he is serving as Music director at the L.A. Seoul Chorale since 1997.
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Dr. Gene Chung, Conductor
Dr. Chung earned his doctoral degree in music from Claremont Graduate University, majoring in Orchestral Conducting. Before his journey into music, he majored in theology at Methodist Theological Seminary in Korea. In pursuit of his music ministry goal, he continued his studies at the Graduate Schools of Yonsei University and California State University, Los Angeles. He has been serving as music director of Wesley Youth Orchestra since 2003, orchestra director of Pasadena Christian School since 2011, and pastor of Charles Wesley Ministries. Dr. Chung’s lifetime project is to share the vision from Psalm 150 with generations to come by helping more children to learn instruments well in order to enrich their lives and to bring glory and honor to God.
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Dr. Brian Asher Alhadeff, Conductor
Hailed by 805 Living magazine as the Maestro of the Central Coast, Dr. Brian Asher Alhadeff is Principal Conductor of State Street Ballet and Civic Ballet San Luis Obispo. He has been Artistic and General Director of Opera San Luis Obispo since 2011, and is also the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Lompoc Pops Orchestra. An internationally celebrated conductor, Alhadeff was Artistic Director and founder of the Hradec Kralove International Summer Opera Festival, and also conducted the Albanian premier of Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2 with the Albanian National Radio and Television Orchestra. Guest conducting highlights include Tulsa Ballet, Ballet Tucson, Bourgas Opera Ballet, and Prague State Opera Ballet, in addition to orchestras and opera companies throughout the U.S. and Europe. Alhadeff studied conducting at the Peabody Conservatory and Janacek Academy of Music. A California native, Alhadeff holds a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola Marymount University, Masters of Music from California State University of Los Angeles, and Doctorate of Musical Arts from UCLA.
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Dr. Christopher Gravis, Conductor
Dr. Christopher Gravis is an American choral and orchestral conductor, composer, and lecturer. Dr. Gravis serves as the Canon for Music & Cathedral Arts at St. John’s Cathedral in Los Angeles, and the Assistant Professor & Director of Choral Activities at California State University, Los Angeles. He has led the professional ensemble Clarion Singers in residence at Canterbury Cathedral, and regularly guest conducts the LA Schola. He is considered a specialist in the area of English choral-orchestral masterworks, and of Anglican liturgical music. Dr. Gravis published a dissertation on the Development of Anglican Chant in Twentieth-Century.
Active as both a choral and orchestral conductor, Dr. Gravis made his debut with the San Diego Symphony in 2014, and recently lead the acclaimed Orange Coast College Symphony. Dr. Gravis is also a composer of choral and liturgical music. He earned degrees in music from the University of Redlands, California State University, Fullerton and the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music.
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Dr. Amy Gillingham Culligan, Conductor
Dr. Amy Gillingham Culligan is a cellist, conductor, director, educator, and arts advocate dedicated to leveraging her roles to advance, empower, and inspire others through music. She holds the Corbett Endowed Principal of Strings distinction at Northern Kentucky University where she serves as Assistant Professor of Strings (Cello) and Director of Orchestras.
Dr. Culligan has performed throughout North America, South America, and Europe. With a passion for recording and collaboration, she has internationally distributed recordings with labels including Sony Entertainment, Mark Records, Universal Music Group, Crossroads Music Group, and Legend. She enjoys working amongst a diversity of music styles and artists, including eighth blackbird, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Rayne Johnson, Michael W. Smith, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Josh Groban, and Lecrae.
Dr. Culligan’s charismatic and inventive approach to orchestra has taken her on tours across Ireland, a feature at the international BLINK Festival, and a documentary piece on PBS. She is the recipient of over $200,000 in grant award for creative projects, outreach initiatives, and music education programs. She has received regional and national awards for her teaching, service, and creativity from organizations including American String Teachers Association, Greater Cincinnati Collegiate Connection, Northern Kentucky University, American Celebration of Music in Ireland, and the National Association for Leadership and Success.
Dr. Culligan holds D.M.A. and M.M. degrees from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and a B.M. degree from North Carolina School of the Arts. She previously held faculty positions at Indiana Wesleyan University and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
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Dr. Stuart Sladden, Conductor
Stuart Sladden was born and raised in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Toronto (2002), in vocal jazz performance, a Master of Music degree from the University of Manitoba (2012), and a Doctor of Music degree from the University of Alberta (2020), both in choral conducting. He is in demand as a freelance musician, guest conductor, private music instructor, workshop leader, adjudicator, and clinician mainly throughout Canada. He has worked as a sessional instructor at both the University of Alberta and University of Manitoba teaching courses in aural skills, conducting, and choral literature, and is part of the handbell faculty at the International Music Camp, held at the International Peace Gardens, each summer.
Over the past twenty-five years, Stuart has enjoyed working with a variety of classical,
jazz, and church choirs as both a singer and conductor. In Winnipeg, he conducts a
number of ensembles, including the Joie de Vivre Chorus, the Bison Men’s Chorus, the
Good Neighbours Choristers, and the Rochester Ringers, and is a singer with one of
Winnipeg’s professional choral ensembles, the Winnipeg Singers.
Along with his teaching and choral work, Stuart is passionate about building relationship
and community through choir. He has been the chair of ChoralFest, one of the largest
stand-alone, non-competitive choral festivals in Manitoba, has served on the Manitoba
Music Educators Association board, serves on the board of the Foundation for Choral
Music in Manitoba, and is the current President of the Manitoba Choral Association.
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Dr. Jennifer Garrett, Conductor
Dr. Jennifer M. Garrett is a conductor, educator, pianist, and lecturer. Dr. Garrett serves as the Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Bakersfield College. She conducts the Chamber Singers, College Choir, Renegade Chorus, and founded the first treble chorus at Bakersfield College which will begin in the Fall of 2022. Dr. Garrett oversees the Applied Vocal Music Program and usually serves as the musical director for the BC summer musicals. Under her direction and with the help of colleagues, the Applied Music program has grown from 20 total students into 85 voice, classical instrumental, and jazz majors. Dr. Garrett has conducted the BC Chamber Singers in numerous international venues some of which include, the Pantheon and other historic Italian sites, the Sydney Opera House, and will direct the choir in various locations including St. Thomas Church in Vienna, Prague, and Berlin in June of 2023. The Chamber Singers were selected to perform at several conferences including the 2018 and 2020 California All-State Music Educators Conferences. Following the 2020 CASMEC performance the Chamber Singers received an invitation to perform at the Walt Disney Concert Hall which will take place in July of 2023.
Dr. Garrett enjoys traveling to various destinations as a sought-after guest conductor, clinician, and motivational speaker. Locally, she devotes a great deal of time to building choral music in the Central Valley. Each school year she works closely with each high school choir and brings in guest clinicians for festivals to develop the skills of the students and directors. Dr. Garrett also works with local directors to create opportunities for collaboration amongst the various choral and orchestral ensembles in Bakersfield. In 2019 Dr. Garrett and two colleagues created the Kern County International Youth Choir to provide opportunities for international travel to high school students in an economically challenged area. Dr. Garrett also possesses a passion for local church and community choirs. In addition to conducting a church choir, consisting of children through older adults, she also brings various church choirs together to sing for church conferences several times each year. Dr. Garrett co-founded and directed the Bakersfield Deseret Chorale and now serves as the new Artistic Director of the Bakersfield Master Chorale, the largest and oldest community choir in Bakersfield.
Before joining the faculty at Bakersfield College Dr. Garrett conducted the 95-voice Arizona State University Women’s Chorus. She also served as Music Director of the Arizona Deseret Chorale, a long-standing community chorus located in Mesa, Arizona. Prior to ASU she worked with choirs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and taught high school choir in Heber City, Utah.
In 2018 Dr. Garrett was honored to receive the Bakersfield College Samuel W. McCall Outstanding Professor of the Year Award. Other accolades include Choral Educator of the Year, Collegiate Music Educator of the Year, Bakersfield College President’s Leadership Award, and several nominations for a Grammy Music Educator Award. Dr. Garrett serves as the California Choral Directors Association Choral Representative for the Central Region, the Northern California Choral Representative for the Music Association of California Community Colleges and participated in the National Collegiate Choral Organization Review Committee for many years.
Dr. Garrett is a native of Washington state and received a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Brigham Young University, a masters in Choral Conducting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a doctorate in Choral Conducting from Arizona State University. She currently lives in Bakersfield with her husband and three delightful daughters.