Conductors
Joel Rosenberg
Joel Rosenberg is the Music Director of the American West Symphony, Paradigm Chamber Orchestra, and other Utah ensembles. The Salt Lake Tribune chose his conducting of Bizet's "Carmen" as one of the "Ten Best Performances of the Year." He has performed, and recorded for Albany Records, the William Wallace Concertino for Viola with the Slovak Radio Orchestra in a concert sponsored by the US Embassy in Bratislava.
Joel is a graduate of Juilliard in New York City, and a recipient of a Fulbright Grant to Rome, Italy, where he studied conducting with Franco Ferrara, and the viola with Bruno Giuranna. He has also received an Individual Artist Award from the State of Utah.
The New Zealand Herald’s review of his performance of "Madam Butterly" stated, "Much of the success of this production lies at the hands of Joel Rosenberg who as music director had the Auckland Philharmonia in the right form to carry the whole along at the right pace and sensitivity." The Portland Oregonian, reviewing his conducting of the "Nutcracker" with Ballet West, said, "Mr. Rosenberg proved to be an expert ballet conductor."
Joel recently conducted three concerts with Elbland Philharmonic in Germany and performed in a chamber concert with the principal players of the Philharmonic.
He has conducted the Elizabethan Philharmonic and Orchestra of Victoria with the Australian Ballet at the Sydney Opera House, in Melbourne and Canberra, The Orchestra of the Conservatory Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy, New Mexico Symphony, Grand Teton Music Festival, The Utah Oratorio Society, Auckland Philharmonia, Erik Hawkins Dance Company, San Francisco Ballet, National Orchestra of South Africa with PACT Ballet in Pretoria and Johannesburg, a tour of Japan for Sony with soloists from the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden and performances with Pianist Leon Fleisher.
He has performed as principal viola under Pierre Boulez and has been a guest violist with the DaVinci Quartet at Montana State University, University of Denver, and Colorado College. The Oregon Symphony invited him to join them for a recording and performances of music of Eric Korngold. He has performed for the Madeleine Festival, Nova Series and the Contemporary Music Consortium. Viola concerti by Jeff Manookian, Marie Nelson Bennett and William Wallace have been written for him. His latest recording, "Russian Music for Viola and Piano," is available for purchase on CD Baby.
Ljuba Kelly
Ljuba Alexandrovna Kelly has a classical Russian music education, starting from an early age at a special music school and continuing through conservatory training. Her undergraduate degree is in choral conducting, voice, and vocal and music pedagogy from the Volgograd College of Music and Art, then five years of professional music education at the Sobinov State Conservatory of Music. After coming to the United States, Ljuba continued her education at Claremont Graduate University in California, obtaining a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting with an emphasis in choral conducting.
Ljuba has taught voice, music history and theory, choral conducting and techniques, and has conducted choral ensembles large and small, including community children and adult ensembles, church choirs, and elementary, high school and university choirs, both in Russia and the U.S She was the assistant conductor at the Sobinov Conservatory Choir, and later, the Combined Choir of the Claremont Colleges (Scripps, Pitzer, Claremont-McKenna and Harvey Mudd).
Ljuba has staged and conducted early period music, including madrigal singers and Renaissance instrumental-vocal groups, as well as Russian sacred music at the Claremont School of Theology. Her ensembles have performed locally and regionally in the West and Midwest, Canada, New York, and Washington, D.C.