Facebook About the Philharmonia

Current Members

Violin I
Sarah Hedlund, concertmaster
Sheri Simah
Sarah Galli
Amanda Barber
Jayne Seymour
Ethan Barker
Gina Cosgrove
Madelaine McCann
Katharina von Kennel
Weiwei Wang
Naomi Morse
Megan Wilson

Violin II
Jacob Olbrot, principal
Sun-Young Kim
Valerie O’Brien
Rebecca Cummins-Lanter
Betty Fox
Ben Ensroth
Rebecca Learner
Donna Pennington
Kay Alexander
Katie Zanyk-McLean
Gundars Elksnis


Viola
Tomio Anderson, acting principal
Ed Millermaier
Al Barney
Aidan Brumsickle
Kathy Connor
Kelly Bresnahan
Rebecca Staudenmaier
Mike Krischer

Cello
Jack Brooks, principal
Julia Smucker
Mary Butler
Claire Eder
Barbara Gustin
Theresa Hale
Ashley Yea
Rachel Smith
Jan Luchies

Bass
Alana Richardson, co-principal
David Reilly, co-principal
Sara Haverkamp
Nathan Durham
Mike Babb
Caleb Cordes
Art Feinberg

 


Flute
Christine Griffith, principal
Danielle Breisach
Claire Garner
Samantha Keene

Oboe
Kaethe Durham, principal
Jana Specht
Emily Wolf

Clarinet
Mike Petkus, principal
Anne Baldwin
Jesse Williams

Bassoon
Connie Kamerling, principal
Chris Kvarnberg
Emily Yonker

Horn
Jack Levoska, acting principal
Kelsey Anthon
Jeff Breisach
Ron Chase

Trumpet
Carl Schulte, acting principal
Bonni Beebe
Beth Jonker

Trombone
Marty Obed, principal
John Bonnema
Evan Dorner

Tuba
Thomas Gilchrist

Timpani
David King

Percussion
Fran Hoepfner                               
Caleb Kennedy
Kara Miyasato

           

Andrew Koehler, music director

Andrew Koehler is currently the music director of the Kalamazoo Philharmonia, which he leads as part of his position as an assistant professor of music at Kalamazoo College.  He holds a concurrent post as music director of the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra, and is a frequent guest at the West Michigan Symphony Orchestra, where he covers rehearsals for music director Scott Speck.  This season, guest conducting appearances will take Andrew to destinations as diverse as Vermont and Kyiv, Ukraine.

Previous music directorships have included the Chamber Orchestra of the University of Chicago (which, under his direction, the Hyde Park Herald called the “most wonderful orchestra in recent memory”) as well as the Akademisches Sinfonie-Orchester of Vienna, Austria.  He has led guest performances of the North Shore Chamber Orchestra, the University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and, with only a weekend’s notice, the American Opera Group Orchestra in Chicago.  He has additionally led ensembles under the auspices of the Aspen Music Festival, the Conductor’s Festival at Bard College, and the 2006 Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition, where he advanced to the final round and won the audience favorite prize.  Most recently, he organized and conducted a concert with the Arcato Chamber Ensemble, made up of musicians from the Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids Symphonies.  The group’s premiere performance was hailed as “…exceptional under his baton” by the Kalamazoo Gazette.

Born in Philadelphia to Ukrainian parents, Andrew began his musical studies on the violin at the age of five.  He is a graduate of Yale College, where he completed a B.A. in Music and German Studies (graduating with honors and distinction in both majors).  During his time there, he served as assistant conductor of the Yale Symphony Orchestra and won the Seldin Memorial Prize in Music.  He holds a certificate in conducting from the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, where he studied for two years as a Fulbright scholar, as well as a Masters degree from Northwestern University.  His principal teachers have been Victor Yampolsky and Leopold Hager; he has additionally worked with David Zinman, Michael Stern, Jorma Panula, and Mariss Jansons, among others.



           

Dalton Theater

The Kalamazoo College Light Fine Arts Building was completed in 1964 and is named for the Richard U. Light family. Of special interest is the large stained glass work in the lobby of the Fine Arts Building. It was designed and created by Fritz Bultmann, an internationally recognized artist who died shortly after the completion of the work in 1985. It was his last and most major work. Dalton Theater is the largest theater in the Light Fine Arts Building; the entrance is located in the main atrium.




           

History

Founded in 1994 by Dr. Barry Ross as the Kalamazoo College and Community Orchestra, the group brings together students, faculty, amateur and professional musicians of all ages to perform great music. Having grown enormously since its inception, the ensemble is now of full symphonic proportions, and has been recognized as an arts organization of major importance in the greater Kalamazoo area. The orchestra generally plays three concerts per season, the programs of which are introduced by Andrew Koehler and Cara Lieurance on WMUK the week preceding the performance. It also boasts an active chamber music program that plays outreach concerts throughout the community. It has produced several CDs, appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, and worked with such renowned artists as Orli Shaham, Anthony Ross, Orion Weiss, Adam Neimann, Makoto Nakura, Todd Palmer, John Bruce Yeh and Richard Stoltzman. Dr. Ross, who also served as assistant conductor and concertmaster of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, retired from his position with the orchestra at the end of the 2005-2006 season. After a national search, Andrew Koehler was appointed to succeed him as the new music director of the group, which subsequently renamed itself the Kalamazoo Philharmonia.

           

Listen to the Orchestra

  • An excerpt from Hovhaness's Mysterious Mountain, recorded live from our November 22, 2008 concert: MP3 file
  • An excerpt from Mahler's Symphony No. 2, recorded live from our March 14, 2009 concert: MP3 file
  • An excerpt from Steven Holochwost's Symphony in Three Movements, recorded live from our world premiere performance on March 14, 2009: MP3 file

           



How to Join

An organization such as ours has constantly changing instrumentational needs. Any experienced player in the area who is interested in playing with us is encouraged to contact Andrew Koehler to schedule an audition. Auditions generally last no more than 10 minutes, and include a performance of your choosing and sightreading. For more information, or to schedule such an audition, please email the music director, Andrew Koehler at Andrew.Koehler@kzoo.edu.

Kalamazoo Philharmonia
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