Ohio’s Akron Symphony Orchestra has named CHRIS ALBANESE as director of the Akron Symphony Chorus and KAREN NÍ BHROIN as assistant director of the chorus. The Chorus’s performances with the Akron Symphony for the 2019-20 season include Symphonic Shakespeare in October, Home for the Holidays in December, the Mozart Requiem in February, and a standalone concert in the spring.
Chris Albanese is an assistant professor of choral conducting at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he conducts the Grammy-nominated Singing Hoosiers, and teaches choral conducting. He was previously a member of the San Francisco-based vocal ensemble Chanticleer. His recent work includes conducting and preparing collaborations with Sandi Patty, Sylvia McNair, the Indianapolis Opera, Ft. Wayne Philharmonic, and Carmel Symphony. While at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Albanese conducted the Men’s Chorus, prepared the Men’s and Women’s Choruses for Honegger’s Joan of Arc at the Stake, and was a chorus master and assistant conductor for the CCM opera department. Albanese has facilitated master classes in the U.S. and Europe.
Karen Ní Bhroin is a conductor from Co. Wexford, Ireland. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, she is currently graduate assistant orchestral conductor at Kent State University in Ohio, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in orchestral conducting. Bhroin made her conducting debut with Trinity College Orchestra in 2013, the final year of her degree. She studied conducting privately with Neil Thomson, Robert Houlihan, Denise Ham, John Longstaff, and David Brophy. She has also attended conducting courses and classes in Europe and America with Rodolfo Saglimbeni, Neil Varon, and John Farrer.
Posted August 8, 2019
