Meet the Maestros

Albert-George Schram
Conductor

Albert-George Schram returns for his twelfth season to conduct the Charlotte Symphony. In addition, he has led the Symphony’s highly acclaimed Summer Pops at SouthPark in June of each summer since 2001 and opened the Symphony’s new permanent summer home at Symphony Park in June 2002.

Under his leadership, the Charlotte Symphony has collaborated with such outstanding musical artists as Art Garfunkel, Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, Dianne Reeves, Olivia Newton-John, Linda Eder, José Feliciano, the Four Tops, Kathy Mattea, the United States Naval Academy Men’s Glee Club, Michael Feinstein, The Temptations, and the late Ray Charles.

Schram, a native of the Netherlands, has served as the Nashville Symphony’s Resident Conductor since the 2006- 07 opening season of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. He is responsible for programming and guest artist selection for the Bank of America Pops series, as well as building and maintaining that series' audience base. In addition, he leads select classical, education, and other special events concerts throughout the season.

He also currently serves as Staff Conductor of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Ohio. He has worked there in a variety of capacities since 1979 and has become an audience favorite for all series, including Classical subscriptions, Pops, and summer season concerts. His three decades with the Columbus Symphony mark one of the longest conducting tenures with a major American orchestra.

Schram was Music Director and Conductor of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra from 1994 to 2000. From 1990 to 1996, Schram served as Resident Conductor of the Louisville Orchestra, and he was appointed Resident Conductor of the former Florida Philharmonic Orchestra beginning with the 2002/03 season.

In 2008 Schram was invited to conduct the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional of Bolivia in La Paz and the Orquesta Sinfónica Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina. Other foreign conducting engagements have included the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Seoul in live televised concerts, Korea’s Taegu Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra der Allgemeinen Musikgesellschaft Luzern in Switzerland, among others. He has made return appearances in his native Holland to conduct the Netherlands Radio Orchestra and the Netherlands Broadcast Orchestra.

In the United States, his guest appearances include the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Spokane Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony, Shreveport Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Lubbock Symphony, Allentown Symphony, Mansfield Symphony, and Ballet Metropolitan, among others.

Schram’s studies have been largely in the European tradition under the tutelage of Franco Ferrara at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy; Rafael Kubelik in Luzern, Switzerland; Abraham Kaplan in Seattle, Washington; and Neeme Järvi in Hilversum, Netherlands. He received the majority of his initial training at the Conservatory of The Hague in the Netherlands. He later moved to Canada to undertake studies at the Universities of Calgary and Victoria. His training was completed at the University of Washington where he earned the Doctorate of Musical Arts. During his studies, he frequently conducted the orchestral, festival, and choral ensembles of those universities.

Dr. Schram resides in Florida with his wife Debbie and their children Natalia, Galen, and Gabriel. And please call him George!

Scott Allen Jarrett
Oratorio Singers Director

This fall begins Scott Allen Jarrett’s sixth season as Music Director of the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte, the official chorus of the Charlotte Symphony. A resident of Boston, Jarrett travels to North Carolina weekly for rehearsals with the Oratorio Singers, preparing and leading the chorus for their appearances with the Symphony throughout the season. In addition to choral preparation for performances of opera choruses in February and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Jarrett will lead the chorus and orchestra in performances of Bach’s Mass in B Minor and the annual performances of Handel’s Messiah. In recent seasons with the Charlotte Symphony, Jarrett conducted performances of Brahms’s Schicksalslied, Schumann’s Nachtlied, Barber’s Prayers of Kierkegaard, Handel’s Messiah and Saul, and Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4.  Each year, Jarrett leads the Oratorio Singers Chamber Chorus in performance at the annual Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina.

In Boston, Jarrett serves as Director of Music at Boston University’s Marsh Chapel. Also at Boston University, his appointment includes faculty posts in both the School of Theology as a lecturer in the practice of sacred music and in the School of Music on the conducting faculty. As Director of Music at Marsh Chapel, Jarrett leads the Chapel Choir and Collegium in weekly services broadcast over the Internet and on National Public Radio. In addition to these liturgical responsibilities, the Chapel Choir and Collegium present a yearly Bach Cantata Series, performing these masterworks in their original liturgical context. This year, Jarrett leads the Chapel Choir and Collegium in performances of Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, Judas Maccabaeus by Handel, and the Duruflé Requiem. Recent seasons of Music at Marsh Chapel have included Bach’s Magnificat, Easter and Ascension Oratorios, and Saint John Passion; Handel’s Saul and Solomon; the Fauré Requiem; Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri; and Mozart’s Mass in C Minor.

Jarrett has served eight summers on the conducting staff at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute in the Berkshires. BUTI is part of the Tanglewood Music Center, the summer home of the Boston Symphony.

After guest conducting the 30th Anniversary Concert of Boston’s Back Bay Chorale, Scott Allen Jarrett was named the Chorale’s fifth Music Director. The performance of Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus garnered critical acclaim from the Boston Globe: “Judas Maccabaeus was a great success...This was Jarrett’s night—he’s tasteful and talented, someone to keep our eyes and ears on.” Since that first performance, Jarrett has led the Chorale in memorable performances of Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri, the Saint Matthew Passion of Bach, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, the Brahms Requiem, and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. In the current season, Jarrett leads the Chorale in performances of Pizzetti’s Messa da Requiem, Handel’s Israel in Egypt, and the Bach Mass in B Minor.

A native of Virginia, Scott Allen Jarrett holds degrees from Furman University (Greenville, SC) and Boston University, where he received his masters and doctoral degrees in conducting. As a pianist, Jarrett accompanied rehearsals for the late Robert Shaw during his Boston visits, and served as rehearsal accompanist for the Carnegie Hall Choral Workshop with Charles Dutoit.

Christof Perick
Conductor Laureate

Christof Perick begins his ninth and final season as Music Director of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra in 2009-2010. Both public and press have noted the Orchestra’s increasing artistic accomplishment under his leadership, including a marked refinement of orchestral tone, ensemble precision, and increased flexibility with all musical styles. In his tenure in Charlotte, he has greatly expanded the Orchestra’s literature to include many previously unperformed masterworks. In addition, at the invitation of Maestro Perick, the Orchestra has performed with such acclaimed artists as Renée Fleming, Emanuel Ax, Gil Shaham, Hilary Hahn and Sir James Galway, has played host to the United States debut of a dozen international artists, and presented two highly acclaimed opera-in-concert productions.

Since 2006, Maestro Perick has served as Music Director of the Nuremburg Philharmonic and State Opera in his home country of Germany. He has also served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Dresden Semper Opera, one of Europe’s most renowned opera houses since 1992 and as Music Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra from 1992 to 1995. He held the position of Music Director of the Niedersächsisches Staatsorchester and Staatsoper in Hanover, Germany until 1996 where he recently returned to lead Wagner’s complete Ring Cycle. In Karlsruhe, he was Music Director of the Badische Staatskapelle and Staatsoper for ten seasons from 1977 to 1986. He also led the Staatsoper in Saarbrücken, Germany from 1974 to 1977.

In Europe, he has guest conducted many leading orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic and returns regularly to conduct the Orchestre National de France in Paris and the Orchestre National de Lyon. He has conducted often and has been a principal guest conductor of the Vienna and Berlin State Operas, as well as the Hamburg Staatsoper. He also conducts frequently at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. In recent seasons, he has led Dresden productions of Strauss’ Die schweigsame Frau, Salome, and Capriccio; Wagner’s Parsifal, Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Der fliegende Holländer, Die Meistersinger, and Tristan und Isolde; and Beethoven’s Fidelio.

In addition to having served as Music Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Maestro Perick has guest conducted many of the leading American orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic; Los Angeles Philharmonic; the orchestras of Boston, San Francisco, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Detroit, Seattle, Indianapolis, and Milwaukee; and The National Symphony, among others.

Summer festivals have included Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival and Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival. In Canada, he has led the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Toronto Symphony, and Calgary Philharmonic.
Maestro Perick led many productions at New York’s Metropolitan Opera for ten consecutive seasons and he has also conducted productions at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, and the San Diego Opera.

Maestro Perick is an advocate and mentor for young musicians and has been very involved with music education and young artist development. He was closely associated with Germany’s National Youth Orchestra for many years and conducted the first United States tour of the Bundesjugendorchester. He has also guest conducted at the Music Academy of the West Festival in California.

Maestro Perick’s recent guest engagements include appearances with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood; the Vancouver, Pacific, and Columbus Symphonies; a pair of subscription concerts with the Stuttgart Philharmonic; and productions at Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper and the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Christof Perick resides near the Black Forest in Karlsruhe, Germany with his wife Ulrike, a professional actress, and their two dogs. In his time off the podium, he enjoys swimming and literature.

Jacomo Rafael Bairos
Assistant Conductor

Joining the Charlotte Symphony conducting staff in September 2010, Portuguese American Jacomo Rafael Bairos enjoys an international career as a conductor and educator. Recent performances, recordings, and reengagements include the Iceland Symphony Orchestra (ISO), Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO), Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), and the National Orchestra of Porto Portugal (ONP) among others. In August of 2009, a CD for Albany Records with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra featuring concertos by North American Composers was released to critical acclaim (Fanfare Magazine). American engagements include performances with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra (2009-2010), as well as assistant-rehearsal conductor with the Baltimore Opera Company in 2008. A cover conductor for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra 2007-2010, he has conducted in rehearsals for Marin Alsop, and worked closely with many guest conductors. In his debut with the SSO, featuring Latin-Grammy winner Nestor Torres, the Singapore Straits Times announced "...the musicians and the audience...could feel Jacomo's energy and enthusiasm for the music". In concerts, as part of the MPO 10th Anniversary Subscription Celebrations, The Malaysian New Straits Times stated, "Through his expressive hands and passionate gestures….you can even feel his Latin vibe".

Passionately dedicated to education, outreach, and community engagement, Jacomo recently developed and conducted 13 education concerts for 2300 kids across Portugal with the ONP. He has also been named Music Director for the 2010 National Youth Orchestra Festival of Portugal, to include a European tour in September. As Director of Orchestras for the Baltimore School for the Arts (BSFA), he works closely with the Baltimore Symphony’s “OrchKids,” BSFA “Twiggs,” and Peabody’s “Tuned In” programs, creating side-by-sides and education workshops for children in underserved urban communities. He also created programs for the SSO’s Education and Outreach department, taking music into the community from 2004-2007. Further 2010 concert highlights include the Peabody Conservatory Ensembles, Baltimore All-County Orchestras, Aspen Music Festival Orchestras, Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras, BSFA Orchestras, and workshops with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Omaha Symphony Orchestras.

As a conducting assistant for the Peabody Institute and for illustrious faculty member Leon Fleisher (2007-2009), he regularly prepared all orchestral and choir ensembles, as well as conducted numerous performances. As part of his dedication to new and contemporary music, he has conducted concerts for the SONAR contemporary ensemble and directed several new composition readings with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra. During his two-year tenure as Artistic Director, Conductor, and Host of the SSO Chamber Music Series (2005-2007), he was able to double attendance and create multiple partnerships with local arts organizations.

Discovered while attending the International Conductors Workshop 2007 with Maestro Larry Rachleff, Jacomo was subsequently invited by the eminent teacher Gustav Meier to be his student at the prestigious Peabody Conservatory. Recently invited to be a 2010 fellow with the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen, he was also semi-finalist (final 6) for the Eduardo Mata Conductors Competition (2009) and 8th place finisher for the Arturo Toscanini Conductors Competition. (2008)

As a tuba player, Jacomo has given master classes and performed in festivals in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, China, Singapore, and in the U.S. He has performed, toured, and recorded for Telarc with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and Pops, and the Seattle Symphony and Opera.  He has held principal positions with orchestras in America, Spain, Tenerife, China, and most recently held a principal post with the SSO. His primary mentor and conducting teacher is Gustav Meier. He also studied intensively with Marin Alsop, Leon Fleisher, Jorma Punula, Edward Polochick, Markand Thakar, and Larry Rachleff.