CCM Wind Symphony welcomes acclaimed guest artists in Sept. 17 concert

John Mackey (he/him) has written for orchestras (Brooklyn Philharmonic, New York Youth Symphony), theater (Dallas Theater Center), and extensively for dance (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Parsons Dance Company, New York City Ballet), but the majority of his work for the past decade has been for wind ensembles (the fancy name for concert bands), and his band catalog now receives annual performances numbering in the thousands.

Recent commissions include works for the BBC Singers, the Dallas Wind Symphony, military, high school, middle school, and university bands across America and Japan, and concertos for Joseph Alessi (principal trombone, New York Philharmonic), Christopher Martin (principal trumpet, New York Philharmonic), and Julian Bliss (international clarinet soloist). In 2014, he became the youngest composer ever inducted into the American Bandmasters Association. In 2018, he received the Wladimir & Rhoda Lakond Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He resides in New York City, with his spouse, A. E. Jaques, a philosopher who works on the ethics of artificial intelligence for MIT, and also titles all of his pieces; and their cats, Noodle and Bloop.

Learn more on his professional website.

Lindsay Kesselman is a twice GRAMMY-nominated soprano known for her warm, collaborative spirit and investment in personal, intimate communication with audiences. She regularly collaborates with orchestras, wind symphonies, chamber ensembles, opera/theater companies, and new music ensembles across the United States, often premiering, touring and recording new works written for her by living composers. She is a passionate advocate for contemporary music, and has commissioned/premiered over 100 works to date. 

Recent and upcoming highlights include frequent performances of Darkening, then Brightening by Christopher Cerrone across the country, a tour culminating at National CBDNA with the UNC Greensboro Wind Ensemble, premieres of wind transcriptions of Caroline Shaw’s Is a Rose and Maria Schneider’s Winter Morning Walks, Pierrot Lunaire with Ensemble ATL, Energy in All Directions by Kenneth Frazelle with Sandbox Percussion at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the role of Anna in Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins with the Charlotte Symphony, the role of Ada Lovelace in a new opera, Galaxies in Her Eyes by Mark Lanz Weiser and Amy Punt, Astronautica: Voices of Women in Space with Voices of Ascension, ongoing performances of works written for Kesselman by John Mackey with orchestras and wind symphonies across the country, the John Corigliano 80th birthday celebration at National Sawdust (2018), Quixote (Amy Beth Kirsten and Mark DeChiazza) with Peak Performances at Montclair State University (2017), a leading role in Louis Andriessen’s opera Theatre of the World with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Dutch National Opera and an international tour of Einstein on the Beach with the Philip Glass Ensemble (2012-2015).

She is featured on several recent recordings: David Biedenbender’s all we are given we cannot hold (2023, Blue Griffin), Chris Cerrone’s opera In a Grove (2023, In a Circle Records), Caroline Shaw’s Is a Rose (2023, Blue Griffin), Chris Cerrone’s The Arching Path (2021, In a Circle Records), Russell Hartenberger’s Requiem for Percussion and Voices (2019, Nexus Records), Chris Cerrone’s The Pieces That Fall to Earth with Wild Up (2019, New Amsterdam Records), Mathew Rosenblum’s Lament/Witches’ Sabbath with the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble (2018, New Focus Recordings), Louis Andriessen’s Theatre of the World with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (2017, Nonesuch), and Jon Magnussen’s Twinge with HAVEN (2016, Blue Griffin).

Kesselman has been the resident soprano of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble for 13 seasons, and Haven, Kesselman’s trio with Kimberly Cole Luevano, clarinet and Midori Koga, piano (www.haventrio.com) actively commissions and tours throughout North America. Haven is the recipient of a 2021 Barlow Endowment for Music Composition award with composer David Biedenbender and a 2021 Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant with composer Ivette Herryman Rodríguez.

She is a dedicated teacher and serves as Assistant Professor of Voice and Choral Music at UNC Greensboro. There she maintains an active voice studio and she conducts the UNCG Treble Ensemble. Kesselman also co-directs the Heretic’s Guide to Musicianship: A Score Study and Interpretation Workshop with Kevin Noe. A frequent guest clinician at colleges and universities across the United States, Kesselman specializes in voice teaching, leadership, entrepreneurship, musicianship, young composer mentoring, chamber music, audience development, programming, interdisciplinary collaboration, harnessing vulnerability in performance, and community engagement. 

Kesselman holds degrees in voice performance and music education from Rice University and Michigan State University. She is represented by Trudy Chan at Black Tea Music and lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband Kevin Noe and son Rowan.

More information can be found on her professional website.