Kalena Bovell

Kalena Bovell is an American conductor. As of 2020, Bovell, who has both African-American and Hispanic ancestry, was the only conductor in the United States of African-American and Hispanic descent. She is currently assistant conductor of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.

Biography

Bovell grew up in Los Angeles after her parents moved there from Panama.[1][2] She began singing at the age of nine and came to classical music when she joined a beginning strings class at age eleven. Being seven years self taught, her first private lesson occurred when she was 18.[3] Bovell played the violin.[2] She discovered her love of conducting as a sophomore at Chapman University which she graduated from in 2009.[1][4] She attended graduate school at the Hartt School.[1]

Work

Bovell has worked as the orchestra director at the Loomis Chaffee School and in 2015 staged the Swan Princess, an adaptation of Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky.[5]

In 2017, the Chicago Tribune wrote that her skill at conducting Slavonic Dances: Opus 46 No. 2 and Opus 72 No. 7 by Antonín Dvořák was "brilliant".[6]

Bovell became the assistant conductor for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra in 2019.[5] As of 2020 Bovell is the only African-American and Hispanic conductor in the United States.[3]

References
  1. Sparks, Jon W. (October 11, 2019). "Meet Kalena Bovell: New Assistant Conductor for MSO". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  2. Martinez, Lala (December 24, 2016). "Chicago Sinfonietta conductor Kalena Bovell talks importance of music education". Rolling Out. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  3. Susanin, Roger; Lank, Olivia (March 6, 2019). "Only female African American Hispanic conductor to guest conduct New Britain Symphony". WFSB. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  4. Hanson, Brittany (July 22, 2019). "With Talent and Passion, Alumna Orchestra Conductor Leads the Way for Women of Color". Chapman Newsroom. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  5. "Memphis Symphony Orchestra Announces Kalena Bovell As New Assistant Conductor". Broadway World. June 6, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  6. Dagenhart, Natalia (January 18, 2017). "Chicago Sinfonietta Gave its Annual Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr". Archived from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
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