Personnel

Jon Mitchell, conductor
A native of Chicago, Jon Ceander Mitchell is conductor of the Boston Neo-politan Chamber Orchestra. He conducts the Chamber Orchestra at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he is also Professor of Music. In addition he teaches conducting and orchestration there. Before his 1992 arrival in Boston, he held full-time music faculty positions at The University of Georgia, Carnegie Mellon University, and Hanover College. He also served as conductor and music director of the North Pittsburgh Civic Symphony.

In recent years he has done a significant amount of guest conducting, including the Sinfonia Bucuresti, Archangelsk (Russia) Chamber Orchestra, Filharmonia Sudecka of Walbrzych, Poland, Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic (Zlin, Czech Republic), Hradec Kralove Philharmonic (Czech Republic), the Vratza, Bulgaria Philharmonic, the Pazardjik, Bulgaria Symphony Orchestra, the Keweenaw Symphony (Michigan), Metropolitan Wind Symphony, The Longy School Orchestra, Waltham Philharmonic, and The Belmont Orchestra.

He has appeared as conductor on a number of CD releases for Centaur Records; the latest, Gustav Holst: Composer as Arranger, recorded with the Filharmonia Bulgarica, features Holst’s Greeting as well as incidental music and the composer’s arrangements of suites by Henry Purcell. The Youthful Beethoven includes his own reconstruction of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in E Flat, W.o.O. 4, plus his own completion of the composer’s Romance Cantabile (H13), as well as the seldom-recorded Ritterballet (W.o.O. 1). The CD features pianist Grigorios Zamparas and the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic of Zlin, The Czech Republic. Another CD recorded with same orchestra includes Beethoven’s own piano transcription of his Violin Concerto, Op. 61 as well as the spurious Concerto in D, Kinsky Anh. 7. Pianist Linnéa Bardarson is the featured soloist.

His research covers many areas, but is centered mostly on two composers: Holst and Beethoven. He has over fifty publications, including three published books, The Braunschweig Scores: Felix Weingartner and Erich Leinsdorf on Beethoven’s First Four Symphonies (The Edwin Mellen Press, 2005), A Comprehensive Biography of Composer Gustav Holst (The Edwin Mellen Press, 2001) and From Kneller Hall to Hammersmith: The Band Works of Gustav Holst (Tutzing, Germany: Haus Hans Schneider, 1990). His latest book, RVWWW: Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Wind Works, is forthcoming from Meredith Music Publications.

He received the Bachelor of Music degree cum laude from Millikin University, the Master of Science in Music Education from the University of Illinois and the Doctor of Education in Music Education degree from the same institution of higher learning. His conducting mentor at University of Illinois was Harry Begian and since that time he has studied with Florin Totan, Victor Feldbrill, and Jonathan Sternberg, and has attended workshops headed by Eugene Migliaro Corporon, Elizabeth Green, H. Robert Reynolds, and Craig Kirchhoff.

Timothy McFarland, Assistant Conductor
A former student of Russell Sherman, Mr. McFarland performs frequently in the Boston area as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and as chamber music collaborator. He has premiered works by Robert Ceeley, Peter Lieberson, David Patterson, and Daniel Pinkham. Mr. McFarland serves as the Music Director of the Belmont Symphony Orchestra. He is a faculty member and former director of the New School of Music and is also an Affiliate Artist at MIT.