Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra
Director
Dr. Kevin McMahon is currently in his thirteenth year as Music Director and Conductor of the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra. He is also Associate Conductor of the New York Repertory Orchestra (New York City) and Artistic Director for the Maud Powell Music Festival.
Dr. McMahon made his symphonic conducting debut with the
Symphony School of America Chamber Orchestra, subsequently returning as
Music Director. In the same period, he served as Music Director and
Conductor of the National Arts Chamber Orchestra. This ensemble toured
major cultural centers in Cleveland, Ann Arbor, Milwaukee, Washington
DC, Madison, Chicago, and numerous other communities and was a resident
orchestra for the XIVth International Viola Congress.
In 1989 Dr. McMahon became Resident Conductor for the
Lincoln Opera of Chicago. In this position he led productions of
standard operatic repertoire. Simultaneously, he served as Music
Director and Conductor for the Northwest Indiana Youth Orchestra. This
ensembleıs tours included major centers in Italy.
Dr. McMahonıs guest work has included the Spokane
Symphony (WA), Damiana Ensemble (Czech Republic), Elgin Choral Union
(IL), Varna Philharmonic (Bulgaria), Forfest (Czech Republic), South
Bend Symphony (IN), Northwest Indiana Symphony, Elgin Symphony (IL),
Florida All-State Orchestra, Indiana Opera North, Marquette Symphony
(MI), Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Orchestra of Colours (Athens, Greece),
Evanston Symphony (IL), Lincoln Park Sinfonietta (IL), Southwest
Michigan Symphony, Hinsdale Chamber Orchestra (IL), Hungarian Opera of
Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Göttinger Symphonie Orchester (Germany), Kennesaw
State University Orchestra (GA), Opera Georgia Youth Symphony, and the
Saginaw Symphony (MI).
For ten years in Rome, Dr. McMahon regularly mounted
operatic productions including works of Puccini, Bizet, Humperdinck,
Mozart, Verdi, J. Strauss II, and Donizetti. With the Classical Symphony
Chamber Ensemble, he presented Barberıs A Hand of Bridge. Locally Dr.
McMahon collaborated on a production of Mooreıs The Devil and Daniel
Webster. He led Rossiniıs The Barber of Seville and numerous opera gala
concerts with the Indiana Opera North. He has recorded works of
Francesco Veccia in Los Angeles and a video version of an excerpt from
Pucciniıs Suor Angelica. He has been responsible for a number of
European premieres and forty-two world premieres, including his own
musical Marilyn Monroe (2004).
Dr. McMahon has studied with luminaries in the music
profession including Gunther Schuller, Otto Werner Mueller, Harold
Farberman, Margaret Hillis, Gustav Meier, Maurice Abravanel, and with
Erich Leinsdorf and Leonard Slatkin at the New York Philharmonic
Symposium. Dr. McMahon has attended the Tanglewood Music Center and
master classes of Seiji Ozawa, Robert Spano, and Bernard Haitink. Other
master classes include the Chicago Symphony Bruckner Symposium with Sir
Georg Solti.
Dr. McMahon has a bachelorıs degree in violin performance from the University of Michigan. He also earned two masterıs degrees in orchestral and opera conducting and violin performance from the University of Michigan. While attending the university, Dr. McMahon received scholarships from the McFeely-Rogers Foundation and Mary Baloyan. He graduated with honors and was given membership in Pi Kappa Lambda. Dr. McMahon has also received artistic support through grants from the Hegeler-Carus Foundation. He recently received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting, working with David Becker and made possible by the Collins Wisconsin Distinguished Fellowship. He has also been a two-time recipient of the Church Memorial Award in Conducting.
He served as an Assistant Conductor for the University of Wisconsin Madison Orchestras and Opera.
Dr. McMahonıs plans for 2007-08 include guest
conducting locally and abroad. He will be regularly conducting in New
York City. The Maud Powell Music Festivalıs theater productions will
include The Death of Michael Collins. He will again return to conduct in
Atlanta and will guest conduct in Cracow, Poland.
Questions or Comments: orchinfo@ivso.org
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