lisa pegher, percussion

Lisa Pegher is an American drummer and solo percussionist. In her International career she has performed throughout the world as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She is known for pioneering percussion as a solo instrument within the orchestral realm and beyond, making it her life’s work to present percussion to larger audiences by commissioning, collaborating, and creating new works and performances that bring percussion to the front of the stage. Lisa has been hailed by the New York Times as "Tremendous" by the Boston Globe as “Forcefully balletic” and by New York City’s The Glass as “More than just a drummer—an alchemist of time, sound, and space, crafting visceral landscapes that penetrate the ears and mind.”



Featured in Symphony Magazine as one of the Top Six performers of her generation, Lisa has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras, wind ensembles and chamber groups across the globe including the Orchestré Symphonique de Trios Rivieres in Canada, the Thailand Philharmonic, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Peninsula Festival Orchestra, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Mission Chamber Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, South Carolina Philharmonic, NEPA Philharmonic, Lansing Symphony Orchestra, Asheville Symphony Orchestra, Lake George Music Festival Orchestra, Louisiana (New Orleans) Philharmonic, and many more. Lisa performs concerti and new works by many of today’s leading composers such as Jennifer Higdon, Joseph Schwantner, Tobias Bröström, James MacMillan, Kevin Puts and Derek Bermel, to name a few.

She has, to date, given the world premiere performances of several percussion concertos that have been composed especially for her by composers such as Richard Danielpour, David Stock, Mathew Rosenblum, Paul Dooley and Brett Dietz. She has been a featured soloist at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, at NYC's SubCulture as well as numerous concert halls around the world.

Lisa currently resides New York City. She is also a certified Baptiste style yoga instructor and when not performing enjoys biking, running and learning computer programing languages. Lisa endorses and is supported by Evans Drumheads, Marimba One, and BlackSwamp Percussion.

JOSHUA BARLAGE, CONDUCTOR

Joshua Barlage holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Capital University Conservatory of Music. His principal teachers have included Nicholas J. Perrini on horn, conducting with William Boggs and theory/counterpoint with Dr. Mark Lochstampfor.

Mr. Barlage has held assistant conducting positions with Opera Columbus, Columbus Light Opera and the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestras. As an assistant with Opera Columbus, Mr. Barlage worked with renowned guest conductors and soloists, preparing opera choruses and covering main stage rehearsals and performances. In March 2002, Mr. Barlage led performances of Susan Kander’s Somebody’s Children, a youth opera for three soloists, youth chorus and small ensemble; based on the story of the orphan trains in post-Civil War America.

On the personal invitation of Maestro Peter Stafford Wilson, Mr. Barlage accompanied the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra on their highly successful tour to The People’s Republic of China in June 2005 and led the CSYO on a series of fully staged performances of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker with dancers from Columbus Youth Ballet Academy.

Apart from his conducting duties, Mr. Barlage serves as the Managing Director of the Des Moines Symphony Academy. Affiliated with the Des Moines Symphony, the Symphony Academy is a full-fledged community music school offering students in Central Iowa the very best in music education and performance opportunities.

FORT DODGE AREA SYMPHONY

Celebrating 72 years of music performances, our 2021-2022 season continues our tradition of presenting exhilarating performances of familiar works by well-known composers alongside composers who are earning their own popularity. We invite you to come experience your current and soon-to-become favorite pieces performed live by the Fort Dodge Area Symphony.

In 1949, Paul Franklin, High School Orchestra Director, started the Fort Dodge String Orchestra with around 20 musicians. In 1958, the officers and members of this organization voted to expand into a full orchestra, changing its name to the Fort Dodge Symphony.

In September 1963, members of the orchestra felt that there was a need for a supporting organization to promote grow and increase performance opportunities. These discussions led to the establishment of the Symphony Association comprised of businesses and engaged residents. Doyle Andrews was elected president and James Stroud, Professor at Iowa State University, was announced as the new conductor. This support group was in charge of the season memberships, concert promotion and other business matters. In 1980, the title was slightly altered to the Fort Dodge Area Symphony Orchestra which remains its title to this day.

In the early 1960s, Alice Hackett and other orchestra members became interested in inviting young musicians to perform as soloists with the orchestra and in March 1964, nineteen-year-old Steven Zehr appeared with the orchestra as its first young soloist. As a result plans were made to include a Young Artists Concert as part of the orchestra’s season with the first official concert held on January 22, 1966. Since then there have been 204 soloists featured on the annual Young Artists Concert.

In 1982 under association president Jeannette Miller the Young Artists Concerts Endowment came into existence with the purpose of providing perpetual funding to support this concert initiative.

fdsymphony.org

STEPHANIE ANN BOYD, COMPOSER

Michigan-born, Manhattan-based American composer Stephanie Ann Boyd (b. 1990) writes melodic music about women’s memoirs and the natural world for symphonic and chamber ensembles. Her work has been performed in nearly all 50 states and has been commissioned by musicians and organizations in 37 countries. Boyd’s five ballets include works choreographed by New York City Ballet principal dancers Lauren Lovette, Ashley Bouder, NYCB soloist Peter Walker, and XAOC Contemporary Ballet’s Eryn Renee Young.  Eero, a ballet commissioned by Access Contemporary Music and Open House New York, was written for the grand opening of the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport. Her music has been praised as “attractive lyricism” (Gramophone), “[with] ethereal dissonances” (Boston Globe), “[music that] didn’t let itself be eclipsed” (Texas Classical Review), “arrestingly poetic” (BMOP), and “wide ranging, imaginative” (Portland Press Herald).

Boyd’s music has been commissioned and performed by concertmasters of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony, the New York City Ballet Orchestra, the Des Moines Symphony, the Faroe Islands Symphony, the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Smith Symphony, the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, and principal players in the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.  Her music has been commissioned and/or played by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the New England Conservatory Philharmonic, the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, the New York Jazzharmonic, the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, the Roosevelt University Orchestra, the Eureka Ensemble, the JVL Festival Orchestra, the Texas State University Symphony, the Cremona International Academy Orchestra, the UW La Crosse Symphony, the Detroit Civic Orchestra, and the El Paso Youth Symphony. Her work has been presented by the Thalia and her Sisters concert series, the Moirae Ensemble, and Sandcastle New Music in New York City; Æpex Contemporary Music in Michigan; Juventas New Music, Collage New Music, and the New Gallery Concert Series in Boston; Cincinnati Soundbox, and others. Stephanie has worked with conductors such as Andrew Litton, Lina Gonzales, Earl Lee, Nathan Aspinall, Cliff Colnot, Gill Rose, Julian Benichou, Kristo Kondakci, and Kevin Fitzgerald.

The 2020/2021 season includes commissions from the Wyoming Symphony, Astral Artists with cellist Tommy Mesa, violinist Megan Healy, pianists Lara Downes, Lise de la Salle, Marta Aznavoorian, Lucille Chung, Susie Maddocks, Adrienne Park, Diane Kaztenburg Braun and Music Street, Sarah Bob and the New Gallery Concert Series, Holly Roadfeldt, Marianne Parker, Eunbi Kim, the Kurganov-Finehouse Duo, and others. This season also includes performances by the Lincoln Trio, Juventas New Music, Jennifer Reason, Lisa Pegher, Shouthouse, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, including concerts at the Kaufman Center, the Boston New Music Festival, the Festival of New American Music, Pianoforte in Chicago, live on Chicago’s WFMT radio station, and elsewhere.

Stephanie holds degrees from Roosevelt University and New England Conservatory, and she was one of the last violin students of renowned pedagogue John Kendall.

http://stephanieannboyd.com