Walter Bitner, Artistic Director
Veteran music educator Walter Bitner brings a multi-faceted background as a teacher and performer to his role as leader of Nashville’s eclectic youth orchestra and director of the MCYO Concert Orchestra. A multi-instrumentalist and singer, he is also a master teacher, composer, and conductor conversant with a wide variety of musical styles and traditions. Walter began his career as a boy soprano and has played piano since the age of seven. Through his teens and twenties he worked as a choral singer in a wide variety of ensembles ranging from chamber groups to symphony choruses, and as a pianist performing as both classical recitalist and jazz soloist. In 1992 he turned his energies to the study of early music and he performed renaissance and baroque music on lute and recorder extensively for a decade, especially as a soloist and as member of The Tampa Bay Early Music Consort 1996–2000. He conducted members of The Florida Orchestra in his first orchestral concert at the age of 21, and has directed dozens of student instrumental and vocal ensemble performances in his many years of teaching. Walter served as performing arts director at private schools in New York, Florida, and Nashville 1991–2007. His diverse experiences as a performer have contributed significantly to his eclectic approach to music programming and curriculum development and his programs have gained a reputation for artistic excellence and dynamic involvement on the part of his students. Walter holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Charter Oak State College, Connecticut, and he has performed with a wide array of musicians including Robert Shaw and Pete Seeger. In recent years his primary focus has been on his teaching activities and his work as an arranger and composer for his student ensembles. In addition to his role as MCYO’s artistic director, Walter is the Director of Choral Studies at Nashville School of the Arts, where he taught piano from 2008 – 2011 and where he also teaches classes in Music Understanding and AP Music Theory.
Tracy Silverman, Artist-in-Residence
Lauded by the BBC as “the greatest living exponent of the electric violin”, Tracy Silverman has redefined the instrument with his instantly recognizable trademark sound. His groundbreaking work with the six-string electric violin has forever transformed violin playing, much as Hendrix redefined the electric guitar. A Juilliard graduate, Tracy performed the premier of John Adams’ electric violin concerto ‘The Dharma at Big Sur’ at the gala opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. The piece was written for Silverman and he recorded it in 2004 for Nonesuch Records with John Adams conducting the BBC Symphony. Tracy has toured and recorded with composer Terry Riley, was first violinist with the Turtle Island String Quartet, and has recorded and produced many CDs for Windham Hill Records. He has performed and recorded with major symphonies and has produced and toured extensively with pianist Jim Brickman. Tracy’s ‘Electric Violin Concerto’ has been choreographed by Henrique Rodovolho and the Bale Teatro Guaira in Brazil. Tracy has taught at Macalester College in St. Paul, and at the MacPhail Center for the Arts in Minneapolis and regularly gives workshops all over the world, including the Stanford Jazz Workshop, Jazz in July at Amherst, Oberlin Conservatory and many others. He is a favorite instructor at Mark O’Connor’s annual fiddle camp, and currently holds a teaching position at Belmont University in Nashville, where he teaches exclusively jazz and rock violin. An international touring artist, Tracy has performed at major concert venues all over the world, and is currently touring internationally with his solo concerts, with his rock band Eclectica, as a member of the Terry Riley Trio, The Great Big Piano Trio with Philip Aaberg and Eugene Friesen, and with the Quarteto Sao Paulo in Brazil. For more information see www.tracysilverman.com.
Melanie Parobek, Associate Conductor
Melanie Joy Parobek joins the MCYO staff for the 2011 – 2012 season as director of the MCYO Academy Orchestra. A contemporary violinist, composer, arranger, teacher, and session player, Melanie Joy found her passion for music at a very young age. She began her study of music by taking piano lessons and eventually found her calling when she began to learn to play the violin. After many years of intensive classical training, Melanie Joy discovered her true passion for jazz and improvising, and moved to Nashville to start a career in the commercial music world. Melanie Joy holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Commercial Violin Performance from Belmont University, where she was also Concertmaster of the Belmont University Orchestra and is currently pursuing a Master Degree in Commercial Violin Performance. She served as Directing Intern at MCYO for the 2010 – 2011 season, assisting in rehearsals and performances and starting the orchestra’s chamber music program. She has also performed and recorded with many talented artists such as Phil Keaggy, Joe Osborn, Roy "Futureman" Wooten, Christian Howes, Lindsay George, and Michelle Tumes. She has performed with the Nashville Studio Orchestra several times including the 2010 Dove Awards at the Grand Ol' Opry where she performed with Natalie Grant, and the 2010 CMA Country Christmas program with Martina McBride, Darius Rucker, Kelly Picker, and Leann Rimes. She also recorded on the trailer for the film Billy: The Early Years and the independent film Make-Out with Violence. Melanie Joy wrote the score for the short film The Piano Man which was recorded by a full orchestra at Ocean Way Studios on Nashville’s music row. She has taught violin privately for eight years, and taught and worked at many summer camps like the Annie Moses Fine Arts Academy, Christian Howes' Creative Strings Workshop, the Chamber Music Connection in Columbus, Ohio, and the Belmont University Strings Crossings Camp. Melanie Joy is currently working closely with other Nashville musicians, writing music and performing at well-known venues like the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the Grand Ol' Opry, and the Bridgestone Arena. She is eager to continue writing, teaching and performing live so others can experience her love for music.
Susan Russell, Administrative Coordinator
Susan Russell joins MYCO for the 2011-2012 season as our very first Administrative Coordinator! Susan has worn a variety of hats since moving from Michigan to Nashville 7 years ago. She comes with a strong background in both music and business. Susan’s introduction to music and the arts began with piano lessons at age 6. Keeping up with piano while also trying out cello, viola, and dance, Susan finally found a passion for voice and composition. Susan chose to continue with music in college, earning a degree in commercial vocal music at Belmont University with an emphasis in composition and arranging. While at Belmont, Susan was awarded a scholarship in recognition of her composition skills by the award winning composer, arranger, and director Ronn Huff. At the encouragement of her theory professors, She also began privately tutoring students in music theory and aural skills while in her undergraduate studies. After school, Susan began work on a master’s degree in music education. She served as the graduate intern to the Nashville Children’s Choir as well as a graduate teaching assistant in the area of theory fundamentals. Susan also worked as Publishing Assistant and Fundraising Coordinator at TKO Artist Management, where she gained experience with copyright and licensing administration, bookkeeping, and non-profit fundraising. Her fundraising campaigns included The Toby Keith Foundation and The Chris LeDoux Memorial Foundation, for which she created donation-tracking databases and procured annual donations from the entertainment and hospitality industries. In addition to the administrative skill set she brings to MCYO, Susan is an avid songwriter and dedicated tutor in music theory. Her musical background and her experience in business and non-profit fundraising provide a necessary balance of skill and understanding that will be of great help as MCYO grows and changes to accommodate and impact even more young musicians.