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Kalena Bovell

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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. ^ a b c Sparks, Jon W. (October 11, 2019). "Meet Kalena Bovell: New Assistant Conductor for MSO". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Martinez, Lala (December 24, 2016). "Chicago Sinfonietta conductor Kalena Bovell talks importance of music education". Rolling Out. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  3. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "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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