FENTON COMMUNITY ORCHESTRA

Andrew David Perkins, Music Director & Conductor
Conductor, composer, two-time ASCAP Plus Award recipient & GRAMMY® nominated music educator Andrew David Perkins (b.1978) holds a specialist certificate in Orchestration from the Berklee College of Music, a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Michigan State University.  A regular guest clinician nationally and abroad, his compositions have been nominated for The National Band Association Revelli Award & Merrill Jones Award,  The American Prize (Professional Composition Division) and the Ravel International Composition Prize. Additionally, he is the winner of the 2018 National Band Association/Alfred Publishing Young Band Composition Contest. ​Mr. Perkins has served as an adjunct professor of Film Scoring at Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan and is currently the Director of Instrumental Music at Andrew G. Schmidt Middle School in Fenton, Michigan. He is a member of the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and his music is exclusively published through APOLLO STUDIOS Music Publishing. 

Since September of 2011, Perkins has had the honor to conduct the Fenton Community Orchestra.  “I have very much enjoyed the energy and excitement that this group has for making music. We’ve been able to grow as an ensemble in leaps and bounds this year, and are taking on some difficult and fantastic literature. I think that the relationship between the FHS Instrumental Music Program and the Fenton Community Orchestra is a wonderful match, each allowing the other program to expand and support one another.”  Visit his website at www.andrewdavidperkins.com

SIMPLY STRINGS ORCHESTRA

Jane Ellen Ball, Music Director and Conductor​
Mrs. Ball has been a Strings Educator since she was seventeen years old. She attended Miami University (of Ohio) where she pursued a Bachelor of Music Education with a minor in String Education. She did her Masters work in Music Education at Wright State University and Central Michigan University. Mrs. Ball enjoys the process that beginning students make – going from knowing not much of anything to being able to play a piece in 30 minutes!
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Prior to coming to Fenton, Mrs. Ball taught Strings Orchestra in the Troy, Ohio City Schools and in the Okemos Public Schools. For 26 years, while focusing on being a mom, she took part-time jobs as a music teacher or band director including the St. Joseph Catholic School and the Morrice Area Schools. She has always maintained a cello, violin and piano studios. In Michigan, she has performed in the Looking Glass String Quartet, Shiawassee Chamber Orchestra, the Owosso Community Players Pit Orchestras, the Mid Michigan Chorale Orchestra and the Livingston Symphony Orchestra.

PRELUDE STRING ORCHESTRA

Tracy Dunlop, Beginning Youth String Orchestra Instructor and Conductor
Ms. Dunlop is thrilled to have returned and settled back into her home state of Michigan after being involved with many musical adventures throughout the U.S. and abroad. Her appointments have included: Concertmaster of the Rockford Symphony (Illinois), Associate Concertmaster of the Elgin Symphony in Chicago, Associate Concertmaster of the Tacoma Symphony (Washington), the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, and as Concertmaster of ATP Dodger Broadway Productions of New York, Principal 2nd violinist of the Knoxville Symphony (Tennessee), Principal 2nd violinist of the Spokane Symphony(Washington), and has been a member of the Oregon Ballet Theater, the Chicago Opera, the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, the Bear Valley Festival (California), and the Waterloo Festival (New Jersey).

Outside of the United States, Tracy was a member of the 11-member string ensemble New American Chamber Orchestra, based in Granada, Spain. With NACO, Tracy performed in many major European concert venues and music festivals, including Barcelona's Grec Festival, Finland's Korsholm Festival, France's Priory of Chirens Chamber Music Festival, and Sweden's Uppsala Festival, as well as performing at the Philharmonic Hall in Berlin and Sall Pleyel in Paris.

Most recently, Tracy was Adjunct Professor of Violin at Gonzaga University, Assistant Concertmaster of the Spokane Symphony, Concertmaster of the Spokane Opera, Violinist of the Spokane String Quartet, and founding memeber of Tango Volcado and Tedesca Ensemble. Tracy currently teaches at U of M-Flint, performs with Flint Symphony, Saginaw Symphony and is a 14-year member of the prestigious Grand Teton Music Festival in Teton Village, Wyoming. She is thrilled to be working with FCO in the PSO program.

Joe Snider, Intermediate Youth String Orchestra Instructor and Conductor
Joe Snider is a local string teacher and freelance cellist. He was born and raised in Flint, Michigan and has a B.S. in Music from Taylor University in Indiana. He has continued studies in different areas of music and education since. Mr. Snider has taught music in both public and private schools and as a private instructor for many years. Joe's passion is teaching people to play music and enjoy playing together with others in large and small ensembles.

Mr. Snider plays cello in the Livingston County Orchestra, the Lapeer Symphony Orchestra, and in the Fenton Community Orchestra. He plays violin in Simply Strings in Fenton and cello in Triplicity Piano Trio.

One of his most passionate interests is teaching children. The look on their faces the first time they make a sound on a stringed instrument never gets old to him! Mr. Snider has been involved with the Prelude String Orchestra since its founding in 2014 and is dedicated to its mission of bringing string playing into areas where there is no string program in the schools. There truly is nothing like what PSO is doing!

Joe is presently the instructor and conductor for the advanced students and works to enhance the playing skills of these young musicians by group and individual instruction, occasionally arranging music for the group.

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