Concert Celebrates Seattle-based film composer Hummie Mann’s music, By Gemma Alexander, Special to The Seattle Times, Posted on May 8, 2023
Saratoga Orchestra set to “Strum!” this weekend, Whidbey Weekly, Posted on June 15, 2022 by Kathy Reed
Saratoga Orchestra celebrates musical storytelling, Whidbey Weekly, Posted on March 9, 2022 by Kathy Reed
Hallelujah — all invited to Messiah sing-along. Whidbey News-Times, Posted on December 9, 2022 by Karina Andrew
New “Everything Conducting” website from four U.S. conductors, Posted on: June 23, 2020
Four Conductors Join Forces to Create ‘Everything Conducting’ Project, By David Salazar, June 17, 2020
Introducing Everything Conducting: An on-line resource for conducting professionals, educators, and amateurs, June 16, 2020 Camille Cintrón Devlin/PR and Communications Consultant
Why are there so few women at the top in classical music? What’s being done about it in Seattle and elsewhere? Seattle Times, Aug. 29, 2019 at 6:00 am Updated Aug. 30, 2019 at 11:49 am
A Symphony of Women, Jonathan Shipley | December 19, 2018
Featured Guest Blogger: Anna Edwards, Jan 27, 2017
Mark Dec. 3 to see Saratoga Orchestra’s next performance, Wednesday, November 2, 2016 1:30am
Whidbey Island’s Saratoga Orchestra, under the direction of Anna Edwards, by Carolyn Tamler - 16th May 2016
Wolf Sighting in Coupeville! Free Family Concert with the Saratoga Orchestra on Dec. 5, BY KATE POSS, Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor, December 2, 2015
Whidbey’s Angelique Poteat Featured in Saratoga Orchestra Concert on Sunday, March 9, Posted in More Stories, Music, BY CAROLYN TAMLER, Whidbey Life Magazine contributor, March 5, 2014
Saratoga Orchestra of Whidbey Island is opening its eighth season with “Curtains Up!” By Michelle Beahm, Friday, October 31, 2014 6:39pm
New conductor takes lead at Saratoga Orchestra, By Kate Daniel, Tuesday, August 19, 2014 5:51pm
Anna Edwards - Conductor - 2017/18 1st Place Winner
The American Prize winner:
Anna Edwards
Seattle Collaborative Orchestra
Seattle WA
Anna Edwards
Anna Edwards, conductor, founder and music director of the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, holds many positions as an artist/teacher in the Seattle area. After performing as a professional violinist and music educator for over 25 years, Anna shifted her focus from instrumentalist to conductor, training with Michael Jinbo at the renowned Pierre Monteux School for three seasons, and receiving a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Washington. She currently balances her time between conducting in the Pacific Northwest, serving as a guest conductor/clinician across the country, and developing young musicians through instruction and collaboration with professionals in concert settings.
As music director of the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra (SCO), Anna's enthusiasm for promoting talented youth, creating community engagement, and nurturing musicality have been described as “… a win, win, win venture on so many levels…(Dave Beck, KING FM). As an enthusiastic advocate of women composers and composers from the Pacific Northwest, Edwards has commissioned and premiered numerous works, including major compositions by Victoria Bond, Tim Huling, Angelique Poteat, Sarah Bassingthwaighte, Brendan McMullen, and Andy Clausen.
Seattle Collaborative Orchestra - 2017/18 - 1st place winner
The American Prize in Orchestral Performance, 2017-18—community division
The American Prize winner:
Seattle Collaborative Orchestra
Seattle WA
Anna Edwards, music director
Seattle Collaborative Orchestra
The Seattle Collaborative Orchestra (SCO) is a diverse, multigenerational performing arts organization representative of the greater Seattle community. SCO is devoted to bringing classical and new symphonic works into local schools and communities. SCO musicians include students, community members, and professionals who work together to create a unique and collaborative musical experience dedicated to expanding beyond traditional organizational and musical boundaries to promote a more diverse performing and listening audience. SCO programs innovative and eclectic music, features music by female composers, and provides opportunities to emerging Pacific Northwest performing artists.
Our musical goals create engaging, educational, and collaborative experience by coupling committed student and community members with experienced professionals representing premier Seattle-area ensembles. Our organization provides an avenue for professional musicians wishing to contribute to the sustainability of orchestral music through nurturing and mentoring students within a challenging performance experience. Working alongside professional musicians, students learn to reach higher levels of musicianship and develop traits of professional responsibility.
Anna Edwards - Conductor - 2014 1st Place Winner
The American Prize winner:
ANNA EDWARDS, music director
Seattle Collaborative Orchestra
Seattle, WA
ANNA EDWARDS
Anna Edwards, conductor, founder and music director of the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, holds many positions as an artist/teacher in the Seattle area conducting the Seattle Festival Orchestra as interim Music Director and in the Spring of 2014, conducting the Saratoga Chamber Orchestra as one of three finalists in their Music Director search. Currently, Anna is a DMA conducting candidate at the University of Washington where she studies with Ludovic Morlot and David Rahbee. Previously, Edwards has studied conducting at the prestigious Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestra Musicians and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music where she studied conducting with Michael Jinbo, Gustav Meier, and James Ross. Ms. Edwards is currently a member of the Auburn Symphony and has been a freelance violinist in the Seattle Metro area playing with such groups as the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Northwest Sinfonietta, and multiple chamber ensembles for the past 22 years.
Among judges' comments: "clear, musically and emotionally involved, expressive…Higdon especially impressive."
Seattle Collaborative Orchestra - 2014 - 2nd place winner
2nd Place:
SEATTLE COLLABORATIVE ORCHESTRA
Anna Edwards, music director
Seattle, WA
SEATTLE COLLABORATIVE ORCHESTRA
Seattle Collaborative Orchestra is an intergenerational, semi-professional community orchestra with a strong educational component based in collaboration. Musicians of the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra largely consist of members or alumni of Seattle high schools and University of Washington music students, in addition to members of professional music ensembles in the Seattle area (i.e. Seattle Symphony and Pacific Northwest Ballet). It is our aspiration to spread musical enjoyment to our Seattle metropolitan community.
Among judges' comments: "…sensitive ensemble playing, very accurate and musical. There are exceptional individual players in the orchestra."
Anna Edwards - Conductor - 2013 2nd Place Winner
2nd Place:
Anna Edwards Seattle Collaborative Orchestra Seattle, WA
Anna Edwards
Anna Edwards, founder and music director of the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, has been part of the vibrant Seattle classical music scene for 20 years. Ms. Edwards is currently a member of the Auburn Symphony and has been a freelance violinist in the Seattle Metro area playing with such groups as the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Northwest Sinfonietta, and multiple chamber ensembles. In addition to her responsibilities with the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, Anna is the music director at Roosevelt High School where she has built the orchestra program over the past thirteen years into a nationally recognized program. For the past three years, Anna was selected to attend the prestigious Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestra Musicians where she studied conducting with music director Michael Jinbo. Currently, Anna is pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting at the University of Washington.
Among judges comments: "a clear and concise beat which is easy to follow. You consistently look at soloists appropriately. Bravo on your ensemble’s excellent, crisp rhythm."
Seattle Collaborative Orchestra - 2013 - 2nd place winner
Winners of The American Prize in ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE, 2013 - community orchestra
2nd Place:
Seattle Collaborative Orchestra Anna Edwards, music director—Seattle, WA
Seattle Collaborative OrchestraThe Seattle Collaborative Orchestra is a dynamic, multigenerational fusion of musicians from Seattle's classical music scene, including Seattle Symphony, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Northwest Sinfonietta, Auburn Symphony, University of Washington, and local high schools.
Seattle Collaborative Orchestra Mission Statement: Seattle Collaborative Orchestra is an intergenerational, semi-professional community orchestra with a strong educational component based in collaboration. Musicians of the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra largely consist of members or alumni of Seattle high schools and University of Washington music students, in addition to members of professional music ensembles in the Seattle area (i.e. Seattle Symphony and Pacific Northwest Ballet). It is our aspiration to spread musical enjoyment to our Seattle metropolitan community.
Among judges comments: "Prodigious achievement of style, rhythm, and articulation throughout. Bravo on your excellent, crisp rhythm."
Third Place in the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music
Student and Alumni Notes: Summer 2017
Anna Edwards, alumna of the doctoral program in orchestral conducting at the UW, earned a third-place award in the professional division in the Performance of American Music category for her work with the Saratoga Orchestra of Whidbey Island, Wash, specifically a recorded performance of composer Tim Huling’s The American Northwest—A Concerto for Harp and Clarinet.
Administered by Hat City Music Theater, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Danbury, Connecticut, The American Prize was founded in 2009 and is awarded annually, providing cash awards, professional adjudication, and regional, national and international recognition for the best recorded performances in the nation by ensembles and individuals at the professional, college/university, church, community and secondary school levels.
Local orchestra conductor presents research at Oxford University
Posted in Community News, Music
June 14, 2016
Anna Edwards, Music Director and Conductor of Saratoga Orchestra of Whidbey Island, has been invited to present research at the Oxford Conducting Institute in the U.K. from June 24-26.
The conference, in partnership with St. Anne’s College and the University of Oxford Faculty of Music, will explore issues pertaining to the study of conducting from a range of perspectives by bringing together research across a variety of disciplines including musicology, ethnomusicology, music education, philosophy, psychology, anthropology and sociology as well as from practitioners.
Dr. Edwards’ presentation, “Perceptions of the Hidden-Half: A Guide to Mentoring the Next Generation of Conductors,” will explore the vast disparity of professional orchestra music director positions held by men versus women. Based on Anna’s recent research, “Gender and the Symphonic Conductor,” her Oxford presentation will illustrate four emergent themes concerning women in the conducting profession: physical presentation, gesture, leadership, and the desire for more women in the field. She will also discuss the importance of equity concerning symphony conductors, current changes in the conducting field involving gender, understanding our unintentional gender biases, and what we can look forward to with more diverse and equitable leadership in our orchestras.
Edwards has served as the Music Director and Conductor of the Saratoga Orchestra since 2014 and is the conductor, founder and music director of the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra. Both orchestras offer strong educational components based in collaboration, which provide opportunities for talented area high school students to perform alongside members of professional music ensembles, such as the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra. These ensembles regularly perform world premier compositions and feature Pacific Northwest composers and performing artists.
OXFORD CONDUCTING INSTITUTE CONDUCTING STUDIES CONFERENCE
OXFORD CONDUCTING INSTITUTE CONDUCTING STUDIES CONFERENCE 2016 24-26 June 2016. St Anne's College, University of Oxford.
Sunday, June 26, 2016
11:00am 12:30pm
Perceptions of the hidden-half: A guide to mentoring the next generation of conductors
Abstract:
Current statistics show the continued vast disparity of professional orchestra music director positions held by men versus women. The purpose of this discussion is to understand why so few women occupy leadership positions in the conducting arena and to identify traits that emerging female conductors and both male and female conducting teachers should consider to support female growth and success.
Analysis from my research “Gender and the symphonic conductor” illuminates four emergent themes concerning women in the conducting profession: physical presentation, gesture, leadership, and the desire for more women in the field. Methods used include: ethnographic research involving conducting students at the Pierre Monteux School of Music (2012), critical ethnography of current male and female professional conductors and conducting teachers, a quantitative questionnaire survey from forty-four symphonies across the US (twenty-two with female and twenty-two with male music directors of corresponding budgets).
General subjects covered in this lecture include: importance of equity concerning symphony conductors, current changes in the conducting field involving gender, understanding our unintentional gender biases, and what we can look forward to with more diverse and equitable leadership in our orchestras