Graced by exceptional talent.
Elysium unites an enormously talented group of people. Here are some of them.
Alan Raines, Artistic Co-Director
Alan Raines, frequent guest conductor and sought after clinician with choruses throughout the United States, is the newly appointed Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Music at Stetson University. A recipient of the M.M. and D.M.A. degrees in Choral Conducting at UCLA, Raines served as the Assistant Conductor of the Angeles Chorale while as a student of Donald Neuen.
Raines’ choirs have performed throughout the United States and Europe and have received invitations to perform for conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, Music Educators National Conference and the Georgia Music Educators Association.
Raines’ professional engagements have taken him throughout most of the major cities in the United States, Canada and abroad with guest appearances at Moscow State University, the London Virtuosi in Wells, U.K. and Musica Angelica of Los Angeles. He is the first American invited to guest conduct the Chonan City Choir and Orchestra in Chonan City, South Korea. His schedule includes appearances in Washington, Michigan, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and California this year alone.
As Director of Choral Activities, Raines conducts the 50-voice select Concert Choir and the 250 member Choral Union, teaches conducting, and administrates the large and varied choral program at Stetson. An active arranger, his publications of chansons and lieder are under the auspices of Alliance Music Publications, Inc. and Walton Music.
P. David Hancock, Artistic Co-Director
P. David Hancock came to Atlanta in 1991 as cellist with the Atlanta Chamber Players. Since 1993, he has been the Principal Cellist of the Nashville Chamber Orchestra (as of late renamed Orchestra Nashville), a group committed to programing new, commissioned cross-over works in concert with traditional chamber orchestra masterpieces. He is a soloist on the group’s debut compact disc entitled, “Conversations in Silence.” Hancock earned a Master of Music degree in conducting from Southwestern Theological Seminary in Texas as a student of Robert Burton. In addition to being a recorded soloist, Hancock has served as Artistic Director of Chamber Music Atlanta since 1993. In 2003 he was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of Tennessee. Hancock frequently performs in the Southeast as a soloist and chamber musician, where he also serves as pedagogue, composer and arranger.
Carolyn Toll Hancock, Concertmaster
While a member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s first violin section for 23 years Ms. Hancock has been widely sought to lead contracted violin sections in major performance venues throughout Atlanta.
She earned a Master of Music degree from Indiana University, studying under Yuval Yaron and James Buswell. She received a Bachelor of Music degree from Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts, as a student of Dorothy DeLay and her assistants. Carolyn began playing violin and piano at five years old. During undergraduate studies she was a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival. Since coming to Atlanta, Carolyn performed and recorded with several musicians and chamber groups, including the Atlanta Chamber Players. Ms. Hancock plays on a fine violin by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume.
Michael Heald, Principal Second Violin
Michael Heald is currently associate professor of violin at the University of Georgia. In England he studied with Angus Watson at Winchester College, privately with Emanuel Hurwitz, then at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester with Richard Deakin. He received the masters and doctorate in violin performance at Michigan State University, studying with Walter Verdehr.
From 1991 to 1994 Michael was a member of the English String Orchestra and he played regularly with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle, as well as the BBC Philharmonic, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the Philharmonia Orchestras. In Michigan, he was concertmaster of the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra and principal second violin of the Michigan Chamber Orchestra. He toured many times throughout Europe as a member of the American Sinfonietta, and recently completed five years as concertmaster of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra in Michigan.
He has performed many solo and chamber concerts throughout the United States and Europe. Venues include the Bellingham Festival, the Wintergreen Festival, the Methow Festival, Vanderbilt University, Michigan State University, the College of Charleston, the Wagner Hall in Riga, Latvia, and in England at the Elgar Birthplace Museum, and St. George’s, Brandon Hill in Bristol. He has also appeared on BBC Radio.
Heald plays a superb violin by H.C. Silvestre.
More to come.
Please check back soon for information on other talented musicians of Elysium.