California Conducting Institute Faculty

 
John Farrer
John Farrer has been the music director of the Bakersfield Symphony for thirty years. He is also music director of the Roswell Symphony Orchestra and the Santa Maria Philharmonic. Mr. Farrer is a frequent guest conductor with orchestras in England. As senior guest conductor of the English Sinfonia, he has toured with the orchestra throughout England and northern France. His eight recordings with the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, and English Sinfonia have received high praise from critics around the world. His recording of music by Aaron Copland and George Gershwin was re-released by Sanctuary Classics March 2005, and his compact discs of English string music are set for re-issue in 2006. Mr. Farrer was associated with the San Francisco Symphony as a cover conductor for the Orchestra's subscription concerts. He was a speaker in the San Francisco Symphony's series of Inside Music talks, led the Orchestra in Concerts for Kids, and conducted a program at Stern Grove which attracted 20,000 listeners. John Farrer is director of the California Conducting Institute, a national training program held in Bakersfield. Conductors from around the world participated in the fourth workshop in May 2005. Mr. Farrer was also an instructor at the London Conducting Workshop at the Royal College of Music in August, 2005. Mr. Farrer is a member of the music advisory committee of the Young Musicians Foundation of Los Angeles. John Farrer has been appointed a national trustee of the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

Daniel Lewis
Professor of Orchestral Conducting (Emeritus), University of Southern California
Former Music Director, Pasadena Symphony Orchestra

Daniel Lewis’ conducting career has embraced both the educational and professional arenas. He is perhaps best known for his work at the University of Southern California where he headed the orchestra and conducting programs for twenty-five years (1976-1995). He has taught at the Conductors’ Institute (New York), The Aspen Music School, and many of the American Symphony Orchestra League’s conducting workshops. After retiring from U.S.C., he taught for three years at the Colburn School of the Performing Arts in Los Angeles. He has held the post of music director with the Sherwood Hall Orchestra (La Jolla, CA), the Orange County Symphony (now the Pacific Symphony), the Pasadena Symphony (1971-1983), and the Glendale Symphony. His guest conducting engagements include performances with the orchestras of Los Angeles, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Colorado Springs.

 
Donald Thulean
Former Vice President, American Symphony Orchestra
Former music director, Spokane Symphony Orchestra

Donald Thulean retired from the American Symphony Orchestra League where he was vice president of the Professional and Artistic Services. From 1962 to 1984, he was music director and conductor of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra and currently holds the title of conductor emeritus. From 1966 to 1970 he served as associate conductor of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Currently Thulean is a member of the board of the Seattle Symphony, and serves on the board’s Executive, Education, Founders, and Artistic Advisory Committees. He is also a member of the Visiting Committee for the School of Music at the University of Washington.

 2010 CCI Photos by Felix Adamo