Julian Kuerti, Music Director
With a strong international reputation for his interpretations of both orchestral and operatic music, Canadian conductor Julian Kuerti combines a confident style, artistic integrity, and passion for collaboration bringing him to the forefront of the music scene. Kuerti has led major symphony orchestras and has appeared in renowned opera houses and concert halls on five continents, and enjoys close working relationships with many of the leading soloists and singers of today.
In 2018, Kuerti was named Music Director of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Dr. Kandace R. Lavender, Spoken Word Artist
Dr. Kandace R. Lavender is an educator, teaching artist, and youth advocate. She is a graduate of Western Michigan University and Michigan State University where she earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership. Currently serving as the Executive Director of Read and Write Kalamazoo, a local non-profit whose mission focuses on "celebrating and amplifying youth voices," Dr. Lavender has been connecting and building with youth in various capacities for the last 14 years.
Her passions are rooted in using art as a tool to impact youth experiences in the classroom and in the community. As a founder of The Teacher Cypher, an organization that blends Hip Hop Culture, Youth Advocacy, and Academic Engagement, she empowers and ignites scholars to reimagine their relationship with education. In addition to her transformational impact on education, Dr. Lavender still finds time to engage in her own writing of various hip hop and spoken word pieces sharing her work across local, national, and international platforms as "DC" under the label Truth Tone spreading messages of hope, healing, and love as a verb.
Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra
The Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra (KJSO), the flagship ensemble and namesake of the organization, is led by Andrew Koehler, who also serves as a professor of music at Kalamazoo College and is the music director of the acclaimed Kalamazoo Philharmonia. In addition to the KJSO’s three annual performances of professional-level repertoire in the historic Chenery Auditorium, the KJSO also tours internationally, and offers a dynamic chamber music training program for select KJSO members who are coached by area professional musicians.
