Dr. John Russell
Dr. John Russell is the Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Palomar College, and the Music Director of the San Diego Master Chorale. In addition, he serves on the summer conducting faculty at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey and maintains an active professional career as a tenor soloist recently performing with the San Diego Symphony, La Jolla Symphony and Los Angeles Master Chorale.
Prior to his work in California, Dr. Russell was the principal choral conductor at the LaGuardia School of Music & Art and Performing Arts (the Fame School) in New York City. At LaGuardia he was the assistant chairperson of the Music Department, conductor of the symphonic chorus and voice instructor for the school’s advanced vocalists. While in New York he conducted in over twenty performances with the world-renowned Orchestra of St. Luke’s, served as a clinician for the New York Philharmonic’s Education Department, and was a guest conductor with New York City National Chorale.
Dr. Russell is a native of Kalamazoo, Michigan and is a graduate of Western Michigan University and Columbia University. He received his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Choral Music from the University of Southern California. His primary conducting mentors are Craig Arnold, Joe Miller and Jo-Michael Scheibe and he has studied voice with William Appel, Curt Peterson, Jeanne Gof -Fynn and Gary Glaze.
Contact Information
Email: jrussell@palomar.edu Phone:Dr. Madelyn Byrne
Madelyn Byrne is a Professor of Music at Palomar College where she has been on the faculty since 2000. She is an active composer of both acoustic and computer music. Some recent pieces include The Decorah Eagle Violin Concerto (composed for Ulli Reiner and the Palomar Symphony Orchestra), In A Winter Landscape (for bass flute and computer, commissioned and recorded by Peter Sheridan for MOVE Records), Arrival (computer music with video art by Lily Glass, recorded to DVD for Everglade Records), and Northern Flight (for piano and computer, recorded by Peter Gach for Innova Records).
Madelyn’s music has been presented in a variety of venues in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. Some recent performances include The New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, The Society of Composers, Inc. (National Conference), The International Computer Music Conference, The Australasian Computer Music Conference, College Music Society, and Electronic Music Midwest among others.
Madelyn completed her DMA in Composition at The Graduate Center in 1999. Her composition teachers include Charles Dodge, John Corigliano, and David Olan. The compositions for her dissertation were done while she was a guest composer at Columbia University’s Computer Music Center.
Contact Information
Email: mbyrne@palomar.edu Phone: 760.744.1150 ext. 2809Dr. Ellen Weller
Dr. Ellen Weller joined the Palomar Performing Arts Department in 2005, where she teaches classes in music theory, ear-training, music literature, and directs the Palomar Symphony Orchestra. She earned her B.A. and M.A. in Music Composition from Queens College of the City University of New York, and completed her PhD studies at UCSD. She has studied conducting with Peter Jaffe, Donald Portnoy, David Chase, Martin Canellakis, Harvey Sollberger, and Kenneth Bell. She was an invited Fellow at the 2012 Conductors Institute of South Carolina, and recently appeared as guest conductor with the Poway Symphonette.
A pianist and multi-winds performer, Weller has two CDs on the Circumvention label: “Spirits, Little Dreams and Improvisations (2004)” and “Point of Contact (2008).” Her compositions include works for solo piano, flute, voice, and chamber ensembles, some exploring improvisation and graphic notation, and have been performed in New York, Detroit, San Diego and Los Angeles. Recent works include “Prior’s Waltz” for orchestra, “1918: for two pianos and community,” incidental music to “Angels in America,” “Pine Apple Rag” for piano soloist and orchestra, and an arrangement of “Bei Mir Bist Du Shein” for orchestra and Klezmer ensemble.
Contact Information
Email: eweller@palomar.edu Phone: 760.744.1150 ext. 3949Heather Barclay
Director, Palomar Comet Concert Band
Heather Barclay is a professional percussionist and has been performing and teaching since 1984. Ms. Barclay earned her Bachelor of Arts in Performance and Certification of Music Education from The University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, and her Master of Fine Arts in Performance from United States International University in San Diego, CA. Her instructors included Linda Raymond Siegel, Tele Lesbines, Tatsuo Sasaki, Stanley Finck, and Raynor Carroll.
Ms. Barclay is a freelance percussionist and timpanist in Southern California. She was the principal percussionist with the International Chamber Players, and a substitute percussionist in the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Nova. She has also performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Civic Orchestra, the San Francisco Ballet, the International Symphony Orchestra of Tijuana, and the Tijuana Opera Orchestra, among numerous others. In addition, she has performed solo recitals in California, Arizona, and Wisconsin.
Ms. Barclay is also a private instructor of percussion and tympani. Ms. Barclay is proudly conducting the Palomar/YPO Percussion Ensemble for its 4th season! She has coached and conducted several award winning percussion ensembles along with drum lines for many high school marching bands. She also teaches at Palomar College, and coaches at Westview High School, and Mesa Verde Middle School. She maintains a very active studio in Poway, California.