Team GBYO

Team GBYO

conductors, mentors, board

GBYO

overview

Artistic Staff

The artistic staff of GBYO work as a collaborative team, assisting with many different aspects and ensembles within the broader organization. Emily Bowman, Artistic Director, oversees all aspects of the artistic effort.

Mentors

Outstanding professional musicians and graduate students at the CU College of Music, GBYO Mentors work with the students on a regular basis. For the student musicians of GBYO, working with Mentors has many benefits, as the Mentors provide strong examples of musicianship in every way:

  • Elements of music - rhythm, pitch, dynamics, etc
  • Rehearsal etiquette
  • Performance practice
  • Technique

The Mentors not only lead sectionals and provide direction for rehearsals, they teach by example.

Team GBYO in action

GBYO conductors

Emily Bowman
Artistic Director, Philharmonic Conductor

Emily Anne Bowman is an active performer and educator. Ms. Bowman is a founding member and principal violist of the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado and has performed as guest artist with Montana Early Music Festival, Wyoming Baroque, Parish House Baroque, Seicento Baroque Ensemble, Baroque Out of Bounds, and the Early Music Happy Hour Chamber Concert series. Emily especially enjoys working with young musicians as Artistic Director of the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestra and conductor of the GBYO Philharmonic, as faculty with Boulder Suzuki Strings and formerly as Music Director at Shining Mountain Waldorf School.

Emily has been recognized with the "Exemplary Teacher" award four times by the American Strings Teachers Association of Colorado. Emily graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Viola Performance from the University of Colorado, receiving the Gabor Ormai Viola Award. She lives with her husband David Crowe in beautiful Boulder, Colorado where in addition to making music she delights in eating and spending time outdoors.







Gary Lewis
Symphony Conductor

Gary Lewis, Chair of Conducting Studies and Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, played an important role in the creation of the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestras in 2010 and was the founding Artistic Director.

A highly sought after educator and clinician, Mr. Lewis has conducted All-State Orchestras in Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, New Jersey, Michigan, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Nevada, Wyoming, Rhode Island, Delaware, the Honor Orchestra of America and the American String Teachers Association National High School Honor Orchestra. Maestro Lewis was instrumental in establishing the youth orchestra's reputation for excellence since 2010 when two previous Boulder youth orchestras merged to create GBYO. In addition to his work at CU, he is the Music Director of the Midland­ Odessa (TX) Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Boulder Philharmonic.

As a strong advocate of music education, Mr. Lewis has presented many in-service workshops for public school educators, as well as numerous presentations at state and regional music education association conferences. In addition, he has conducted All-State Orchestras and Bands in many states along with the ASTA National Honor Orchestra and the Honor Orchestra of America. In 2010 Mr. Lewis became the founding Artistic Director of the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestras and served as conductor of the Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Lewis is also a strong proponent of new music. He has been instrumental in the development and production of contemporary music festivals and his interest in new music has led him to collaborations with composers such as Dan Kellogg, Carter Pann, George Crumb, William Bolcom, John Harbison, Chen Yi, Michael Daugherty, Stephen Paulus, and many others.

Erik Johnson
Wind Ensemble Conductor

Dr. Erik Johnson is an Associate Professor of Music Education at Colorado State University where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education, conducts the 130 member CSU Concert Band, and is the Director of the CSU Middle School Outreach Ensemble program. Erik is a 2017 Distinction in Community Outreach Award winner at Colorado State University and a 2016 GRAMMY Research Award winner -- an award that is accompanied by a grant that supports research into how peer-assisted learning in music can help to improve social responsiveness for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He holds a master's degree in Wind Conducting and a Ph.D in Music Education from the University of Colorado.

As a teacher, Erik has received three school board commendations, two 9-News Teacher Who Cares Awards and a Colorado Teacher of the Year Award sponsored by the Walmart Foundation. In 2009, Erik received first prize in the Hugh McMillan conducting competition. As a conductor, clinician, and educational consultant, Erik has worked extensively throughout Colorado, the United States, Japan, India, Lithuania, Spain, and China. In 2018 he will be featured as an Artist in Residence at the National Conservatory of Music in the Dominican Republic. He is a frequent music festival adjudicator and presenter at state, national and international music conferences including recent presentations in India, Spain, Scotland, and Lithuania, and Ireland. His scholarly writings and research have been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Music Educators Journal, Contributions to Music Education, Journal of Education and Training Studies, and The Bulletin for the Council of Research in Music Education. Erik's goals are to cultivate a sincere passion for artistry and music learning for students at all levels.



Paul Rowinski
Sinfonia Conductor

Paul Rowinski has been teaching violin using the Suzuki Method in Boulder, Colorado since 1983. He graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in music, studying violin performance and pedagogy with William Starr. He is the director of the Woodsong Suzuki Violin Instruction program in Boulder, and performs locally in various community orchestras.













Matthew Dane
Chamber Music Director

Matthew Dane serves as Principal Violist of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra in Houston and Opera Colorado, and is a member of the Arizona MusicFest and the Boulder Piano Quartet. Dane has appeared as soloist with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, ROCO, and the the St. Martin's Chamber Choir among others; his chamber performances have been broadcast on NPR's Performance Today and BBC's Channel 3. A committed teacher, Dane served on the faculty of Metropolitan State College of Denver and was tenured at the University of Oklahoma; he now actively maintains a private studio in Boulder and is a lecturer in Chamber Music at the University of Colorado.















Some of our Supporters







Be a supporter

GBYO is a non-profit organization and relies on the support of donors.



Student tuition and ticket sales cover less than half of the costs
of this organization; the rest comes from donations and grants.


GBYO has supported dozens of students with financial assistance,
some of whom have gone to study music in college.



Mentors

Yenlik Weiss Violin

Dr. Yenlik Weiss is a dedicated chamber musician, orchestra performer, and teacher. In addition to maintaining contracts with the Boulder Philharmonic and Redlands Symphony Orchestras, she has performed with the San Bernardino Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra and Santa Barbara Opera, Pasadena Symphony Orchestra, Pasadena Pops, Riverside Symphony Orchestra, Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, Fresno Philharmonic, Marina del Rey Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, Aspen Choral Society, and served as an Associate Concertmaster of the Colorado Mahler Festival and Boulder Chamber Orchestra. She has been a featured soloist for the Steamboat Springs Chamber Orchestra, Aurora Symphony, on Colorado Public Radio, and performed numerous chamber solos in the US, Europe, and Asia.

As a member of the Boulder Philharmonic Education String Quartet she has visited and performed at dozens of schools, and performed family and sensory friendly concerts at the Boulder Public Library. Yenlik completed her Masters in Violin Performance in Cleveland and received her Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder. As a freelance musician in Los Angeles, she performed with Sir Elton John, Sarah McLachlan, and Earth Wind & Fire among other contemporary performers, and performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. For more information please visit superiormusiclessons.com





Laena Batchelder Violin

Laena Grace Batchelder is a violinist, musician, and social justice advocate. Following her mission to support diversity, equity, and inclusion in classical music, she has programmed works by female, minority, contemporary, and non-traditional composers in her recitals including her honors project recital, Women of American Chamber Music. She believes in combining classical and popular music to appeal to wider audiences which she has implemented in her performances and in her teaching.

Laena is a violin and viola teacher at her private studio in Broomfield. She also performs with several local orchestras including the Boulder Symphony and the Arapahoe Philharmonic. She graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a Master of Music in Violin Performance studying with Charles Wetherbee and from Texas Christian University (TCU) in her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas with a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance (summa cum laude). She studied with Elisabeth Adkins at TCU and with Martha Walvoord during her high school years. She has attended summer festivals such as Wintergreen, the Texas Music Festival, the TCU Quartet Intensive, and the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute. In addition to music, Laena enjoys reading, knitting, swing dancing, following politics and fandoms, and hanging out with her friends.

laenagrace.com




Amelie Peccoud Violin

Amelie recently graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Music at Colorado State University. Her teachers have included Zo Manfredi, Ron Francois, Leslie Stewart, and Vladimir Kromin. She has played with many youth and community orchestras throughout the state, including the CSU Symphony, Denver Young Artists Orchestra, the Colorado All-State Orchestra, and the Health and Wellness Orchestra. She has also participated in different summer music programs including, the Zodiac Music Festival Summer Academy in France, Peter de Grote International Chamber Festival in the Netherlands, and Marrowstone Music Festival in Bellingham, WA. In between school programs, she is enjoying teaching violin and viola in the Northern Colorado area. In her free time she enjoys rock climbing and playing with her pup Ivy.







Maggie Greenwood Clarinet

Maggie Greenwood (she/her) is a clarinetist and multiple woodwinds performer who evolved into an orchestral conductor and is a passionate supporter of public education and gender diversity in classical music. She loves building community through joyful music making and constantly strives to be better as a musician, educator, and human being than she was the day before.

After teaching in higher education for eight years, Dr. Greenwood shifted her focus to private studio teaching and freelance performance. Through her years as an orchestral director, she broadened her teaching arsenal to include strategies not only for piano and woodwinds but also beginning and intermediate orchestral strings. She has also taught at the K-12 level and maintained a private studio for students of all ages and skill levels since 2010. Dr. Greenwood enjoys performing in everything from traditional bands and symphonies to pit orchestras, street bands, and new music ensembles. No matter the style or ensemble type, she loves it all!

Maggie completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Clarinet Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2019 where she studied with Daniel Silver. She also studied at the University of North Texas (MM, 2013) with Daryl Coad and Missouri State University (BM, 2011) with Dr. Allison Storochuk. She currently lives in the Denver area and enjoys gardening, baking, and hiking when she's not teaching or performing.

maggiegreenwood.com










GBYO Board

GBYO admin

Davey Van Beveren Orchestra Manager

Davey Van Beveren is originally from Chesapeake, Virginia and has had a passion for music since he first picked up a plastic recorder in middle school. Davey received his bachelor's degree from Oberlin College & Conservatory and his master's degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. He is a musician and teaching artist who strives to create engaging, interactive experiences through teaching and concert programming.

As an oboist, Davey has performed with a variety of orchestras, such as the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and the National Youth Orchestra of the USA. Davey's engagements have taken him across the United States to renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Seiji Ozawa Hall at the Tanglewood Music Festival, and the Chicago Symphony's Symphony Center, among others.

As an educator, Davey has worked with all age groups, ranging from kindergarten to retirees. He enjoys presenting classical works to young audiences, and has worked as a coordinator for JUMP!, (Just for U Music Program), the student-led outreach program at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, and served as a teaching artist for ArtistYear, an arts-based AmeriCorps program. Davey is currently the Education and Community Engagement Coordinator at the Colorado Symphony.













Brian Jack Executive Director

Dr. Jack's affinity for education and community involvement has played a large role in his life.

Brian studied Music Performance and Education at Ithaca College and the University of Colorado and completed the League of American Orchestras' Essentials of Orchestral Management, where he worked with Deborah Borda, Deborah Rutter, composer John Adams, and more.

Brian formed the Boulder Bassoon Quartet and teaches and performs throughout Colorado.

He and his wife Kaori Uno, a bassoonist in the award-winning Antero Wind Quintet, are proud parents of two boys!