Rutgers Symphony Orchestra
Biography Rutgers Symphony Orchestra
Ching-Chun Lai
has served as assistant conductor for renowned conductors, such as Gunther Schuller, Larry Rachleff, JoAnn Falletta, Duain Wolfe, and Christof Perick. Equally comfortable with opera, she has conducted many standard productions as well as premieres. A devoted educator, Lai frequently presents masterclasses and guest conducts youth orchestras, honors orchestras, and university orchestras nationwide and internationally. Lai is currently the Director of Orchestral Activities and Engagement and Associate Professor at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. Prior to Rutgers, Lai held the post of Director of Orchestras and Associate Professor at the Crane School of Music, State University of New York at Potsdam. During her tenure, the Crane Symphony Orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The annual holiday concerts were broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service. In addition, she was a faculty at The Ohio State University (Director of Orchestral Studies and Visiting Professor of Orchestral Conducting) and Mount Holyoke College. Lai was a conducting fellow at the acclaimed Gstaad Menuhin Festival in Switzerland under the mentorship of Neeme Jarvi and Johannes Schlaefli. She twice received the Church Memorial Conducting Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was granted the Dr. Nuala McGann Drescher fellowship sponsored by the State of New York/United University Professions. A protégé of legendary Gunther Schuller, Lai received conducting degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music cum laude and the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Rutgers Symphony Orchestra
is the flagship ensemble of the Mason Gross instrumental program. Presenting an annual concert series of symphonic programs and a main-stage opera, RSO aims to prepare students for professional careers as orchestral musicians in various capacities. RSO has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Symphony Space, and New Jersey Performing Arts Center with many of the world’s leading conductors and soloists. As an advanced and cutting-edge university orchestra, in recent years, RSO has expanded its mission to advocate for underrepresented music and interdisciplinary collaborations.
Brandon Williams
is an Associate Professor and the Director of Choral Activities at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, where he conducts the Rutgers Kirkpatrick Choir and the Rutgers Glee Club. Previously, he conducted the Rutgers Voorhees Choir, which was selected to perform at Carnegie Hall (2019) and Eastern ACDA (2020, 2024). Williams also appears internationally as a guest conductor, clinician, and presenter. He was the recipient of the 2020–2021 Rutgers Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Innovations and the 2021–2022 Rutgers Presidential Fellowship for Teaching Excellence Award. Williams holds degrees from Western Illinois University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Michigan State University.
The Rutgers University Glee Club
established in 1872, is one of the oldest and most distinguished tenor-bass choirs in the United States that regularly performs internationally and commissions new works from major composers. In juried processes, the Glee Club was selected to perform at American Choral Directors Association National Conferences (2001, 2017, 2021) and Eastern Division Conferences (2006, 2010, 2014, 2020).
Rutgers University Kirkpatrick Choir
is the most advanced-level choir at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. The choir performs a significant repertory of major choral-orchestral works, Baroque music accompanied by period instruments, and important works of the 20th and 21st centuries. The New York Times listed the Kirkpatrick Choir’s performance of major works by Lou Harrison at Trinity Wall Street NYC as one of the “Best Classical Performances of 2017.” The Kirkpatrick Choir’s Naxos release of Samuel Adler’s Five Sephardic Songs is available online.
Stephanie Tubiolo
teaches at Rutgers–New Brunswick, where she won the Irene Alm Memorial Prize for Excellence in Performance and Scholarly Research for her doctoral work. At Rutgers, she serves as conductor of the University Choir and Voorhees Choir and as chorus master of Rutgers Opera Theatre. From 2011-2023, concurrent with her work at the university level, Tubiolo taught New Haven Public Schools students in grades 2-12 with the Yale Music in Schools Initiative, where she founded the Morse Chorale. She holds a BA in music from Yale College and an MM in choral conducting from the Yale School of Music, where she sang professionally with the Yale Schola Cantorum.
The Rutgers Voorhees Choir
is a soprano-alto ensemble that champions text and music composed by women and historically excluded poets and composers. They made their Carnegie Hall debut in April 2019 as part of the inaugural National Concerts performance series. In juried processes, the Voorhees Choir was also selected to perform at the 2024 ACDA Eastern Division Conference in Providence RI, and the 2020 ACDA Eastern Division Conference in Rochester NY.
