Program - Krannert Center for the Performing Arts

member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra, a winner
of the concerto competitions at Yale University and
Stony Brook University, and a top prizewinner at the
Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition, the
Fischoff Competition, and the Chamber Music Yellow
Springs Annual Competition. His compositions have
been performed at festivals including the Banff
Summer Arts Festival, the Verbier Festival, the
Altenburg Music Festival, and OK Mozart. Ward
holds a BM from the Manhattan School of Music,
holds an MM from the Yale School of Music, and has
completed additional years of study at the Hartt
School, the Royal College of Music in London, and
Stony Brook University. Ward is currently in his sixth
season with Chanticleer.
Ben Johns, the director of education, finished his
master’s degree in choral conducting in 2009 at the
University of California at Irvine and holds
undergraduate degrees in dance, vocal performance,
and chemistry. Johns earned merit-based graduate
fellowships, teaching assistantships, and scholarships
including the Tierney Scholarship, the Ann and
Gordon Getty Scholarship, the Mary and Phillip
Lyons Scholarship, and the Mertis “Sunny” Brown
Scholarship. He also earned the Chancellor’s Award
for Excellence in Undergraduate Research for his
honor’s thesis paper, “Exploring the Neurobiological
Basis for the Effect of Movement on the Voice,”
which he presented at the American Association of
Physics Teachers conference at California State
University at Sacramento in 2004. Johns sang in
Chanticleer for three years before moving to his
current position as its director of education. His
education duties include, but are not limited to,
directing Chanticleer’s LAB Choir and giving master
classes to Bay Area high school and middle school
choirs. Johns also teaches voice privately and
continues to sing professionally as a soloist and
choral artist around the country.
Christine Bullin, Chanticleer’s president and general
director, oversees the organization’s artistic and
operational activities. Prior to her current position
with Chanticleer, Bullin served as the director of the
Opera Training Center for the Paris Opera, directing
a new training center for singers. During her tenure
there, she managed all administrative, financial, and
artistic activities and produced numerous operas and
concerts. From 1982 to 1993, Bullin was the director
of the San Francisco Opera Center, where she
created and revised existing musical training
programs for young artists now revered throughout
the operatic world. She was responsible for a
number of initiatives, including a long-term exchange
program with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music
and Pacific Voices, a project that involved 10 Pacific
Rim countries. She was the executive producer for
three video documentaries about the San Francisco
Opera Center, including the Rocky Mountain Emmy
Award-winning Scaling the Wall, which featured the
historic visit of the Western Opera Theater to China.
In recognition of her work in San Francisco, she was
the recipient of the Bernard Osher Cultural Award in
1991. Prior to joining the San Francisco Opera, she
directed the touring company of the Opera
Company of Boston. Bullin is a frequent panelist and
competition jury member for various groups,
including the National Endowment for the Arts and
the California Arts Council, and was the cultural chair
of the San Francisco-Shanghai Sister Cities
Committee. A native of New Zealand, she holds
degrees from Wellesley College and Simmons
College and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia.
Chanticleer Staff Members
Christine Bullin, President and General Director
Liv Nilssen, Director of Development
Curt Hancock, Director of Operations and Touring
Ben Johns, Director of Education and Merchandise
Brian Bauman, Senior Accountant/Budget Manager
Joe Ledbetter, Marketing/Development and IT
Systems Manager
Barbara Bock, Development and Marketing Associate
Jace Wittig, Interim Music Director
Matthew Curtis, Assistant Music Director
Brian Hinman, Road Manager
Adam Ward, Merchandise Manager
Ben Jones and Matthew Knickman, Merchandise
Associates
Press Representation: Brenda Hughes
Artist Management: Opus 3 Artists Ltd.
Label Manager: Lisa Nauful
Pro Bono Consultant: Susan Overman
Printed Music Source: Musical Resources
Graphic Design: Debra Turner
Travel Agent: Tour Arts
Box Office Agency: City Box Office
Chanticleer Founder: Louis Botto (1951–1997)
Music Director Emeritus: Joseph H. Jennings
Chanticleer recordings are available on the Warner
Classics and Chanticleer Records labels. Musical
Resources is the printed-music source for Chanticleer.
For more information about Chanticleer, please see
www.chanticleer.org.
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