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Melvin P. Unger
Music Director and conductor
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Melvin P. Unger came to the Cleveland area in 1998 to
become Director of the Riemenschneider
Bach Institute at Baldwin-Wallace College, a position that he continues
to hold. He also conducts the B-W Singers, a relatively new ensemble
of some 55 members. His previous academic and choral directing experience
was principally in Edmonton, Alberta, where he taught at the North American
Baptist College and conducted the Da Camera Singers for 17 years.
Mel Unger is a graduate of the University of Illinois
(Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Music), the University of Oregon (Master
of Music in Choral Conducting), and the University of Saskatchewan (Bachelor
of Music in Choral Music Education). He was one of the first North American
students to study under renowned conductor and Bach specialist Helmuth
Rilling, at the State Conservatory of Music in Frankfurt, Germany.
Unger’s choirs have appeared at a number of competitions,
festivals, and choral conventions in Canada and the United States. In
1996, his Da Camera Singers were chosen to serve as principal chorus-in-residence
at the Classical Seminar-Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria; during this
time, the chorus performed the Vierne Mass at St. Stephen’s Cathedral
in Vienna under Unger’s direction.
Unger is taking a sabbatical during the 2008-2009 Concert Season, and the Singers’
Club will be led by three guest conductors assisted by Assistant Conductor
Robert P. Bellisario.
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Robert P. Bellisario
Assistant Conductor
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Mr. Bellisario is currently in his 20th season as assistant
conductor of The Singers' Club and his 16th season as director of the Centennials.
He first joined the Club as an Albert Rees Davis Scholarship recipient in
1986. In 1987, he was awarded the American Choral Director Association Student
Award. Mr. Bellisario has sung with Lyric Opera of Cleveland. Church of
the Covenant Choir, the Old Stone Church, and The Robert Page Singers. |
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Charles M. Carr
Guest Conductor
December Concert
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Dr. Carr has extensive professional experience in Cleveland,
including leadership positions at Laurel School and Christ Episcopal Church
(Shaker Heights). He is currently organist and choir director at the First Congregational
Church of Hudson. His academic background includes degrees from Dartmouth College, Case
Western Reserve University and, most recently, Indiana University, where he studied with
Margaret Hillis and Robert Porco. |
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David W. Gilson
Guest Conductor
March Concert
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A graduate of Allegheny College and the Cleveland Institute of Music, David Gilson is currently Associate Dean for Student Affairs at CIM. He has a strong background as a choral conductor as well as a vocal soloist, and is currently Director of Music at the United Methodist Church in Chagrin Falls. He is also an instrumentalist (trumpet and euphonium). |
