Kay George Roberts

Kay George Roberts (born September 15, 1950) is an American orchestral conductor and a professor of music at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.^[1][2] She is the founder and musical director of the New England Orchestra. She is recognized as the first woman and second African American to receive a doctorate in musical arts from Yale University.^[3] As of 2018, she is one of the few female African American conductors in the world.

Kay George Roberts
Born	(1950-09-15)September 15, 1950 Nashville, Tennessee
Education	Fisk University Yale University
Occupation(s)	Conductor and Professor
Employer	University of Massachusetts Lowell

Early life and education

Roberts was born September 16, 1950, in Nashville, Tennessee.^[4] Roberts began playing the violin in the fourth grade for the Cermona Strings Youth ensemble. In 1964, she successfully auditioned for the Nashville Youth Symphony, which at the time was under the direction of Thor Johnson. At the age of 17, she was moved to the parent Nashville Symphony ensemble, where in 1971, she became the first violinist to represent the Nashville Symphony in the World Symphony Orchestra, which was directed by Arthur Fiedler.^[5]

In 1972, Roberts graduated from Fisk University with her Bachelor of Arts in Music. She later attended Yale University School of Music, where she graduated with her Masters in Music in Conducting and Violin Performance in 1975, then her Masters in Musical Arts in Conducting in 1976.^[4] Later in 1986, she became the first woman and second black person to receive a doctoral degree in orchestral conducting from Yale University.^[4][5]

Career and impact

During her time at Fisk University, Roberts was a fellow at Tanglewood, where she worked with renowned composer Leonard Bernstein, serving as a violinist in his orchestra.^[6] During her time at Yale, she was under the tutelage of master composer Otto-Werner Muller, who later arranged for her to conduct lead performances at the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, which was her debut as a conductor, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.^[7] She has also conducted workshops, master classes, and seminars with other famous composers, including Denis de Coteau, Seiji Ozawa, Andre Previn, and John Eliot Gardnier.^[3] Roberts is one of the only female African American conductors in the world.^[8]

In 1982, Roberts became the lead director of New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra. She also has guest conducted for orchestras across the world, including the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana in Switzerland, the Cleveland Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, and Bangkok Symphony in Thailand. In 1978, she joined the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Lowell where she currently works.^[9] Roberts is the founder and musical director of the New England Orchestra, and the principal conductor for Opera North, Inc. in Philadelphia.^[7][8] She also founded the UMass Lowell String project, which helps K-12 students receive musical education.^[5]

Awards and honors

Roberts has received several awards throughout her career including "The Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition" from the U.S House of Representatives, for the work she has done in the community.^[7] She is also a recipient of the University of Massachusetts Presidents Public Service Award, and Distinguished Alumna of the Year, from the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO).^[7][3]

References

1. Curry, George E.; Webber, Brenda L.; Monroe, Sylvester; Payne, Les (2009-02-19). "a maestro". The Best of Emerge Magazine. Random House Publishing Group. pp. 324–327. ISBN 9780307514158.
2. "The Maestros". Ebony. Johnson Publishing Company. February 1989. p. 56.
3. Handy, D. Antoinette (1998). Black women in American bands and orchestras (2nd ed.). Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810834197. OCLC 42329813.
4. Wooten, Ronnie (2017). "Women of Color in the Conducting Profession: Where Are They?". Black History Bulletin. 80 (1): 15–24. doi:10.5323/blachistbull.80.1.0015. JSTOR 10.5323/blachistbull.80.1.0015. S2CID 80533534.
5. Galván, Gary (2016). "Roberts, Kay George | Grove Music". doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2289289. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
6. Jagow, Shelley M. (1998). "Women Orchestral Conductors in America: The Struggle for Acceptance—An Historical View from the Nineteenth Century to the Present". College Music Symposium. 38: 126–145. JSTOR 40374324.
7. L., Bracks, Lean'tin (2012). African American almanac : 400 years of triumph, courage and excellence. Canton, Mich.: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 9781578593231. OCLC 787844493.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
8. Braxton, Greg (2009-09-09). "Hollywood Bowl's Thomas Wilkins a classical case of beating the odds". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
9. "Super conductor: Girls Inc. of Greater Lowell honors musical pioneer Kay George Roberts". Lowell Sun. 2009-04-26. Retrieved 2019-10-11.