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THE 75th ANNUAL LOS ANGELES BACH FESTIVAL | SPECIAL EVENTS | DVD'S & CD'S | CHOIR MEMBERS ONLY

BIOS
Who's Who of Our Music Department.

Dr. Jonathan Talberg
Director of Music

Dr. Jonathan Talberg serves as Director of Music for First Congregational Church of Los angeles, Music Director and Conductor of the Los Angeles Bach Festival, Director of the Long Beach Bach Festival, and Director of Choral, Vocal, and Opera Studies at California State University, Long Beach where he oversees the largest and one of the most recognized voice programs in the state of California. He has twice conducted at the American Music Educator's National Conference, at several All-State choir concerts, and in prestigious venues throughout Europe and Asia, including St. Peters and St. Mark's Basilicas, The Karlskirche in Vienna, and at the Great Wall of China. Most recently, he has served as a guest conductor for the Slovenian National Chamber Choir, and as artistic director for the Incantato Festival of Music in Amalfi, Italy. He has prepared choirs for the Cincinnati Symphony, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony and the Pasadena Pops. He made his Carnegie Hall Debut in April, 2007 conducting the California State University, Long Beach Chamber Choirs and the New England Philharmonic Ensemble.

Dr. Talberg is in constant demand as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator. He holds the position of Youth and Student Activities Chair for University and College Choirs for the California Chapter of the American Choral Director's Association and he is an editor at Pavane Music Publishing, where a choral series, dedicated to high quality, collegiate level music, is published under his name.

S. Wayne Foster
Organist in Residence

S. Wayne Foster is the Organist in Residence at the First Congregational Church in Los Angeles, where he presides over one of the world's largest pipe organs. As part of this prestigious position, Mr. Foster performs weekly Thursday noon recitals and helps coordinate the Annual Organ Recital Series.

Mr. Foster is a native of Florida where he studied organ as an undergraduate at Stetson University. He went on to receive his masters in the harpsichord and early music from the University of North Texas and, in organ, his Diplôme de Concertiste from the École Normale de Musique in Paris where he lived for 5 years. His many awards include the Gold Medal and Audience Prize at the 1997 Dallas International Organ Competition.

While in Paris, Mr. Foster was continuo harpsichordist and organist for the Orchestre de St. Louis-en-l'Ile and Associate Organist for the American Cathedral in Paris. In Charleston, Mr. Foster was chairman of the Piccolo Spoleto L'Organo recital series, and was Director of Music at First (Scots) Presbyterian Church and Temple Beth Elohim. He also was staff keyboardist for the Charleston Symphony. Since living in Los Angeles, Mr. Foster has produced a new DVD documentary on the fantastic pipe organ of First Congregational Church, titled “The Great Organs of First Church–Past. Present. Future.” He has performed solo recitals for the Los Angeles Bach Festival, and will perform this summer at the Washington National Cathedral and the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas. He performed the wedding organ music track for the recent film “Marie-Antionette,” and more recently provided organ music for the TV show “Ugly Betty.”

Thomas Hunter Russell
Assistant Organist

Curtis Rhodes
Music Administrator

Curtis Rhodes brings a wide range of experience to his role as Music Administrator for First Church and Managing Director for the Los Angeles Bach Festival. He has actively been involved in theatre production from all sides; as an actor, music director, director, stage manager, and writer. He attended Texas Christian University as a theatre major and received classical conservatory training in theatre at the Professional Actors' Conservatory in Orange County. He has been a member of West Coast Ensemble and Open At the Top theatre companies and is currently a member of the Academy Repertory Company, part of the Academy of New Musical Theatre, where he participates in the development of new musical works. A pianist/vocalist and composer, Curtis has written the musicals A Holiday in Hollywood and Swept Away! He performs solo concerts of his original piano and vocal material. He was on the branding and marketing team for the launch of the Hallmark Channel for cable television, as well as serving as Director of Music for San Marino Congregational UCC. Curtis has sung in choirs since grade school and has been a member of the Ad Hoc Chorale and the Anglican Chorale, among others.

William Zeiller
Organ Curator

Dr. Thomas Somerville
Minister of Music Emeritus

Thomas Somerville served as Minister of Music at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles from September 1981 through June 2001, during which time he also served as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Los Angeles Bach Festival, founded at First Church in 1934. He later served as interim Minister of Music October-December 2002, and in January 2003 was named Minister of Music Emeritus.

Dr. Somerville is Professor Emeritus of Music at Occidental College, where from 1977-2000 he taught conducting and music literature, and directed the Occidental College Glee Club. He earned his DMA in church music at the University of Southern California and was on the faculty of the USC departments of choral music and church music from 1972-77. In the fall semester 2002 he returned to USC as Visiting Professor, where he conducted the USC Thornton Chamber Choir and tutored graduate students in conducting. In the fall of 1995 Dr. Somerville was a consultant in the Reid Music Library of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, where he studied the music of Reid Professor Kenneth Leighton.

From 1987-2007, Dr. Somerville was Director and Associate Teacher of the Oregon Bach Festival-University of Oregon Master Class in Choral-Orchestral Conducting with Helmuth Rilling.

Dr. Frederick Swann
Organist Emeritus

Frederick Swann is a prominent American concert organist, recording artist, choral conductor, and former president of the American Guild of Organists (AGO). During his career spanning more than a half-century, he has performed on most of the well-known pipe organs in the world and made numerous compact disc recordings. Frederick Swann now lives in Palm Desert, California, where he is Organ Artist-in-residence at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church and professor of organ at the University of Redlands.