Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

American conductor Anthony Parnther is now concluding his fourth season as Music Director of California’s San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra. As conductor of the Gateways Music Festival Orchestra, whose members hail from leading orchestras nationwide, it was Parnther who led its sold-out Carnegie Hall debut, showcasing the world premiere of I Can by five-time Grammy-winner Jon Batiste.

A master of multiple genres, Parnther has conducted many of the world’s preeminent artists, from Joshua Bell, Lynn Harrell, Jessye Norman, and Frederica von Stade to Imagine Dragons and Rihanna. His upcoming guest appearances include dates with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Sydney Symphony, while recent ones include engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, and National Symphony Orchestra, as well as at Los Angeles Opera and Madrid’s World Opera Forum. His previous Chineke! collaborations include the historic re-opening concert for London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, broadcast live worldwide by the BBC.

Dedicated to amplifying traditionally underrepresented voices, Parnther has reconstructed and performed orchestral works by Margaret Bonds, Duke Ellington, Zenobia Powell Perry, Florence Price, William Grant Still, and Samuel Coleridge Taylor. As well as leading LA Opera’s world premiere of Tamar-kali Brown’s oratorio We Hold These Truths and Long Beach Opera’s revival of Anthony Davis’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Central Park Five, Parnther has premiered and recorded works by Batiste, Chanda Dancy, Davis, Adolphus Hailstork, Marian Harrison, Phillip Herbert, Daniel Kidane, Gary Powell Nash, James Newton, Perry, Price, Taylor, George Walker, Errollyn Wallen, James Wilson, and John Wineglass. For his extensive championing of works by Black, Latino, and women composers, Parnther was profiled in 2015 as a “Local Hero” by Los Angeles’s KCET/TV.

As one of today’s foremost film conductors, Parnther helms recording sessions for many of the top international feature films and television series worldwide, working in close collaboration with some of the world’s most decorated living composers on the scoring stages of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Nashville, Budapest, and London. Recent projects include installments in the Black Panther, Star Wars, and Avatar franchises, with composers Ludwig Göransson, Joseph Shirley, and Simon Franglen, as well as collaborations with John Williams on numerous live accounts of the composer’s iconic scores.

Since the runaway success of her 1990 debut album Circle of One (which went Platinum), and the impassioned hit single "Get Here" (which became an unofficial anthem of the 1991 Gulf War), Oleta Adams has inspired a growing legion of fans around the world via songs that draw deeply from her roots in gospel, while crossing effortlessly into the realms of soul, R&B, urban, and popular music. Her success was first nurtured by worldwide tours with Tears for Fears, Phil Collins, Michael Bolton and Luther Vandross and was solidified by four Grammy nominations and more than two and a half million records sold.

In 2017 Oleta was featured in “I’m Yours” with José James and in 2018 she was featured on Dave Garfield’s Grammy nominated album Jammin’- Outside the Box on the song “The Highways of My Life” with Phil Perry. Celebrating 45 years in the music industry and having released nine albums, including secular, gospel and Christmas Oleta’s musical odyssey continues with her latest album THIRD SET (2017). On April 12, 2020 (Easter) Oleta released, “Place of Peace,” a song that she wrote and recorded many years ago, though never released. The song is an offering meant to soothe during a time where the world is experiencing hardships due to COVID 19.

In 2019 Oleta was inducted into the American Jazz Walk of Fame at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, MO. In 2017 Oleta was the honoree of the Legends Award at the televised Black Music Honors, acknowledging her influence and significant music contributions to African American culture and American music worldwide.

Cooper Cromwell-Whitley, a current senior at the University of Michigan, was appointed as a Paul J. Ross Fellow for the 22-23 and 23-24 season. Cooper began his musical journey at the age of 5, when he started playing the baritone. By the age of 7, Cooper had switched to playing the trombone and began receiving lessons weekly. 

 

During high school, Cooper took private lessons with Ken Wolff, a teacher based in Montgomery County, Maryland. From there, Cooper received a full scholarship and began studying trombone performance at the University of Michigan under the guidance of Professor David Jackson. Cooper has also received considerable mentorship from other teachers and players, such as Weston Sprott - Second trombone of the Metropolitan Opera, and Ken Thompkins - Principal Trombone of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. 

 

Cooper has had the privilege of attending various summer music groups throughout the country such as the National Youth Orchestra, The Brevard Music Center Orchestra and the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra. Cooper has also been a part of various professional groups such as The Black Excellence Trombone Choir and the premiere of the Lift Every Voice and Sing trombone choir, a group formed at the 2022 International Trombone Festival. Cooper was a finalist for the International Trombone Festival’s quartet competition in 2022.

To learn more about the Paul J. Ross Fellowship Program, click here.

Nikki Porter is a singer, songwriter, vocal coach, choir director and recording artist who has traveled throughout the United States and Europe singing and teaching Gospel music. She teaches annually at the Gospel Connection conference in Assisi, Italy, directing a 350-voice mass choir comprised of singers from across Italy. This is her second year directing the PSO Lift Every Voice Unity Choir.

Some of Nikki’s favorite performances include singing at the Grand Ole Opry Theater for Verizon’s How Sweet the Sound pre-Stellar Awards showcase; touring as actress/singer with the hit Gospel musical The Bold & The Sanctified II featuring Ruben Studdard; opening for Kirk Franklin; singing background vocals with Grammy-Award-winning artist Common and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at Heinz Hall; and touring Europe’s beautiful cathedrals and opera houses singing Gospel music.

Nikki is the Minister of Music at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, a cross-cultural, inner-city congregation in Pittsburgh’s East End. She provides oversight of the church’s music department including leading worship, directing the adult and youth praise teams, directing the children’s and mass choirs and teaching private voice lessons in the church’s afterschool music program, The Judah Project, which she established in 2005.

Nikki received her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Duquesne University, where she also studied jazz voice with the late Maureen Budway and founded the Gospel choir Gospel Joynotes. Her private studies include piano with Dr. Alton Merrell and classical voice with Eugene Perry.

Dr. Alton L. Merrell is a pianist, educator, music director, and music producer. Alton earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Classical Piano Performance graduating Cum Laude, and a Master of Music in Jazz Piano performance. From the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Merrell received his Ph.D. in Jazz Studies with a research focus on jazz piano performance and pedagogy.

Dr. Merrell leads his own group, "Dr. Alton Merrell & Impact," an instrumental and vocal ensemble combining diverse musical styles in its repertoire. This group is known to produce music that evokes love, healing, joy and peace to people throughout the world. Alton's latest award-winning CD "You're The Reason" embodies this vision.

Dr. Merrell has ministered with gospel artists Kim Burrell, Israel Houghton, Donnie McClurkin, Maurette Brown Clark, Martha Munizzi, Alvin Slaughter, Dorothy Norwood, LaShunn Pace, Parkes Stewart, and the late Rev. Timothy Wright. He has also been seen several times on the nationally televised Bobby Jones Gospel Show. Dr. Merrell has also performed with jazz artists Benny Golson, Christian McBride, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Sean Jones, Rufus Reed, Jimmy Heath, Curtis Fuller, Jimmy Owens, Slide Hampton, and Roger Humphries. Dr. Merrell is a current member of the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra and has performed with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, Cleveland State Jazz Heritage Orchestra, Pittsburgh Concert Chorale, YSU All-Star Alumni Jazz Ensemble, and the Warren Philharmonic Orchestra.

Dr. Merrell has received numerous honors including Gospel Jazz Artist of the Year Award, American Gospel Music Award, Best New Gospel Jazz Artist & Producer, Capital Jazz Festival Competition Finalist (2008), YSU Jazz Quintet Member of the Cultural Exchange Group performing in Beijing, China (Summer 2002), YSU Jazz Quintet Member of the Cultural Exchange Jazz Group performing in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, China (Summer 2004) where a number of Alton's compositions and arrangements were performed. Dr. Merrell has also been a recipient of K. Leroy Irvis Fellowship and Founces M. Luley Music Scholarship.

Above all, Dr. Merrell's life is dedicated to being a godly husband to his wife Geida, a godly father to his son Jaden and daughter Zion, and an instrument in the Lord's hand to minister the love of Jesus to people everywhere through music and the word of God.