Each semester, several Mixed Chamber Ensemble groups form as part of a small ensemble
course and receive instruction from faculty members throughout the semester. Mixed
Chamber Ensembles student groups perform a final concert at the end of each semester
featuring selections from a various composers.
The chamber music area also awards John and Lynda Cooke string quartet scholarships
to 16 talented students who will participate in the string quartet intensive program.
The quartet intensive includes with a full concert each semester dedicated to string
quartet performances and a masterclass series with artists such as the Berlin Philharmonic
Piano Quartet, members of the Ying, Pacifica and Vega string quartets, the Aspen String
Trio and Atlanta Symphony Concertmaster David Coucheron. In addition, there are opportunities
to perform with faculty and guest artists as well as featured performances on and
off campus throughout the semester.
Woodwinds
The mixed chamber music program at the Bailey School of Music provides woodwind students
with the opportunity to collaborate with other instrumental families including strings
and piano, as well as perform in traditional groupings such as woodwind quintet and
reed trio.
Recent opportunities to play in masterclass settings for members of the Chamber Music
Society of Lincoln Center and Maestro Robert Spano, of the Atlanta Symphony enhance
the weekly coaching participants receive from KSU faculty mentors. Students perform
in formal concerts each semester and engage in musical outreach throughout the community.
Percussion
Using traditional and non-traditional instruments and compositions, the Percussion
Ensemble affords KSU percussionists the opportunity to explore repertoire written
chiefly for percussion instruments.
The KSU Percussion Ensemble is directed by John Lawless, Senior Lecturer and Director
of Percussion Studies.
Brass
As a brass music major, you will get to work one-on-one with our outstanding faculty each week. In addition to your weekly lessons, each of the instrumental areas has devoted time to chamber ensembles, solo classes, masterclasses, and various warm-up class opportunities.
You will have many ensembles playing opportunities with many concerts scheduled regularly both on and off campus. Our brass area students have travelled across the United States to perform at conferences, competitions, and ceremonies.
Strings
The string chamber music area at Kennesaw State is a carefully curated program designed to maximize every student’s potential. Our faculty are leading practitioners with a deep commitment to teaching and mentoring students.
As a string student, you will experience a highly personalized education and a wide
range of opportunities on stage and in the classroom that will give you the knowledge,
experiences, and skills for a lifetime of rewarding music-making.
Our classes range from music entrepreneurship and music technology courses to Survey
of African American Music, The Blues, and Music and the Holocaust.
Professor of clarinet John Warren joined the Kennesaw State University faculty in
2006. His previous university affiliations include Armstrong Atlantic State University
in Savannah, Georgia, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He was the principal
clarinetist of the Savannah Symphony Orchestra for 15 years and prior to that position,
the principal clarinetist of the Omaha Symphony. He also served as principal clarinetist
of the Des Moines Metro Opera. At KSU, Warren teaches studio clarinet, wind chamber
music, and coordinates the woodwind performance area. Warren is a member of the Atlanta
Opera Orchestra, the IRIS Orchestra of Memphis, Tennessee, and performs and records
frequently with the Atlanta Symphony. He is a performing artist for Yamaha, playing
their CSVR instruments, and an endorsing artist for Legere, performing exclusively
on their synthetic reeds. Warren holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory
of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Charae Krueger is principal cellist for the Atlanta Opera Orchestra and the Atlanta
Ballet Orchestra. She is senior lecturer and artist-in-residence in cello at Kennesaw
State University and performs with the Summit Piano Trio at KSU, the Serafin Ensemble
of Wilmington, Delaware, and the Atlanta Chamber Players. Krueger enjoys chamber music
and solo recital work and plays throughout the Southeastern U.S. She is a regular
featured artist at The Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival in North Carolina
and the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming. Her solo and chamber music recitals
have often been featured on WABE Radio Atlanta. Krueger received her early cello training
in Canada at the Regina Conservatory of Music. She went on to study at Brandon University
and received her Bachelor of Music in performance from New England Conservatory in
Boston. She also holds an artist diploma from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
John Lawless joined the music faculty of Kennesaw State University in 1998 and became the director of percussion studies in 2004. Principal timpanist of The Atlanta Opera orchestra since 1979, Lawless held the same position with the Chattanooga Symphony for 21 years. Since 1978, Lawless has performed, toured, and recorded with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra while maintaining a thriving freelance career as a studio and pit percussionist. A graduate of Georgia State University, Lawless’ teachers include Tom Float, Jack Bell, Cloyd Duff, Paul Yancich, Bill Wilder, and Mark Yancich. Previous faculty appointments include those at Georgia State University, Clark Atlanta University, and West Georgia State University.
