Kaitlyn Lusk quickly gained international acclaim and won the hearts of audiences with her incredible voice and captivating presence. Kaitlyn made her major-orchestral debut with the Baltimore Symphony at the age of 14. She was the youngest featured guest artist in the New Years Eve showcase with the Boston Pops and her follow-up engagement featured the refreshing renditions of MGM songs famous by the young Judy Garland.

In addition to her live performances, Kaitlyn’s first studio album, No Looking Back, features some of the finest musicians and songwriters in the industry today. In her impressive career she has demonstrated extraordinary versatility and musical depth. Over the last decade, Kaitlyn has been the featured vocal soloist in Howard Shore’s Lord of the Rings Symphony, performing this role with over 75 of the world’s finest orchestras and many world-renowned conductors.

At Howard Shore’s request, Kaitlyn performed the academy award winning song “Into The West” as part of the Grammy Honors in New York City. Her expanded role in the Live to Projection Performances of the Lord of the Rings Films has brought her center stage around the world in such legendary concerts halls as Radio City, Royal Albert Hall, and the Sydney Opera House. Since the age of 15 she has literally grown up singing with the finest orchestras including the prestigious Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and the London Symphony, just to name a few.

Her new show FilmSong, features her unforgettable voice in a 75-minute tour de force of songs from blockbuster movies delivered with full orchestra. As a returning featured soloist with the 21st Century Orchestra, whether singing the music of Ennio Morricone, James Horner, or Howard Shore she has established herself as one of the most versatile vocalists in the industry today.

Most recently, she was the featured soloist in Gladiator Live singing for Hans Zimmer and over 13,000 fans at the Kracow Film Music Festival. She can be found as star soloist on the album Lord of the Rings Symphony released on BR Klassik, and the newly released Western Music in Concert all recorded live.

American conductor Robert Boardman maintains an international career spanning symphonic repertoire, contemporary music, and large-scale film-with-orchestra productions. He has been closely associated with the music of composer Howard Shore since 2006 and is recognized as a specialist in concert presentations of The Lord of the Rings.

Boardman is one of the conductors touring internationally with Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings concert productions in collaboration with CAMI Music. His work with the live-to-projection films has included engagements with major North American orchestras, and he conducts The Lord of the Rings Symphony in performances throughout the United States and Europe, including an upcoming engagement in Pamplona, Spain.

Recent projects include symphonic rock productions with Windborne Music, for whom he commissioned and premiered The Music of Bon Jovi, expanding the orchestral rock genre through new large-scale symphonic programming. He has also conducted The Music of Queen with vocalist MiG Ayesa and collaborated with distinguished artists including violinist Midori and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra principal cellist Austin Huntington.

A strong advocate for new music, Boardman has conducted 24 world premieres and numerous commissioned works. Notable projects include the saxophone concerto Motown Dreams by Jorge Muniz, written for Grammy Award–winning saxophonist Timothy McAllister, as well as premieres by composers Thom Limbert, John Griffith, Jessica Carter, Andrew Osano, and Ryan Olivier. He conducted the North American premiere of Anna Clyne’s Masquerade soon after its debut at the BBC Proms and led the premiere and recording of Lembit Beecher’s multimedia oratorio And Then I Remember… at the University of Michigan.

From 2012 to 2018, Boardman served as Cover Conductor and Artistic Director of Live from Orchestra Hall, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s internationally streamed concert series, collaborating with conductors including Neeme Järvi, Leonard Slatkin, Thomas Dausgaard, Giancarlo Guerrero, Hannu Lintu, Andrey Boreyko, Carlos Miguel Prieto, and Nicolaj Znaider.

In 2017, he conducted a sold-out tribute concert honoring Howard Shore at Boston Symphony Hall featuring the Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra, combined choruses, and soprano Maureen McMullen, with the composer in attendance. Earlier in his career, he served as Assistant Conductor to Marin Alsop at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, working alongside leading composers including Philip Glass, John Adams, Jennifer Higdon, Anna Clyne, Aaron Jay Kernis, Mark-Anthony Turnage, and Kevin Puts.

Boardman has conducted more than thirty orchestras across North America and Europe, including the Spokane Symphony Orchestra, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra, Cornell University Symphony Orchestra, Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.

He is a three-time first-place winner of The American Prize in Orchestral Programming (Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award) for his work as Music Director of the South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestras. Boardman earned the Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Kenneth Kiesler, and pursued additional studies with Marin Alsop, Kurt Masur, Gustav Meier, Larry Rachleff, and Harold Farberman. Born in Ithaca, New York, he is based in Michigan.

With records dating back to 1893, the Women’s Glee Club began under the direction of Mrs. Augusta Hastreiter of the School of Music. Known as the “Girls’ Glee Club,” the club blossomed in its early years, quickly gaining a positive reputation on campus and throughout Ann Arbor. At the start of the 20th century, the Glee Club continued to grow with Nora Crane Hunt as director from 1910 to 1935.

The club matured in sound and repertoire, changing its name to the “Women’s Glee Club” in the early 1940s and kicking off an era of great strength for the organization. Directors Marguerite Hood and Bill Sawyer promoted high musical standards and an active schedule, including performances at nearby Camp Custer to boost the morale of civilians and armed forces during World War II. 

Sadly, the club was forced to disband in the subsequent post-war period due to lack of a director.
In 1976, LSA student Kim Smith discovered the rich history of the Women’s Glee Club and
resurrected the group. The following year, director Rosalie Edwards began her career with the
club, and would be tirelessly devoted to its growth and improvement for years to come. Since
1994, the club has continued to thrive under the direction of School of Music faculty, expanding
its horizons through community outreach and both national and international tours.

Recent directors Dr. Sandra Snow and Dr. Gabriela Hristova have shown dedication to performing exceptional repertoire and encouraging musical excellence, a tradition which current
director Dr. Julie Skadsem continues. Under her direction, the Women’s Glee Club has been a
participant and featured ensemble in multiple international choral festivals, including the
International Haydn Festival in Vienna, Austria in 2009, the Ihlombe! South African Choral
Festival in 2012, and an International Choral Festival in Curitiba Brazil in 2015!
In addition to its international endeavors, the Women’s Glee Club continues to be a force
domestically and within the local community. The club engages with Ann Arbor by performing
“Blues,” our traditional Michigan songs, at tailgates on football Saturdays. Additionally, the
Women’s Glee Club participates in community outreach and legacy-building at the annual Vocal
Arts Day, an event hosted by the Michigan glee clubs that invites over 300 high school women
and men from around the state of Michigan to participate in a full day of rehearsing, performing,
and team-building. 

Gleeful spirit is a reflection of the Women’s Glee Club as it exists today; a collection of young
singers of all different majors, with different experiences, backgrounds and stories that share a
love of music. Our diverse membership, passion for excellence, and rich history make the
Women’s Glee Club a unique and dynamic student group on campus.

With records dating back to 1893, the Women’s Glee Club began under the direction of Mrs.
Augusta Hastreiter of the School of Music. Known as the “Girls’ Glee Club,” the club blossomed
in its early years, quickly gaining a positive reputation on campus and throughout Ann Arbor. At
the start of the 20th century, the Glee Club continued to grow with Nora Crane Hunt as director
from 1910 to 1935.

The club matured in sound and repertoire, changing its name to the “Women’s Glee Club” in the
early 1940s and kicking off an era of great strength for the organization. Directors Marguerite
Hood and Bill Sawyer promoted high musical standards and an active schedule, including
performances at nearby Camp Custer to boost the morale of civilians and armed forces during
World War II. 

Sadly, the club was forced to disband in the subsequent post-war period due to lack of a director.
In 1976, LSA student Kim Smith discovered the rich history of the Women’s Glee Club and
resurrected the group. The following year, director Rosalie Edwards began her career with the
club, and would be tirelessly devoted to its growth and improvement for years to come. Since
1994, the club has continued to thrive under the direction of School of Music faculty, expanding
its horizons through community outreach and both national and international tours.

Recent directors Dr. Sandra Snow and Dr. Gabriela Hristova have shown dedication to performing exceptional repertoire and encouraging musical excellence, a tradition which current
director Dr. Julie Skadsem continues. Under her direction, the Women’s Glee Club has been a
participant and featured ensemble in multiple international choral festivals, including the
International Haydn Festival in Vienna, Austria in 2009, the Ihlombe! South African Choral
Festival in 2012, and an International Choral Festival in Curitiba Brazil in 2015!
In addition to its international endeavors, the Women’s Glee Club continues to be a force
domestically and within the local community. The club engages with Ann Arbor by performing
“Blues,” our traditional Michigan songs, at tailgates on football Saturdays. Additionally, the
Women’s Glee Club participates in community outreach and legacy-building at the annual Vocal
Arts Day, an event hosted by the Michigan glee clubs that invites over 300 high school women
and men from around the state of Michigan to participate in a full day of rehearsing, performing,
and team-building. 

Gleeful spirit is a reflection of the Women’s Glee Club as it exists today; a collection of young
singers of all different majors, with different experiences, backgrounds and stories that share a
love of music. Our diverse membership, passion for excellence, and rich history make the
Women’s Glee Club a unique and dynamic student group on campus.