The Gena Branscombe Project

As a young girl Jackie Johnson was encouraged to join and perform with the Chicago Children’s Chorus which has led her to the position of Chief Program Officer for Uniting Voices Chicago (same organization with a name change). Jackie Johnson, The Gena Branscombe Project’s 2022 Arts Administration scholarship winner has dedicated years to an organization that promotes the power of music being more than learning a melody rather a way to establish relationships across all races, ethnicities, religions and genders.

Jackie’s work includes fund raising for the Uniting Voices Chicago's Tour Scholarship Fund. She traveled with 55 high school singers to India in March. Then in May she toured with 35 middle school aged singers to Alabama & Mississippi. What better way to raise those scholarship funds than selling Bang Cookies!

During the Spring months, Uniting Voices Chicago has Discovery Days where the neighborhood choirs encourage families to visit, meet the conductor and learn about this wonderful organization. Sign up for next year, please! Across Chicago and the surrounding area the choirs share their experiences of music making with Chicago Lyric Opera, the Ravinia Festival as well as recording with renowned artists.
Great job, Jackie! Keep inspiring young people to learn that singing and music making will enhance their lives!

One Eye Publications has released Gena Branscombe's "Violin and PIanoforte Volume 2" and the Suite for Piano, "When Joan of Arc was a Little Girl." These wonderful pieces of music are available for sale NOW!

www.oneeyepublications.com

The Gena Branscombe Project's 2024 Composer Scholarship winner, Emily Clements, recently had a workshop performance of her 13 minute LEGOS opera.

Here's the link.......enjoy listening!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y88OtXPdQQY

You can now call him Dr. David Carlton Adams having completed his DMA in Composition at the Peabody Institute, John Hopkins University this month. He prefers not to be called Dr., yet, The Gena Branscombe Project is happy to make this information public about our 2025 Composer Scholarship winner!

While working on his doctoral degree David, as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, taught Music Theory 1 & 2. He will return to Peabody next year as an Adjunct Faculty teaching Theory 3& 4.

His compositions have been performed by the tacet(i) ensemble, chamber trio and SALLT with David as singer and fretless electric guitarist.

As Co-Director of New Uncertainty Collective, the organization is pursuing 501(c)(3) status. With goals of commissioning and premiering new works, they are working towards developing publishing and a record label. The group also encompasses Project Poetic Justice which connects DC Jail residents with local artists through music, poetry and performance.

Involving himself in the Baltimore progressive arts scene, David held an Artist Residency at Le Mondo, a performing arts theater event space that promotes avant-garde theater, music and interactive art installations. He collaborated with Kaleidoscope choreographer Zoë Brielle Payne/ABRI Dance. They were then selected to perform six additional performances at the Charm City Fringe Festival.

Congratulations, Dr. David Carlton Adams! We wish you all the best in your career.

The Nashville Symphony Orchestra has announced Valery Saul as their new Associate Conductor starting in the 2026-2027 season. She will be working alongside Maestro Leonard Slatkin.

Valery is The Gena Branscombe Project’s 2022 Conductor Scholarship winner.

Over the past three seasons she has been Associate Conductor with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. She leaves Arkansas to now make her musical home in Nashville….the music city!

Saul is a frequent cover conductor for the Oregon Symphony, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra and Charlotte Symphony.

Congratulations, Valery.
https://www.valerysaul.com/


Saul

One Master’s degree and Two Doctorates.

Three Gena Branscombe Scholarship winners have recently graduated with advanced degrees.
Braeden Weyhrich received her Masters degree in Wind Band conducting from the Georgia State University. This summer Braeden will be traveling to Switzerland to present one of her research projects. She kept busy during her two years at GSU conducting the concert bands, playing five different clarinets in the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, conducting six premieres of new pieces and transcriptions (one of which was Gena Branscombe’s “Festival Prelude/March”), plus much more. Braeden was our 2024 Conductor Scholarship winner. Congratulations Braeden. Job very well done.

In 2021 Jane Kozhevnikova won our Art Song Commission prize. Since that time Jane has been working on her doctorate in composition at University of Florida, Gainesville graduating April 30th. To list past and continuing performances of Jane’s compositions would take pages of content. Her music has been performed across the United States. Take a look at her website! Congratulations, Jane and much good luck in your continuing compositional endeavors.
https://www.janekmusic.com/

Participating in graduation ceremonies in early May, The Gena Branscombe Project’s 2025 Arts Administration winner, Lauren Koszyk, will actually graduate in July! Lauren will graduate with a Doctor of Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano and Master of Business Administration at the University of North Texas. What a year she has had realizing Gena Branscombe’s unfinished opera score, “Bells of Circumstance.” A portion of the score will be performed at the “From Picton to the World: Bringing Home the Music of Gena Branscombe” concert in Picton, Ontario!
https://www.laurenkoszyk.com/home

Two of The Gena Branscombe Project’s Composer Scholarship winners have recently had great news to share.

Brittney Benton, 2023 winner, has been named a finalist for this year’s American Prize in Composition (The Charles Ives Award) for her art song,
“Only Dreams: Night Falls-Memories-Grief.”

Brittney is a graduate of the Yale School of Music, has orchestrated music for the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and will have her piece “With Liberty and Justice for All?” premiered by the Albany Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, June 6, 2026 in Troy, NY.

Congratulations, Brittney.

A performance of Emily Clements’ opera, “Legos” was performed by The Pocket Opera Project in Binghamton, NY earlier this month. Emily is our 2024 composer winner.

Also, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, premiered Emily’s work in progress, “DICKINSON” for their opera scenes showcase.

Congratulations, Emily.

We know there is more wonderful music being composed by these talented scholarship winners!









:NightFalls-Memories-Grief

Time -do you still have time? Yes, you have 6 more days to apply for The Gena Branscombe Project's scholarships. Calling all up-and-coming Arts Administrators, Conductors and Composers......go to our website and apply NOW! The deadline is Friday, May 8th.

Teachers, please encourage your students to apply also share this announcement with your colleagues!

Micah Gleason’s conducting calendar of engagements one following another shows a wide variety of repertoire to prepare and perform. From the Icelandic Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Spoleto Festival, Glimmerglass Opera, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Opera Memphis, City of London Sinfonia, Washington National Opera and Utah Symphony, to name only a few, it is obvious that Micah has spent a great deal of time traveling to perform and studying scores on an airplane or in a hotel room.

Micah is The Gena Branscombe Project’s 2021 Conductor Scholarship winner. In 2020 she was awarded an honorable mention award from the Project.

This November she will conduct the concert “Forces of Fate” with the Holland Symphony Orchestra in Holland, Michigan. Gleason is one of three finalists for the Music Director role with the orchestra.

Good luck, Micah! We wish you continued success in your career and life.