Anne
Harrigan, Music Director of the Battle Creek Symphony
Orchestra and the Billings Symphony Orchestra and
Chorale, has earned a reputation throughout the country
for her innovative programming, commitment to artistic
excellence and community engagement.
Recent guest conducting engagements have included
the Richmond, Annapolis, Arlington, Lansing, and Honolulu
Symphony Orchestras, the Indianapolis and Missouri
Chamber Orchestras, the Naples Philharmonic and cover
conducting for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
She has performed with exceptional artists such as
Leon Fleisher, Lynn Harrell and Janos Starker.
In May, 2005, Ms. Harrigan was selected to become
the Music Director of the Billings Symphony Orchestra.
According to the chairman of the board, “Ms.
Harrigan was ranked first by the musicians of the
Billings Symphony Orchestra and Chorale, and unanimously
endorsed by the Board of Directors.”
She assumed the position of Music Director of the
Battle Creek Symphony in December, 2002. Founded in
1899, the Battle Creek Symphony is Michigan’s
oldest symphony, and part of an innovative umbrella
organization that also includes six choruses, two
community music schools and an inner city music program.
Projects at the Battle Creek Symphony have included
the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the WK Kellogg
Foundation, a national commission through Continental
Harmony celebrating the diversity of Battle Creek,
and participation in the $5 renovation of the WK Kellogg
Auditorium.
Her commitment to innovation in programming has resulted
in groundbreaking multi-disciplinary programs that
have attracted national attention. These include the
United States premiere of Shaun Davey’s “A
Brendan Voyage”, a concerto for uilleann pipes
and orchestra with the renowned piper Christopher
Layer; collaborations with Alexander Streltsov, aerialist,
silent movies with live orchestra, live video projections
of performances, and Peter Boyer’s “Ellis
Island: Dream of America – a chronicle of the
journey of seven immigrants through Ellis Island.
Anne Harrigan began her tenure as Music
Director of the Lafayette Symphony in 1994, and retired
from that position in June, 2005. In her eleven years
with the LSO she is best known for reaching new heights
in performance while involving hundreds of local performing
artists as soloists.
Ms. Harrigan began her career at the age of 19 when
she founded the Johns Hopkins University Chamber Orchestra
while still a violin student at the Peabody Institute
of Music. She received her Master’s degree in
conducting at Yale University under the tutelage of
Otto Werner Mueller. In 1983, Ms. Harrigan formed the
Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and developed it from a
fledgling organization to one of the finest chamber
orchestras in the country.
Her interactive, multi-disciplinary
family concert, "Colors of the World", produced for
television by Maryland Public Television, was recognized
with an Emmy award in 1998. In addition, the BCO's first
compact disc recording, "Baltimore Chamber Orchestra
Live," has received rave reviews. Harrigan and the BCO
can be heard locally on WBJC's Music from Maryland
and nationally on National Public Radio's Performance
Today.
Ms. Harrigan resides in Rockford, Michigan with her
husband, Eric Hudson and daughter, Erin. When not conducting,
she enjoys bicycling and cross-country skiing.
|
