Artistic Director and
Associate Conductor Appointed
Concerts for the Master Chorale of South Florida's 2011 – 2012 season, it’s ninth, will be conducted by the ensemble's newly chosen Artistic Director, Dr. Karen Kennedy. She will be assisted by new Associate Conductor Jeffrey S. Stern and returning Accompanist Matthew Steynor.
Dr. Kennedy was chosen following a national search that began as soon as Dr. Joshua Habermann announced that he would leave South Florida in June to assume the position of Chorus Director for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
The search produced 36 candidates, all with impressive credentials and experience. Most said they were willing to move to South Florida to conduct the Master Chorale, even though the position is a part-time job. “This speaks to the reputation we have earned in only eight seasons,” says Nancy Gates-Lee, who chaired the search committee.
Four finalists were selected and flown to South Florida in early May to interview with the Board of Directors and conduct a Master Chorale rehearsal. The singers and Board were asked to evaluate each candidate. The Board then met on May 11, reviewed all comments and unanimously chose Dr. Karen Kennedy. Dr. Kennedy will also replace Dr. Habermann as Director of Choral Activities at the University of Miami.
“There are mutual advantages to having an artistic director and conductor who holds both positions, but different advantages to having 'your own' conductor. The fact that Dr. Kennedy had accepted the University of Miami position did not factor into our decision. She was selected for her vibrant personality, conducting style and ability to communicate with and motivate the singers,” says Gates-Lee. “Her enthusiasm and work ethic will make her a tremendous asset to a non-profit organization like ours.”
Dr. Karen Kennedy
 Since 2006, Dr. Karen Kennedy has served as Associate Professor and Director of Choral Activities at Towson University in Maryland. In this position, she directed the University Chorale, Women’s Choir, Men’s Choir, and Towson University Choral Society.
Prior to her position at Towson, she spent six years in Honolulu, serving as Associate Professor and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and for four years served as Director of the Honolulu Symphony Chorus.
Kennedy also served as choral director in high schools and junior highs in Indiana and Arizona, was a graduate teaching assistant in choral conducting at both Butler University and Arizona State University, and for three years was the full-time director of adult musical activities for a Lutheran Church in Phoenix.
Dr. Kennedy holds a Bachelor's of Music in Choral Music Education with sub-specialization in piano and vocal performance from DePauw University, a Master's of Music in Choral Conducting from Butler University and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Arizona. With vast experience conducting nationally and internationally, she is a popular lecturer at national meetings and has judged nearly 100 competitions and clinics.
Jeffrey S. Stern
 Jeffrey S. Stern is a third-year doctoral student and teaching assistant at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music where he conducts the university men's chorus, Maelstrom. In the fall semester, Stern will assume the role of Senior Teaching Assistant for the choral program under the new leadership of Karen Kennedy and will teach undergraduate courses in choral conducting.
The Master Chorale of South Florida became acquainted with Jeff in April, when he help Maestro Eduardo Marturet prepare performances of Faure's Requiem with the chorus and Miami Symphony Orchestra. Jeff completes his tenure as Assistant Conductor of the Miami Symphony Orchestra this month.
A native of Long Island, New York, Jeff earned his Master of Music degree at the University of Minnesota in 2009. While in the Twin Cities, Jeff sang with VocalEssence and served as Assistant Conductor of the Oratorio Society of Minnesota. He graduated summa cum laude from The George Washington University in 2005, earning a Bachelor of Arts in both music and political science. There, he performed with the Chamber Choir and University Singers in venues throughout the Washington, DC area, and on concert tours to Romania, Bulgaria, Argentina and Uruguay.
Matthew Steynor
 British keyboard artist Matthew Steynor was appointed Master Chorale accompanist at the beginning of the 2007-2008 season. One of the most prominent church musicians in the area, he is the Director of Music at Trinity Cathedral in Miami, where he directs and accompanies the Cathedral Choir, as well the Anglican Chorale of Southeast Florida, a group which he co-founded.
Matthew Steynor was organ scholar at Queens’ College, Cambridge. During this time, he recorded four compact discs, which received outstanding reviews in highly respected music journals and are still available on iTunes and amazon.com.
A Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, Mr. Steynor is one of only a handful of organists achieving this standard to reside in the United States. He arrived in the states in 2004 from the Bahamas, where he had lived for two years and enjoyed a reputation as the nation's foremost organist. In the Bahamas, Steynor served as Assistant Organist at Nassau's Anglican Cathedral and was a full-time music teacher at an Anglican elementary school. He also formed a choir of men and boys at the Cathedral, and conducted the Bahamas National Symphony Orchestra for the 2003-04 season. |
