Welcome to the Georgia Symphony Orchestra (CSO)

Charae Krueger, cello Previous Seasons
David Perry, violin
Judy Cole, piano
Brett Bawcum, composer

Charae Krueger received her training in cello studies at the New England Conservatory of Music where she studied with Laurence Lesser and Colin Carr and received a Bachelor of Music degree in cello performance. She also holds an Artist Diploma from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA. Ms. Krueger received her chamber music training with Eugene Lehner of the Kolisch Quartet, as well as with Robert Mann and Samuel Rhodes of the Juilliard String Quartet. She has also coached with such artists as Menahem Pressler of the Beaux Arts Trio, Louis Krasner, Felix Galimir and Leon Kirchner. She has played in masterclasses with Aldo Parisot, Janos Starker and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi at the Banff School for the Arts.

Since moving to Atlanta five years ago, Ms. Krueger has been appointed principal cellist of the Atlanta Opera Orchestra and the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra. She also performs frequently with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Tennessee, where she will be featured as soloist this season. She enjoys playing chamber music with various ensembles throughout the city, performing with the Amadeus String Ensemble, the Musica Da Camera, the Chamber Music Society of Atlanta and the Lyra String Quartet. Ms. Krueger was recently appointed cello professor at Kennesaw State University and is a member of the faculty string quartet in residence there as well.

While living in Boston, Ms. Krueger was principal cellist for ten years with the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra and also performed with the Vermont Symphony, Nashua NH Symphony and the New England Chamber Orchestra. She was a founding member of the Arden String Quartet, a nationally managed group who, in 1996, succeeded the Borromeo and Ying Quartets by receiving the Arthur W. Foote Emerging Artist award. The Quartet was formed under the sponsorship of the Longy School of Music, where they were in residence from 1993-1996. As a member of the Arden Quartet, Ms. Krueger performed up and down the eastern U.S., playing in such venues as Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, Rockefeller University, Brown University, the Seaside Institute, MIT, Harvard Musical Association, Tufts University and NEC's Jordan Hall. She has given U.S. premieres of works by Elliot Carter, Gunther Schuller, Herschel Garfein, Victor Ullman and Alexander Mnatsekanyan. She has also enjoyed playing chamber music in such groups as the Boccherini Ensemble, Trillium (a flute-oboe-cello trio) and the Speakeasy String Quartet (a jazz string quartet).

Ms. Krueger plays on a cello made by Abraham Prescott in Concord, N.H. in 1830.

Violinist David Perry joined the Pro Arte Quartet and the UW-Madison faculty in 1995, and was granted a Paul Collins Endowed Professorship in 2003. Concertmaster of the Aspen Chamber Symphony and the Chicago Philharmonic, Professor Perry has frequently served as guest concertmaster of such groups as the China National Symphony Orchestra (Beijing), the Ravinia Festival Orchestra, and the American Sinfonietta. He has been active since the late 1980s with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, renowned for playing without a conductor. He may be heard on many of the Deutsche Grammophon recordings and has performed, often as concertmaster, in Carnegie Hall and most of the major cultural centers of North and South America, Europe and the Far East. Other recordings include solo performances of Mendelssohn and Sarasate on the Sonos and Sonari labels and numerous Pro Arte releases.

A 1985 U. S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, his first prizes have included the International D'Angelo Competition, National MTNA Auditions, and the Juilliard Concerto Competition. Professor Perry has soloed with numerous orchestras in the U. S. and abroad, including the symphony orchestras of St. Louis and Chicago. Four years ago he became a founding member of the Aspen Ensemble, a quintet of faculty artists of the Aspen Music Festival, which regularly tours the U. S. and Japan. A native of Illinois, his early training was with John Kendall and Almita Vamos, followed by studies with Dorothy DeLay, Paul Kantor, and Masao Kawasaki at the Juilliard School. Thanks to the Nathan McClure Opportunities Fund, Mr. Perry plays on a 1711 Franciscus Gobetti violin, arranged by Chancellor John Wiley and the UW Foundation.

Judy Cole is considered by local area colleagues to be one of the most versatile pianists and accompanists in the Atlanta commercial music scene. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, studying with Marvin Blickenstaff. After taking a year off from school, during which she toured the United States playing in a show band, she was invited to attend the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she earned her Master of Music degree in Accompanying, with a concentration in Musical Theatre and Chamber Music. Her teachers included Olga Radosavlovich at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and Dr. Robert Evans, Babbette Effron and Dr. Kelly Hale at CCM.

Judy has worked professionally and made a successful career over the last 30 years as a free-lance pianist and commercial musician playing in a variety of settings. To quote J. Lynn Thompson, founding Artistic Director of the Atlanta Lyric Opera, “Judy Cole is one of those rare artists who can move effortlessly between styles ranging from opera to Broadway, jazz to rock and roll. She is a conductor’s and singer’s dream of a pianist.” Judy has been featured on numerous recordings both as an accompanist and as a soloist, including her own CD “By Request”, and has two solo recordings in process at this time.

In addition to local performances, Judy travels routinely to accompany classical, instrumental, vocal, and religious Jewish music concerts throughout the US where she is known for her ability to arrive, rehearse and perform demanding concert material all within a space of several hours. She has collaborated with many of the top Cantors and musicians in the Jewish music world, including Naftali Herstik, Asher Hainovitz, Simon Sargon, Bonia Shur, Michael Isaacson, and Debbie Friedman.
Previously an accompanist and Advanced Placement Theory teacher at Pebblebrook High School’s Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts, Judy is now an Adjunct Professor of Music Theory and History at Kennesaw State University. In addition to teaching academic classes, Judy accompanies for recitals and workshop classes. She is the staff accompanist for both The Temple in Atlanta and Temple Beth Tikvah in Roswell, and is the Holy Day Conductor at Temple Emanu-el in Dunwoody. She is still an active commercial musician, playing both as a soloist and as a keyboardist/vocalist with the Alan Knieter Entertainment Group. She is a Mom to daughters Katy and Rebekah, and now son-in-law Richard, and is very happily married to Cantor Herb Cole.

Brett Bawcum is a composer, arranger, and songwriter in the Atlanta area. His compositions and arrangements for bands, orchestras, and chamber ensembles have been performed worldwide by ensembles of all ability levels. Of recent note, Mr. Bawcum was commissioned to arrange music for the opening of the new Georgia Department of Economic Development office in Beijing, China. His work entitled "A Lowcounty Boil" was premiered at the 2009 South Carolina Music Educators Association Conference in Charleston by the Moultrie Middle School Band of Mt. Pleasant, SC.

Previously, Mr. Bawcum was Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Georgia where his responsibilities included design and instruction for the Sudler Trophy-winning Redcoat Marching Band, conducting duties with several ensembles, instruction in Orchestration and Arranging, and compact disc production for the UGA Wind Ensemble. He holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees from UGA where he studied conducting with John Culvahouse, Allen Crowell, and Mark Cedel.

Brett lives in Marietta with his wife Meghan, who is a music educator in Cobb County.