Live Children’s Classic Concerts: Ghost Ship Sat 30 – Sun 31 October

Conductor Kellen Gray is Assistant Conductor of the RSNO; his two-year tenure commencing in 2021.

Versatility and innovation are the hallmarks of American conductor Kellen Gray. Newly named Assistant Conductor of the 125-year-old Royal Scottish National Orchestra, he begins his tenure April 2021. An enthusiastic communicator both on and off the podium, Maestro Gray is equally passionate about traditional concerts as he is experimental and integrative multimedia programming. Acknowledged as a skilled relationship builder in the communities in which he serves and a staunch champion of music education, Gray’s duties with RSNO will also include work with the Orchestra’s pioneering learning and engagement programme. Gray also currently serves as Assistant Conductor of South Carolina’s Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra, a position he has held since 2018.

Recent and upcoming engagements include the Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Virginia Symphony, Charlotte Ballet, Chicago Sinfonietta, Chicago Philharmonic, Northwest Florida Symphony, and Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra.

Past performances of note include Kellen’s Chicago Symphony Center debut with Chicago Sinfonietta, with Picture This Post commenting on his “…laser-like focus that allowed the entire orchestra to seem to become one organism.” Of his debut at North Carolina’s Eastern Music Festival, Classical Voice of North Carolina praised him for “…gestures so smooth and polished they’re almost choreography…” At a 2017 festival celebrating the 100th birthday of Georgia-born author Carson McCullers, Gray was awarded the honor of guest-conducting a collaboration of the music of David Diamond and the premiere of award-winning NY actor/director Karen Allen’s directorial debut film, “A Tree, A Rock, A Cloud.”

Off-stage, Maestro Gray has served on several panels, including as a discussion panelist for the 2018 League of American Orchestras conference on the value of leadership pipelines in classical music based on diversity, inclusion, and equity.

A native of Rock Hill, South Carolina, Kellen Grey earned a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance and an Artists’ Diploma in Orchestral Conducting from the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University, and a Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from Valdosta State University in Georgia. Prior to his Charleston Symphony Orchestra appointment, Mr. Gray was a Project Inclusion Freeman Conducting Fellow, and later, Assistant Conductor, at Chicago Sinfonietta under Music Director Mei-Ann Chen. Other prior posts include serving as Assistant Conductor at the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra under Music Director Howard Hsu and Music Director of the Valdosta Symphony Youth Orchestra from 2014-16, and as one of eight Conducting Fellows at North Carolina’s Eastern Music Festival under the tutelage of Gerard Schwarz, Grant Cooper, and Jose-Luis Novo.

The RSNO Assistant Conductorship is a two-year post and benefits from the support of the Solti Foundation.

Owen graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2003 as a scholarship student with First Class Honours. Since then he has enjoyed a varied career as a percussionist. He has performed concertos with the London Sinfonietta, BBC Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Macedonia Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the orchestra of Scottish Opera among others. Much of Owen's performing is with his percussion duo O Duo, which formed at the Royal College of Music in 2001 with Olly Cox. The duo released an album on Sony BMG in 2007, and have performed in major concert halls and festivals worldwide including recitals and solo appearances at the BBC Proms, the Wigmore Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Cheltenham Festival, the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool, the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, the International Festivals in Mexico City and Morelia, Lebanon's Al Bustan Festival, Zimbabwe's Harare Festival, Bulgaria's Ruse Festival and several festivals in Switzerland, Italy and Spain.

Owen also enjoys playing in several different chamber groups and orchestras including the London Sinfonietta, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC orchestras. He is also principal percussionist of the Crash Ensemble in Dublin.

In addition to this, Owen takes a keen interest in educational work, being the Artistic Director of the Children's Classics Concerts, curating and presenting the concerts with his duo to 2500 children per concert.

The RSNO Junior Chorus is one of the leading children and youth choirs in the UK, with over 400 members aged seven to eighteen.

It was formed in 1978 by Jean Kidd and since 1994 has been directed by Christopher Bell. It has built up a considerable reputation singing under some of the world’s most distinguished conductors and appearing on radio and television.

RSNO Junior Chorus members sing regularly with Scotland’s national orchestra in major concert halls and festivals throughout the country. The Junior Chorus has also sung at BBC concerts and regularly appears at the Edinburgh International Festival.