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James Murray began conducting when, as a member of the Rome Festival Orchestra he stepped in to lead a rehearsal for a conductor who was delayed. When the conductor arrived, he allowed Jim to finish the rehearsal and then invited him to conduct a concert the following week. Since that time, Mr. Murray’s conducting career has flourished, allowing him to work with numerous ensembles. Currently, Mr. Murray serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Northland Symphony Orchestra (Kansas City, MO), Heritage Philharmonic (Independence, MO) and the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of Kansas City, an ensemble that he founded in 1997.
Praised by the Kansas City Star for repertoire that “betrays an inventive sense of fun”, Mr. Murray’s formal training includes a Bachelors Degree in Music Performance from William Jewell College and a Masters Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Denver. Workshop master teachers include Paul Vermel, Samuel Jones, Samuel Adler, Victoria Bond and Donald Portnoy.
His guest conductor appearances include the Carray Festival Orchestra (Kansas City, MO), Kansas City Cello Ensemble, St. Louis All-Suburban Orchestra, Liberty Symphony Chamber Orchestra, William Jewell College Opera (Liberty, MO), and the Centennial Philharmonic (Denver, CO). Increasingly in demand as a clinician, Jim has served as an adjudicator for the Kansas and Missouri State High School Activities Associations, as well as for numerous other festivals and workshops.
Off the podium, Jim is the Music Coordinator and an Instructor of Music at the Metropolitan Community College—Maple Woods. He teaches a full load of classes including Music Appreciation, Music of the World’s Cultures and Fundamentals of Music. Jim represents the Maple Woods campus as an elected member of the Faculty Senate and has served on numerous campus and district committees. Each spring he is the Program Coordinator for a community wide Holocaust Remembrance Event entitled The Story of the Arts of the Holocaust.
When not on the podium or in the classroom, you will most likely find Jim Murray riding some of the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the United States. Jim’s wife, Nicole, is a devoted roller coaster enthusiast and it wasn’t long after they met that Jim shared her love of these rides. At the start of this orchestral season, Jim has ridden 121 different roller coasters with a total ride count well into the 600’s. He lags behind his wife who has chalked up 129 different roller coasters and a total ride count nearing 700. When asked which roller coaster is their favorite, they will both say, Millennium Force at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.
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| Monty Carter is an adjunct professor of strings at William Jewell College, where he teaches viola, chamber music and string methods. He offers private violin and viola instruction at the Carray Studio and the Lydia Lovan Community School of Music.
Carter serves as Concertmaster of the Heritage Philharmonic, Principal Violist of the St. Joseph Symphony, and Principal Violist of the Liberty Symphony. He performs as violinist, violist and vocalist in the Carray Ensemble with his wife, cellist Trilla Ray-Carter. On many occasions he has performed as a freelance violist in the Kansas City Symphony.
Carter holds a Master's Degree in Music Performance from Louisana State University, where he studied viola with Jerzy Kosmala. While living in Louisiana, he served as Principal Violist of the Louisiana New Music Ensemble and the Baton Rouge Opera, and directed two string orchestra festivals for the Baton Rouge Parish. His Bachelor Degree in Music Performance is from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, where he studied viola with Hugh Brown and Steven Kruse. Prior to degree work, he studied violin and viola with James Hammond in Kansas City.
Carter has appeared as a guest conductor, string clinician, festival judge or audition consultant for the Blue Springs, Blue Valley, Independence, Kansas City Ks., Lee's Summit, Liberty, North Kansas City, Park Hill, Olathe, Raytown, and Shawnee Mission public school districts, the Kansas City Youth Symphony, and the Olathe Area Youth Symphony. He is known for presenting creative music symposia such as the Orch Asylum series, and Summer String Paradise.
Prior to joining the MYO, Carter directed string orchestra festivals in Louisiana and taught classes in chamber music and string methods at Missouri Western State University and Kansas City, Kansas Community College. He and Trilla share their Kansas City, Missouri home with two musically discerning felines, Emma and Ruthie.
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| Karianne Waterland has been involved with music for most of her life. Currently, she is the Orchestra Manager for the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of Kansas City, a member of the Northland Symphony and a private violin instructor. Karianne has been involved with various ensembles throughout her career, most recently the Liberty Symphony Orchestra. Mrs. Waterland received a Music Business degree in December 2006 from William Jewell College. While obtaining her degree, she worked with the Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra and the American Heartland Theatre. Besides spending her free time involved with music, Karianne works as a manager at Image Impact, a sports marketing company in Prairie Village, Kansas. Additionally, she enjoys spending time and traveling with her husband, Andrew.
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