Artist Biographies

Ian Watson, conductor

This concert marks Mr. Watson’s first appearance with the Charlotte Symphony.

Ian Watson, is a multi-talented musician, acclaimed in numerous performances as an operatic and symphonic conductor, period-instrument specialist and virtuoso harpsichordist, organist and pianist. In September 2016, he was appointed Associate Conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston.

Ian Watson has appeared as soloist or conductor with the London Symphony, London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, Scottish Chamber, English Chamber, Polish Chamber, Irish Chamber and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestras, Bremen Philharmonic, Rhein-Main Symphony Orchestra, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Handel and Haydn Society, English Baroque Soloists, and The Sixteen amongst many others. He has been featured on more than 200 recordings and film soundtracks including Amadeus, Polanski’s Death and the Maiden, Restoration, Cry the Beloved Country, Voices from a Locked Room, and BBC‘s David Copperfield.

In the 2020/21 season, Ian directed the Handel and Haydn Society in a number of concert videos, including the nationally acclaimed Messiah For Our Time in collaboration with WGBH, and also presented a three-concert virtual Connecticut Early Music Festival. He will make his debut conducting the Charlotte Symphony in December 2021.

Born in England in the Buckinghamshire village of Wooburn Common, Ian won a scholarship at the age of 14 to the Junior School of the Royal Academy of Music in London. He later won all the prizes for organ performance and others for piano accompaniment including the coveted Artists Diploma, the highest award for performance excellence. Ian’s first major appointment was as Organist at St. Margaret’s, Westminster Abbey, at the age of 19, a position he held for ten years, and has also held a number of notable positions in London including Organist of St. Marylebone Parish Church, and Music Director of the historic Christopher Wren Church, St. James’s Piccadilly.

Amanda Forsythe, soprano

Ms. Forsythe last appeared with the Charlotte Symphony in 2018 in Mozart’s Exsultate jubilate.

American soprano Amanda Forsythe, highly praised for her performances on both sides of the Atlantic, sang Euridice on the recording of Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux enfers with the Boston Early Music Festival, which won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. Her highly acclaimed recordings have included her debut solo album of Handel arias “The Power of Love” with Apollo’s Fire on the Avie label. She recently toured with the outstanding French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, performing works based on the Orfeo myth, and subsequently recorded the role of Euridice in a new edition of Gluck’s Orfeo for the ERATO label. In recent seasons, Forsyth’s major engagements have included Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Boston Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Handel’s Sileti venti and Laudate pueri with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Emily Marvosh, alto

This concert marks Ms. Marvosh’s first appearance with the Charlotte Symphony.

American contralto Emily Marvosh has been gaining recognition for her “plumwine voice,” and “graceful allure,” on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Disney Hall, Lincoln Center, Prague’s Smetana Hall, and Vienna’s Stefansdom. Following her solo debut at Boston’s Symphony Hall in 2011, she has been a frequent soloist with the Handel and Haydn Society. Recent solo appearances include the American Bach Soloists, Washington National Cathedral, and Tucson Symphony Orchestra, among others. Awards include the prestigious Adams Fellowship at the Carmel Bach Festival, the American Prize in the Oratorio and Art Song divisions, and second place in the New England Regional NATSAA competition. Marvosh is a founding member of the Lorelei Ensemble, which promotes new music for women. She can be heard on two recent Grammynominated recordings: Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem with Seraphic Fire, and Prayers and Remembrances with True Concord Voices and Orchestra.

Brian Giebler, tenor

This concert marks Mr. Giebler’s first appearance with the Charlotte Symphony.

Praised for his “lovely tone and deep expressivity” (The New York Times) American tenor Brian Giebler radiates “shine and clarity” (Opera News). His debut solo album, a lad’s love, earned him his first Grammy Award nomination for Best Classical Solo Vocal. His 2021/22 season started off with a tour of both the Ravinia and Caramoor Festivals singing Monteverdi with Apollo’s Fire, and a premiere of Brian Petuch’s Portrait and a Dream based on Jackson Pollock with Contemporaneous. His season continues with debuts at the Charlotte, Memphis, Johnstown, and ChampaignUrbana Symphony Orchestras, Santa Fe Pro Musica, and the Washington Bach Consort. Most recently Brian performed the role of Apollo in Handel’s Semele with The English Concert in an international tour under esteemed conductor Harry Bicket and made his debut with Boston Early Music Festival singing in Charpentier’s Les Plaisirs and de Lalande’s Les Fontaines.

Andrew Garland, bass

This concert marks Mr. Garland’s first appearance with the Charlotte Symphony.

American baritone Andrew Garland has been praised for his “coloratura [which] bordered on the phenomenal as he dashed through the music’s intricacies with his warm baritone, offering plenty of elegance and glamour in his smooth acting.” His latest recording, Andrew Garland: American Portraits debuted at # 1 on Amazon.com. Recent highlights include his Carnegie Hall recital with Warren Jones, as well as performances with Seattle and Atlanta Opera as Schaunard in La Bohème, Boston Lyric Opera as Papageno in The Magic Flute, and Cincinnati Opera as Galileo in Galileo Galilei. He sang the title role in Don Giovanni with Opera New Jersey, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Knoxville Opera, and Dandini in La Cenerentola with Opera Company of Philadelphia and Fort Worth Opera. Concert highlights include performances with the Atlanta Symphony, National Philharmonic, Boston Baroque, and New York City Opera.