Spencer Aston

Symphony Orchestra Conductor and Program Director

Spencer Aston is currently serving as Assistant Professor of Music at Bridgewater State University where he leads the BSU Bear Band and teaches applied trumpet lessons as well as various music theory/history courses within the department. Prior to his appointment at BSU, Spencer served on the faculties at UMass Boston, Stonehill College, and Saint Anselm College, in addition to graduate teaching positions at Boston University and the University of New Mexico.

Dr. Aston maintains a highly active performance schedule throughout New England. As a conductor, he is comfortable leading any combination of musicians in the orchestra or wind band literature. Aston played a major role in the creation of an orchestral program at the Powers Music School where he served as the Director of the Massachusetts Youth Symphony Project as well as principal conductor for the Chamber Orchestra. He is also the Music Director of the Windham Concert Band in Windham, NH. As a guest conductor, he has been seen with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, Cambridge Philharmonic, and Harvard Musical Association Reading Orchestra. As a trumpet player, Dr. Aston holds regular positions as principal trumpet in the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Bangor Symphony Orchestra (ME) and second trumpet in the Glens Falls Symphony (NY). Other recent orchestral appearances include the Vista Philharmonic Orchestra, New Bedford Symphony, Odyssey Opera, and Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Aston is an active adjudicator and clinician for competitions and educational ensembles including most recently the MMEA Central District Festival Junior Orchestra, the National Trumpet Competition, the Brookline Symphony Concerto Competition, and the BSU Jazz Festival. A native of Lake Orion, MI, Dr. Aston is a graduate (with honors) of the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and completed his graduate studies with a master's degree from the University of New Mexico and a doctoral degree from Boston University.

Email: youth@nbsymphony.org

Caroline Ollivierre

Debut Orchestra Conductor

Mrs. Ollivierre holds a bachelor's degree in music education with a concentration in viola from the University of Rhode Island and a master's degree in music education from the University of Florida. She is a string specialist in the New Bedford Public Schools.

While at URI, she was the principal violist in the URI Symphony Orchestra and a member of the school's honors string quartet. Mrs. Ollivierre performs regularly with the Warwick Symphony Orchestra and the Ocean State Pops Orchestra.

She maintains a private studio and is a freelance violist in the Southeastern Massachusetts/Rhode Island area.

Email: carolineollivierre@gmail.com

Keri Benson

Preparatory String Orchestra Conductor and Private Teacher (violin, viola)

Keri Benson grew up in Acushnet where she began playing the violin at age nine. She was a member of the New Bedford Symphony Youth Orchestra's, NBSYO (now SEMAYO) from sixth through twelfth grade, thus giving the program a special place in her heart. After graduating from New Bedford High School, she earned her Bachelors of Music Education degree with a concentration in Violin Performance from the University Of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Since then she has led string sectionals for the SEMAYO under conductor Tobias Monte and proudly taught many students who have participated in all ensemble levels there. She has prepared students to audition for and participate in local youth orchestras and festivals and has served as Assistant Senior Orchestra Manager and Senior Orchestra Manager for the Southeastern Massachusetts Music Educators Association, String Chairperson for the Southeastern Massachusetts School Bandmasters Association, and as an adjudicator for junior and senior level violin auditions at both institutions.

Keri Benson’s thirty years as a member of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, and contract player with the Plymouth Philharmonic for as many years, inspired her to teach new generations of string players who have gone on to become NBSO members themselves as well as private and public school string teachers and professional performers. As a freelance violinist, Mrs. Benson continues to perform professionally throughout the Southcoast in pit orchestras, and with choral societies, chamber orchestras, and also at weddings. In addition to performing she retains a private studio for lessons and has taught strings in several local public and private schools such as the Fairhaven, Lakeville, New Bedford, and Plymouth public school systems as well as the St. Joseph School, Tabor Academy, Renaissance Community School for the Arts, and Alma Del Mar Charter School.

Email: keribenson440@gmail.com

Adam Jeffreys

Chamber Ensemble Coach

Adam Jeffreys is the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra's Education Specialist and the SEMAYO Chamber Coach. He is also a section second violinist with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra and a contract violinist with the Syracuse Orchestra. Adam Jeffreys has also worked with other ensembles like the Fermata Chamber Soloists, Opera North (NH), Vista Philharmonic, Montreal Music Collective, International Contemporary Ensemble, and Orchestre Philharmonique et Choeur des Melomanes. He has also held principal and concertmaster positions with the Sinfonia de l'Ouest, Lucerne Contemporary Festival Orchestra, Orchestre de la Francophonie, and The Orchestra Now (TON). Adam Jeffreys has worked with the Bard Conservatory as a sectional coach, and he has also worked with the Stringendo School of Music as both a coach and counselor. He has also taught at the West Island Music Academy, The Harmony Project, and the Oberlin Conservatory as a Secondary Instructor. He received a BM from the Oberlin Conservatory (2018) and a MM from McGill University (2020).

Email: ajeffreys@nbsymphony.org