The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra
SMCO was founded in 2009 by a group of young professionals in search of a more intense, intimate music-making experience. This group of musicians has grown to include those from all over Seattle and neighboring areas of Tacoma and Bellevue, while maintaining a vibrant and energetic performance character. Members of the ensemble have each earned a wide variety of accolades in their own right, including competition wins and performances with other leading ensembles around the world. The musicians of SMCO are committed to giving exciting performances that bring a fresh look to the masterpieces of the baroque, classical, romantic, and modern eras, while discovering new masterworks as well.
“Seattle’s new ambassadors of tight chamber ensemble, elegant phrasing, and deeply considered musicianship are young, poised, and must be heard live!”
-Sean MacLean, 98.1 Classical KING FM
“An exceptionally talented group of musicians.”
-Zach Carstensen, The Gathering Note
“Bold…impressive…an ensemble to watch.”
-Gavin Borchert, Seattle Weekly
Conductor
The Gathering Note and Classical KING FM have hailed Geoffrey Larson as one of Seattle’s foremost young conductors. A native of Seattle, Mr. Larson is the founding Music Director of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Larson was named a Fellow at the Bard Conductors Institute as the course’s youngest member in 2007, and was personally selected by George Hurst to be one of four conductors to participate in master classes at London’s Royal Academy of Music in 2008. He counts Peter Eros, George Hurst, Harold Farberman, Alastair Willis, Christian Knapp, Raphael Jimenez, Wolfgang Harrer, Denise Ham, Robert Houlihan, and Rodolfo Saglimbeni among his teachers in conducting. Mr. Larson is currently at Carnegie Mellon pursuing his masters in orchestral conducting. He returns to conduct our June concerts.
As a clarinetist, Mr. Larson holds a degree from Michigan State University where he was a student of Caroline Hartig. He has given performances with ensembles such as the Seattle Modern Orchestra, Saratoga Chamber Orchestra, and Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra. He has performed in Michigan, Texas, Oregon, Illinois, and Washington, including a radio broadcast on Seattle’s KING FM. He has also given solo performances in Kanazawa, Japan and Vienna, Austria. Mr. Larson performs on clarinet with the Sakura Winds, an award-winning woodwind quintet.
Associate Conductor
Kim Roy, conductor and violist, is a native of Western Washington. Ms. Roy is the Music Director of the Snohomish County Music Project in Everett and the Westside Symphony in West Seattle. A versatile musician, she is also the conductor of the Seattle Rock Orchestra. In this position, she has collaborated with many popular Seattle bands/songwriters, most recently with talented soul-singer Allen Stone. In the Summer of 2012, Ms. Roy led the first Seattle Rock Orchestra Summer Intensive, a week long rock orchestra experience for middle and high school students.
Ms. Roy earned her bachelors degree in viola performance from Central Washington University in 2007 and her masters in orchestral conducting from CWU in 2009. She has acted as Assistant Conductor of the CWU Orchestra, Music Director and Conductor of the Kittitas Valley Youth Orchestra and Manager of the CWU Orchestra Festival. In addition to conducting, Ms. Roy is an active violist in the music scene of the Pacific Northwest. She has performed with ensembles such as the Yakima Symphony, Northwest Symphony, Seattle Modern Orchestra, and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra.
Board of Directors
Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra is managed by a 100% volunteer Board of Directors. The Board works closely with the Music Director, musicians, and staff to carry out SMCO’s mission from a legal, financial, and organizational standpoint. On behalf of the organization, the Board is most grateful for the continued support of the musicians, volunteers, and Seattle community.
A Seattle native and a University of Washington graduate, Steve Reeder, vice president, has spent his entire adult life working in the broadcast media, arts, and education. He’s been associated with Classical KING-FM for more than two decades, serving as an announcer and, for three years, as Program Director. He produced a 30-part historical overview of the Seattle Symphony in conjunction with the opening of Benaroya Hall in 1998, and he helped launch the station’s web-based Opera Channel in 2008.
Mr. Reeder also spent nine years in Chicago, working at WFMT-FM, teaching at Northwestern and Roosevelt universities, and assisting the Chicago Symphony’s centennial project. He currently hosts an afternoon classical program on the Northwest Public Radio network (nwpr.org).
Andrew Sumitani, president, is a Seattle native and has performed regularly with SMCO as violin soloist and chamber musician. He currently manages business operations for BuddyTV, a local technology startup.
Mr. Sumitani is a graduate of the University of Chicago, where he served as Concertmaster of the University Symphony Orchestra and was awarded the David Fulton Prize for Orchestral Excellence. He has previously served as Concertmaster of the Seattle Youth Symphony and won First Prize at the Marjorie Easley Young String Soloist Competition.