Claire Fox Hillard and Marcia Mitchell Hood will perform Thursday, Dec. 3 for the St. Paul's Chamber Music Series. The concert will be held at 12:05 p.m. at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 1116 23rd Ave. The Chamber Music Series concerts are free and open to the public.

Claire Fox Hillard

Claire Fox Hillard serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Meridian Symphony Orchestra and the Albany Symphony Orchestra. He is the Artistic Director of OPERAlbany, and guest conducts throughout the world.

Since his European debut in 1994 he has conducted the Karlovarsky symfonicky orchestra and Moravian Philharmonic in the Czech Republic, L’Orchestre Chapelle de Lorraine in Brussels, the Filharmonica “Banatul” and Filharmonica Paul Constantnescu in Romania, the Orquesta Sinfonica de San Pedro Sula in Honduras, the Karkov Philharmonic in Ukraine, the Gdansk Philharmonic in Poland and the National Russian Philharmonic.

Among the orchestras he has conducted in this country are the Abilene Philharmonic, the West Shore Symphony, the North Arkansas Symphony, the Tupelo Symphony, the Flagstaff Symphony, the Quad-City Symphony, the Cobb Symphony, and the Symphony of Southeast Texas. Hillard is a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan where he received his BA degree from Calvin College.

He earned a MA degree in orchestral conducting and a DMA in violin performance and pedagogy from The University of Iowa. As a violinist, Hillard served as concertmaster of the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony, University of Iowa orchestras and the Danville Symphony Orchestra in Illinois. Additionally, he was a member of the Quad-City Symphony for five seasons and the Grand Rapids Symphony for six seasons. On occasion, Hillard performs in the dual role of violinist/conductor and remains active as a chamber music performer as his schedule allows.

Marcia Mitchell Hood

Marcia Mitchell Hood received degrees from the University of Alabama in Piano Performance, Music Education, and Choral Conducting. She also studied piano with Nancy Marsh Wright, voice with Susan Curtis Fleming, and choral conducting with Fred Prentice and Gregory Gentry. Her performing interests combine the three disciplines: singing professionally, serving as Director of Choral Activities at Albany State University, and performing classical piano literature.

Hood has gained regional reputation as an oratorio artist, both as a soloist and conductor. However, her skills have established her as a skilled and passionate solo pianist, specializing in Baroque keyboard works. In addition, Hood serves as Coordinator of Choral Activities of the Albany Symphony as well as principle keyboardist of the orchestra. She is also actively involved in the Albany State University Opera Workshop, serving as rehearsal accompanist and soloist. Recent solo roles include those from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Le nozze di Figaro, and Barber’s, A Hand of Bridge. Dr. Hood is currently Chair of the Department of Fine Arts at Albany State University. In addition to her administrative duties, she teaches conducting, piano, and choral methods courses.