Dr. Beverly Everett

Beverly Everett’s passionate musical leadership has created a palpable energy in the communities and regions where she conducts.   The 2009/2010 season begins Everett’s sixth as Music Director of the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra and her second as Music Director of the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony. Recognized by the American Symphony Orchestra League as "clearly among the most promising talent in our field," Everett continues to engage large audiences and solid community support in both Bemidji and Bismarck. Since Everett's arrival, each organization has seen an enormous increase in concert attendance and an overall positive “buzz” about the concerts. The increased popularity of both orchestras is a direct result of Everett's exciting programming and ability to create event-based concerts that reach a wider audience base.

Last year, the city of Bemidji recognized Dr. Everett for her achievements by the Bemidji Area Arts Council's naming her the 2009 "Friend of the Arts." Everett was by far the youngest-ever recipient of this award, and the only one to have only lived in Bemidji for 3 years prior to receiving the award.  In addition to the growth of the Bemidji Symphony, Everett helped create and conducted the Bemidji Youth Symphony in 2005, helped institute the Lake Bemidji Summer Opera Festival in 2008, and increased the orchestra from 35 members to 77, including professional players and a resident concertmaster and violin instructor.  This, in turn increased the artistic quality of the Bemidji Symphony in astounding ways, and led to such magnificent performances as the Mozart Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and the remarkable Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto with acclaimed pianist André Watts.  Everett also instituted the free July summer concerts that have featured guest artists such as Doug Cameron, the Brethren, and Chris Brubeck’s Triple Play.  These concerts are a community favorite and always play to a full 1,100 seat house.

Beverly was the featured cover story of the "Northwoods Woman" publication in March/April of 2009, and will be featured also in the cover story in the July 2009 edition of Bismarck's "The Inspirational Woman."  She has been a featured guest on both Minnesota Public Radio and a central Iowa news station, being interviewed specifically about being a woman in the field of orchestral conducting.

Dr. Everett received a 2008 Individual Artist Grants through the Region 2 Arts Council of Minnesota to travel to Berlin, Germany where she had a special invitation to observe Sir Simon Rattle in rehearsals of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Berlin Philharmonic.  This was the fifth time Everett had been welcomed to observe the Berlin Philharmonic and participate in a special study of the Zukunft Education projects there.

Everett is regarded as a strong, inspiring conductor in many genres.  She has already conducted four prominent premieres in her career and is passionately committed to working with composers and commissioning projects.  In 2005 Everett was invited back to the Hot Springs Music Festival where she had been an apprentice, to conduct the world premiere of the opera “Cio Cio San,” and adaptation of Madame Butterfly by Brad Carroll and Martin Platt.  In April of 2009 she conducted the premiere of “Sacred Vows,” a commissioned work by Libby Larsen, celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Bemidji Symphony.  Other premieres Everett has conducted include the orchestral premiere of “Loss of Breath,” a song cycle by Ralph Johnson, “Fanfare for the New Renaissance,” a brass fanfare by Carol Worthey, and this November will conduct the premier of “Effloressence,” an orchestral work by Joseph Adams. 

Everett began her conducting work as Music Director of the Muscatine Symphony Orchestra. She also held assistant conducting positions during that time with the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony and Cornell College. Everett has served as assistant conductor of the Britt Music Festival, and associate conductor of the Hot Springs Music Festival.  Everett holds degrees in organ and conducting from Baylor University where she was a Presser Foundation Scholar, and from the University of Iowa, where she earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts in 2001 . She studied at the Aspen Music Festival for two consecutive summers where she was chosen as a scholarship recipient and chosen to conduct the festivals outreach concert at Snow Mass.  Immediately following her doctoral work, Everett also  held an apprenticeship with the Des Moines Symphony.  Her principal conducting teachers include Stephen Heyde, Murry Sidlin and William LaRue Jones.

Maestra Everett is frequently invited back to orchestras where she has worked or studied previously.  In 1999 she was invited back to Baylor University to conduct a special organ concerto concert, and has an invitation to return to Baylor on March 25, 2010.  She returned to Waterloo Cedar Falls in the fall of 2002 to conduct their family concert with “Tales and Scales,” and to the Hot Springs Music Festival in 2005 to conduct the Cio Cio San Premiere.  She conducted on a subscription concert with the Des Moines Symphony as part of apprentice studies with that orchestra, and participated for two seasons conducting the chamber group “Legacy,” comprised of principal musicians of the Des Moines Symphony.