Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony

Award-winning Jamaican-American violist Jordan Bak has achieved international acclaim as a trailblazing artist, praised for his radiant stage presence, dynamic interpretations, and fearless power. The recipient of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Alexandra Jupin Award and a former Young Classical Artist Trust’s (YCAT) Robey Artist, Bak was also a prizewinner in the Sphinx, Lionel Tertis, and Concert Artists Guild Competitions.

For the 2025–26 season, Bak will join the world-renowned Takács Quartet on a tour of rarely  performed Mozart viola quintets, in addition to making his concerto debuts with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Houston Symphony Orchestra. Bak will also give the world premiere of composer Michael Frazier’s new viola concerto, Los quetzales, commissioned by Eastman School of Music, The Sphinx Organization, and American Composers Orchestra.

Bak’s enthusiastically received sophomore album, Cantabile: Anthems for Viola (Delphian Records), has garnered significant international attention, featuring works by Arnold Bax, Benjamin Britten, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, paired with contemporary compositions by Jonathan Harvey, Bright Sheng, and Augusta Read Thomas. Bak is a proud advocate of new music.

Bak has appeared as soloist with such orchestras as London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, London Mozart Players, New York Classical Players, Juilliard Orchestra, and Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra, among others. As a recitalist and chamber musician, he has been heard at some of the world’s greatest performance venues. Bak has been a presence at numerous chamber music festivals such as Marlboro Music Festival, Tippet Rise, Chamber Music Northwest, and Newport Classical.

Passionate about education, Bak currently serves as Assistant Professor of Viola at University of North Carolina School of the Arts and as an Ambassador for UK Music Masters in London.

Only the third violist to earn the Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School, Jordan Bak holds a Bachelor of Music degree from New England Conservatory and a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School where he was awarded the prestigious Kovner Fellowship. His principal teachers were Dimitri Murrath, Hsin-Yun Huang, and Samuel Rhodes.

Jordan Bak plays on two violas both made by Jon van Kouwenhoven. He is married to violist Rubina Bak.

In 2024–25, Stephanie Childress began her tenure as Principal Guest Conductor of Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya and made a series of international returns to the Cleveland, New World, Utah, and North Carolina Symphony Orchestras, as well as Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, and Opéra Orchestre National de Montpellier. She also made her debut with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hallé, Royal Northern Sinfonia, and MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig.

From 2021 to 2023, Childress was the Assistant Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony under Stéphane Denève, during which time she enjoyed multiple subscription concerts with the orchestra and developed strong musical ties in North America. Last season saw her debut with the National Arts Centre Ottawa, Cleveland, Detroit, Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Minnesota Symphony Orchestras. She is currently the Associate Conductor of the Sun Valley Music Festival.

Inspired to pursue conducting through her love for opera, Childress is developing a reputation as a fine Mozartian, hailed by the Guardian for the “lithe vitality” of her interpretation of Le nozze di Figaro at Glyndebourne in 2022. A passionate advocate for contemporary opera, she made her debut last season at the Detroit Opera with Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves and the world premiere of Simon Voseček’s Ogres at the Prague State Opera.

Childress enjoys a close relationship with the French cultural scene following her second-prize win at the 2020 inaugural conducting competition, La Maestra. Since then, she has conducted Orchestre de Paris, Paris Mozart Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, and l’Orchestre Pasdeloup, and was one of the first conducting fellows of l’Académie de l’Opéra national de Paris.

A passionate advocate for amplifying the role of music within today’s world, Childress undertook a residency at the Villa Albertine, a network for arts and ideas spanning France and the United States, and is a member of the Franco-British Young Leaders’ Program. Stephanie is a relentless supporter of youth music programs and is passionate about conducting, coaching, and mentoring young musicians. She is currently the artistic director of the Sun Valley Music Festival Institute and returns to the Sarasota Music Festival in June 2025.