Office: FAB 255 | Phone: (308) 865-8050 | Email: gainesaj@unk.edu
Alison Gaines holds a Doctoral degree in conducting from the University of Kansas, Lawrence and a Master’s degree from U.S.C., Los Angeles in bass performance and one in conducting from the University of Tulsa. Her musical activities as bassist and conductor have taken her across the continental U.S., and to Italy, Austria, Germany. Her academic conducting experience includes a year as interim Director of Orchestra at Iowa State and for Rock Valley College, IL and for 4 years as conductor of the chamber orchestra at Illinois’ largest community college, the College of DuPage.
Her professional conducting experience includes positions as music director, assistant conductor, cover conductor, director of youth symphonies and guest conductor of various professional, community and student groups. This includes 10 years as conductor of Brass Night for the Breckenridge, CO Music Festival and music director of both the Philharmonia of Greater Kansas City and the Atchison, KS Symphony. She has also served as Assistant Conductor for Elmhurst, IL Symphony, cover conductor of Orchestra Iowa and as guest conductor of Rockford, IL Symphony (on four occasions), Lawrence, KS Chamber Orchestra, Central Iowa Symphony, Chicago Youth Symphony and Fordham University’s Lincoln Center Chamber Players and Rose Hill Orchestra in New York city. In addition, she has served as a conductor and clinician for music education associations in Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, Illinois and Wisconsin.
During her doctoral studies she received assistantships from both the orchestral and jazz departments where she worked and studied with British conductor, keyboardist and recording artist Brian Priestman and with jazz educator, arranger and composer Dan Gailey. She was also admitted to various conducting seminars through the League of American Orchestras, Chorus America (Fellowship), the Conductor’s Institutes in South Carolina (Fellowship in opera) and at Bard College, NY. While studying bass at U.S.C. in Los Angeles, she studied with Los Angeles Philharmonic Co-Principal bassist Dennis Trembly and received two Orchestral Leadership Awards from conductor Daniel Lewis.
As a bass teacher she has been a clinician for the Chicago Bass Festival, Chicago Youth Symphony, Arts Saves Lives (St. Maarten, Dutch Caribbean) and for various K-12 music education associations throughout the Midwest. Her performance experience as a bassist includes serving full-time as principal in Tulsa, OK (8 years), a Tanglewood fellowship, an Aspen Music Festival scholarship, New York String Ensemble, Spoleto, Italy Opera Festival, was co-principal with the National Repertory Orchestra for 2 summers and won a substitute audition with the St. Louis Symphony. She has also performed chamber music in the United States and in Europe and has been a featured soloist with the National Repertory Orchestra, Tulsa Philharmonic, Breckenridge, CO Festival, and Rockford, IL Symphony. Her Jazz/Classical crossover group, Bolling Team/Chamber Jazz, has been featured on music series’ such as the ComEd Digital stage concerts, Masylake Jazz Series and for the Illinois Philharmonic.
