With her distinctive voice as maestra, speaker, and poet, critics praise Panamanian-American conductor Kalena Bovell as “one of the brightest stars in classical music.” (Channel 3 News, Connecticut).
Her twin tenets of musical excellence and community access have left an imprint on orchestras across North America, including recognition as a 2022-2024 Awardee of the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship. Bovell, highly in demand as a guest conductor, continues to implement these values as Assistant Conductor to the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Conductor of the Memphis Youth Symphony.
Bovell’s 2021-2022 season features debuts with Oakland Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, and the New England Conservatory, as well as a return to the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. Earlier highlights from the season included debuts at the BBC Proms with the Chineke! Orchestra, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and the Rochester Philharmonic. Reviewing her BBC performance, ArtsDesk stated simply: “Never let her go.” Outside conducting, Bovell’s poem, “Tethered Voices,” will be premiered by the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, set to music by James Lees III. She additionally made speaking appearances at Sewanee Winterfest and the SphinxConnect 2021: UNITY Conference.
After making her professional debut as the Chicago Sinfonietta’s Assistant Conductor in 2015, Bovell held cover conducting roles with the St. Louis Symphony and Hartford Symphony. However, her 2018-2019 appointment as the Music Director at the Civic Orchestra of New Haven would serve as a first marker of Bovell’s potential. There, she elevated Civic Orchestra’s musicality and the diversity of its repertoire, all while increasing the size of its roster. Further, she made her mark on the region through numerous guest conducting appearances, including Hartford Opera Theater, leading two short operas in its annual “New in November” festival. Prior to her current appointment with the Memphis Symphony, Bovell debuted as a guest conductor in a memorable 2019 performance with Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr. Her relationship with the MSO dates back to 2016, when she served as Assistant Conductor for former Music Director Mei-Ann Chen’s farewell concerts.
Coming to classical music later than many of her contemporaries, much of Bovell’s artistic philosophy stems from her unorthodox journey to conducting. Though Kalena showed promise as a violinist, a lack of musical resources meant her first private lesson would come at 18 years old. Her experience far behind the typical conservatory-trained musician, Kalena found a new home as a conductor, and worked six jobs to fund the many plane tickets, workshops, and conducting lessons required to excel.
Now several years into her career on the podium, Bovell has sought to share her unique path to becoming a professional conductor, a topic she has spoken about to the BBC, the League of American Orchestras, Tennessee Music Education Association, and the III International Women Conductor’s Symposium, among many other radio, webinar and podcast appearances.
A Los Angeles native, Bovell was previously named a finalist for the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, a recognition given to talented female leaders in the conducting field. She received a Master of Music and Graduate Performance Diploma in Orchestral Conducting from The Hartt School, where she studied with Edward Cumming, and holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the College of the Performing Arts at Chapman University
In addition to conducting, Bovell is a published author, releasing her first poetry book titled “Dear Soul…” in 2009. She has increasingly interwoven her poetry with her music career, collaborating with Rob McClure’s Conductor Cam series in 2020 to perform her poem “Tethered Voices.”