Conductors
Professor Simón A. Gollo, Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra
Recognized as a multifaceted and charismatic musician who enjoys a successful international career as a violin performer, artistic director, recording artist and orchestra conductor, Simón Gollo is Associate Professor of Violin at Furman University, and he serves as Artistic Director of the Snow Pond Summer Music Festival – New England Music Camp. In January 2023, Simón Gollo was appointed Artistic Director and Conductor of the Carolina Youth Symphony and will act as conductor for the Furman Symphony Orchestra starting in the fall 2023.
Named as the conductor of the New Mexico State University Philharmonic in 2016, Simón Gollo has experienced extraordinary growth in this facet of his career that has not gone unnoticed. He has received numerous invitations to conduct both youth and professional orchestras through the United States, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, and Venezuela. He is also a recording artist for the worldwide recording label IBS Classical, and is represented, alongside the Reverón Piano Trio, by HALAC Artists and Meluk Kultur Management.
Simón Gollo has appeared on countless stages across Europe, Asia, and the American continent from Canada to Chile. His long career has led him to perform at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall (New York), Cadogan Hall (London), the 92nd Street Y’s Kaufmann Concert Hall (New York), the National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC), Bolívar Hall (London), the Teatro Teresa Carreño (Caracas), the Auditorio Blas Galindo (Mexico City), the Auditorio Manuel de Falla (Granada), and the Teatro Mayor (Bogotá), and for renowned organizations such as the BBC Proms Festival, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Chamber Music Society of Detroit. He has collaborated in these performances with international figures such as Alessio Bax, Ricardo Morales, Dmitri Berlinsky, Monique Duphil, Edicson Ruiz, Paul Rosenthal, John Novacek, Alissa Margulis, Jakob Koranyi, Miguel da Silva (Ysaÿe Quartet), Richard Young (Vermeer Quartet), Randolph Kelly, and the Cuarteto Latinoamericano, among many others.
Simón Gollo has performed the greatest violin concertos with prestigious orchestras such as the Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela, Filarmónica de Bogotá, Orquesta Sinfónica de Salta (Argentina), Central Ohio Symphony (USA), Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio (USA), and the Orquestra de Caxias do Sul (Brazil), under the baton of prominent conductors such as Conrad van Alphen, Theodore Kuchar, and Carlos Izcaray. In 2020, his album “CHAUSSON,” alongside the pianist John Novacek, and under the label IBS CLASSICAL, received vast positive international reviews in prestigious magazines like Scherzo, Melomano, Mundo Clásico, El Diario de Sevilla, and Fanfare.
His passion for chamber orchestras led him to join the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York and to play leading roles in major festivals, tours, and concerts with other chamber orchestras such as the Camerata Nordica (Sweden), Post Classical Ensemble (Washington, DC), Music Institute Chamber Orchestra (San Antonio) and Dallas Chamber Symphony. In January 2020 he was guest concertmaster for the “Orquesta Ciudad de Granada” under the baton of Michał Nesterowicz. Throughout his career, Simon Gollo has served as the Founder and Artistic Director of various music festivals in Venezuela, Aruba, and the United States intended to educate and edify young musicians. Simón Gollo has received numerous awards and recognitions, some of these include the “Order of Merit”, issued by the City Council of Maracaibo, in recognition of his outstanding achievements for the cultural sector in Maracaibo city. In 2021, he was selected as the recipient of a “Spring 2021 College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Faculty Achievement in Scholarship” at New Mexico State University. In 2022, the Rafael Urdaneta University in Maracaibo, Venezuela, conferred upon him the title of Honorary Professor.
James F. Kilgus, Conductor of the Concert Orchestra
Mr. Kilgus received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Furman University. He received a dual degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in Conducting and Music Education.
A teacher in the Greenville County School District for 33 years, Mr. Kilgus currently serves as Co-Director of Bands at Mauldin Middle School, one of the largest and most successful band programs in the state of South Carolina. His program is comprised of five individual bands, a drum line, and various chamber ensembles.
Mr. Kilgus has worked with the Carolina Youth Symphony as conductor of the Repertory Orchestra since 1991, and conductor of the newly formed Concert Orchestra since 2007. He is involved as a judge in numerous festivals throughout South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. His professional affiliations include Phi Beta Mu, the National Bandmaster’s Fraternity, Music Educator’s National Convention (MENC), and the South Carolina Band Director’s Association (SCBDA). Mr. Kilgus is also a recipient of the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence. In 2023, he received the Bandworld Legion of Honor, a special award of the John Philip Sousa Foundation, for his significant contributions to the profession through dedication to bands and band music.
Ginger R. Greer, Conductor of the Repertory Orchestra
Mrs. Greer is a violinist, composer, and conductor from Greenville, South Carolina. A National Board Certified Instrumental Music teacher, Mrs. Greer is the Orchestra Director of Northwest Middle School in the Greenville County School System. Mrs. Greer is a graduate of Boston University where she earned a Masters of Music Education Degree and the University of South Carolina where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Education. During her studies at USC, she performed with the University Symphony and Chamber Orchestra and was trained in string pedagogy through the nationally acclaimed String Project, a training program for rising string educators.
She is the recipient of the Yale Distinguished Musician Award and attended the Symposium on Music in Schools at Yale University. She has served on the board of the South Carolina Music Educators Association for most of her 25 years of teaching, served as the Orchestra Division President 2019-2021 and currently serves as the All-State Orchestra Chair. On the SC American String Teachers Association board, Mrs. Greer serves as a Member At Large.
As a violinist and violist, Mrs. Greer has performed with the Asheville Symphony, Brevard Chamber Orchestra, Hendersonville Symphony, Charlotte Philharmonic, Spartanburg Philharmonic, and the Greater Anderson Musical Arts Consortium. She has served as guest conductor and clinician for All Region and All County Orchestras in Anderson, Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, Myrtle Beach and Spartanburg.
Ashley E. Rhoden, Conductor of the Preparatory String Orchestra
Mrs. Ashley Rhoden is a violinist, conductor, teacher, and private instructor of Duncan, South Carolina. Mrs. Rhoden is a Greenville native who grew up in the Greenville County School District, graduated from the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, and attended Furman University where she received a Bachelors of Music in Music Education. In 2018, Mrs. Rhoden completed her Master of Arts in Music Education from North Greenville University. Mrs. Rhoden is a product of the Carolina Youth Symphony where she was a student, collegiate string intern, and now is thrilled to be on staff as a conductor.
Mrs. Rhoden has experience teaching a wide range of ages. She spent the first eight years of her teaching career as an orchestra director in Greenville County where she grew two full time string programs at Eastside and Riverside High Schools. In addition to teaching, Mrs. Rhoden has served as Furman’s Suzuki Institute Intern, Dean of Students for the Furman University Jazz Camp, and violinist for Mitchell Road Presbyterian.
Her professional affiliations include American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), Music Educator’s National Convention (MENC), Kindermusik International, and Palmetto State Teachers Association. In 2013, she was a recipient of the Greenville County Emerging Teacher of the Year.
In 2019 she received her Kindermusik certification as an instructor and shortly thereafter became a music teacher in Spartanburg District 5 where she currently teaches Kindergarten through 4th grade.
Mrs. Rhoden is passionate about instilling a love for music in children at a young age and helping them to achieve a strong musical foundation.
