July 10
Charles Dimmick
Violin – Concertmaster
Violinist Charles Dimmick enjoys a varied and distinguished career as concertmaster, soloist, and chamber musician. Praised by the Boston Globe for his “cool clarity of expression,” Charles is one of New England’s most sought-after orchestral musicians. In addition to his role with the New Hampshire Music Festival, he is co-concertmaster of the Boston Pops Esplanade, and concertmaster of both the Portland Symphony and the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Charles has appeared as guest concertmaster for the Arizona Music Fest and the Winston-Salem Symphony. A frequent soloist, Charles has garnered praise, packed houses, and received standing ovations for what the Portland Press Herald has called his “luxurious and stellar performances” and his “technical and artistic virtuosity.” Recent concerto engagements have included performances with the Portland Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Arizona Musicfest, Chamber Orchestra of Boston, Boston Civic Symphony, and NHMF. As a chamber musician, Charles can be heard collaborating with the Sebago Long Lake Chamber Festival, the Chameleon Arts Ensemble, Radius Ensemble, and Monadnock Music. He is featured as concertmaster on many recordings with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera, including the Grammy-Award winning opera The Fantastic Mr. Fox, by Tobias Picker. His debut recording as concerto soloist in Elliot Schwartz’s Chamber Concerto and his debut solo violin recording of Lisa Bielawa’s Synopsis #7 can be found at bmop.org. Charles lives with his wife, NHMF flutist Rachel Braude, and their daughter Chloe. He performs on a 1784 Joseph Gagliano violin.
William Gunn
NHMF/Pemi Festival Chorus
William Gunn is the director of music at Plymouth Regional High School where he conducts the Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Concert Choir, Chamber Singers, and teaches a year-long guitar elective. Mr. Gunn received his bachelor of music in music education from Ithaca College and his masters of music in conducting from Colorado State University. Mr. Gunn has studied conducting with Wes Kenney, Dwight Bigler, Steve Peterson, and Eric Hammer. Mr. Gunn is the immediate past president of the New Hampshire chapter of the American Choral Directors’ Association (NHACDA) and serves as the High School Repertoire and Resources chair for ACDA Eastern Region. On March 31, 2023, it was announced that the NHACDA had selected Will as the 2023 Choral Director of the Year.
Mr. Gunn’s choirs have consistently received high ratings at local and regional festivals. In 2014, the PRHS Chamber Singers were chosen to be the featured choir at the All New England Choral Festival. In 2016, the PRHS Concert Choir premiered a new work in collaboration with the ALS Association of New England and raised over two thousand dollars for ALS research. The new composition included text by a local author and community member who lost the battle to ALS in 2015. Mr. Gunn has also collaborated on new commissions with Dr. Jonathan Santore and Michael John Trotta. Mr. Gunn regularly guest conducts and adjudicates at local and regional festivals. In 2018, he was a Conducting Scholar at the Delaware Choral Academy in Aix-en-Provence, France.
Mr. Gunn lives in Plymouth with his wife Gaia, their son Nico, and their pitbull mix, Linny.