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- Capriccio!,
the Ensemble
- Larry Griffin,
Artistic Director
- Karrie Horton,
Associate Director
- James Kucera,
Accompanist
The Ensemble
Lively, improvisational, spirited - capriccio - that is the personality of our ensemble. Working with our founding Artistic Director, Larry Griffin, we perform music drawn from the classical and contemporary, sacred and secular literature, including spirituals, jazz, and the music of Broadway.
We are an auditioned, four-part chorus numbering about seventy singers. Our members come from all parts of Franklin County as well as the surrounding areas. Many have degrees in music performance or education, many have some level of musical training, but everyone is thoroughly committed to the art of the song.
Capriccio! Vocal Ensemble made its debut in Columbus on January 28, 2007, just four months after holding its first auditions. Sixty singers performed an ambitious, broad ranging program that moved from Mozart to Gawthrop, Bernstein, Arlen, and beyond. The modest ambitions of the founding members were soon exceeded when the ensemble joined the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra and Chorus on May 19, 2007 in singing the choral portion of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
Two years later, Capriccio! has presented six solo concerts and has joined in several local festival entertainments. In addition, we performed with the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and will be performing with the Central Ohio Symphony in December 2009. Our song list has grown to include, among others, the classic works of Handel, Martini, and Mozart, contemporary composers Stroope, Thomas, and Diemer, as well as gospel and traditional standards.
Larry Griffin, Artisitic Director
Larry Griffin, co-founding and artistic director of Capriccio! holds a Master of Music degree from The Ohio State University where he studied conducting with Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. He received his Bachelor of Music Education from Eastern Kentucky University, and has done graduate work at Ohio State and Wright State Universities.
Larry has been Director of Choral Music at Worthington Kilbourne High School since its opening in 1991. He is also a staff singer at the Worthington United Methodist Church. He has also been director of Vaud-Villities (2001-2003).
He is active in the Ohio Music Educators Association, having served as president, and annually participates in OMEA events as an adjudicator, director of honors choir festivals, and clinician. The Columbus Symphony Orchestra recognized Larry for his skills in choral conducting and teaching by presenting him with the 2005 Secondary School Music Educator Award.
Karrie Horton, Associate Director
A native of Westerville, Karrie Horton has been Director of Vocal Music at New Albany High School for the past 13 years and musical theater vocal coach at St. Charles Preparatory since 1991. She received her Bachelor of Music Education from The Ohio State University, and her Masters from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. She has continued with graduate work in Theatre Education at Akron University. Karrie is a member of the Ohio Music Educators Association, as well as the Ohio Choral Directors Association.
Karrie is familiar to many in Columbus as soprano soloist at St. Joseph Cathedral, as former director of Worthington Songsters, and as lead singer for Buckeye Brass, a jazz band. Her singing experience ranges from the Opera Columbus stage to commercial jingles to back-up vocals in concerts for Celine Dion, Gladys Knight, and Marvin Hamlisch.
James Kucera, Accompanist
After receiving his bachelor's degree in Piano Performance from the Eastman School of Music under Nelita True, James Kucera attended the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles. During this time, he was the recipient of several awards, including the first prize in the national Elizabeth Harper Vaughn Concerto Competition in Kingsport, Tennessee. He has also taught at Plaza de la Raza, a performing arts school for young students in the greater Los Angeles area. James currently performs and teaches in various venues in Columbus, serving as the pianist for the Mountview Baptist Church in Upper Arlington and as an accompanist for SNAP!, a musical revue group.