About
Dr. Frankie J. Kelly, Instructor/Staff Accompanist at UNO (2004-2011) and professionally-trained orchestral clarinetist, is an experienced performer at the national and international levels. She is highly regarded for her lyricism and virtuosity. In the 1980's she performed with orchestras in Mexico City. These include the Opera Orchestra of Bellas Artes, the OFUNAM, the State of Mexico Symphony, and the Mexico City Philharmonic. In addition, she appeared as soloist during the prestigious Cervantino Festival and twice as a member of the summer festival orchestra "Mineria". From her principal chair with these various orchestras, she was invited on several occasions to appear as concerto soloist performing the Mozart and Weber concertos. As an artistic leader in a capital city and a place that values classical tradition, she became a part of the international community and therefore worked with many others to link people, groups, and students to projects both in Mexico and the United States.
Upon returning to the United States in 1989, she has divided her time as artist/teacher/scholar, first completing her DMA at the University of Illinois, then spending one year at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as part of their music department's chamber music artist-in-residency program, and finally taking on the role of university professor/colleague. In every scenario she has promoted international exchange with Latin America by concentrating on her real-life experience through the invaluable contacts she maintains and by ultimately expanding on those interests through visits and performances in Honduras (Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula) and Costa Rica (San Jose). Those exchanges and their significance are still positively impacting the music programs at the University of Southern Mississippi and at Southeastern Louisiana University. Performance contributions in Illinois include concerts with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra (Kenneth Kiesler), the Champaign-Urbana Symphony (Paul Vermel), Sinfonia da Camara (Ian Hobson), the University of Illinois Opera Orchestra, the University of Illinois Wind Ensemble, and numerous recitals of solo, chamber, and new music.
In Louisiana, she has performed as invited by all of the important professional organizations in the state, including the Lake Charles, Rapides, and Baton Rouge Symphonies, Jefferson Performing Arts, the New Orleans New Music Ensemble, the New Resonance Orchestra, the production of "Soul Doctor", and as recitalist for area churches and their various series. She has also served on the faculties of Southeastern Louisiana University and Loyola University of New Orleans. At UNO, she has coached and performed with the graduating instrumental and vocal students and taught clarinet. In the summer, she has assisted with study abroad programs. In addition, Dr. Kelly has collaborated as the Coordinator of Phi Beta Delta, an international honor society. She remains an active member of "Molto" and the "New Resonance Orchestra" as clarinetist. Each of these groups plans to integrate artistic concepts by encouraging multimedia productions.
Research credits include numerous grants, a CD recording produced by the American Composers' Forum, a second in progress to be produced by Centaur Records, and online articles as well as an entry in the New Grove's Dictionary of Music. Her CD recording, "Tapestry: New Music from the Americas", is available through the American Composers Forum, amazon.com, and Eroica Records. Since its release in 2000, it has been reviewed in the Clarinet Magazine, Sequenza 21, and 21st Century Music.
- Consulting: Guiding students and parents to great equipment and literature.
- Coaching: Preparing ensembles, instrumentalists, and singers for important moments, such as competitions, concerts, and recitals. Also available for opera companies and music theatre groups.
- Instruction: Clarinet, high school through doctoral levels
- Performance: Orchestral, wind ensembles, chamber music, solo recitals, and collaborative recitals as clarinetist and pianist.