Artist Bios

Instrumentalists

Jacob Hiser, piano

Pat Hanafin, drums

Emmalee Holmes-Hicks, violin

Louis Privitera, viola

Holly Dyer, cello

Kenneth Griffith, Music Director

Kenneth Griffith is the Music Director and Conductor of the Premier Choir at Boston Children’s Chorus (BCC). In addition to conducting the choir, Kenneth facilitates the artistic programs and coaches the team of conducting and teaching staff. As a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, Kenneth is devoted to building a safe and brave space for young artists to learn, grow, and thrive.

During his time with BCC, Kenneth has led the chorus in major performances at some of the city’s most prestigious venues, including Boston’s Symphony Hall, the debut of a new musical, WILD, with the American Repertory Theater featuring Idina Menzel, the WGBH Holiday Celebration with operatic tenor Lawrence Brownlee, and civic performances such as a performance for the Earthshot Prize, and events for the Red Sox and Boston Celtics.

Kenneth passionately advocates for social change through the transformative power of singing. A relatively new face to the Boston arts scene, Kenneth’s dynamic conducting style, authentic presence, and commitment to equity in music education have led to engagements with singers of all ages, from elementary to collegiate, based in community music-making. He is a frequent adjudicator and clinician for state Music Educators Associations, mostly recently in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. In May, Kenneth will appear as the guest conductor for the 2024 Maine ACDA State Festival. Recent engagements include a clinician’s residency for Rockport Music’s Choral Summit, guest directing the choirs at Wellesley College, and leading BCC’s choral forces at Symphony Hall in Boston.

On the professional stage, Kenneth recently prepared the chorus for Anthony Davis’ Pulitzer Prize-winning opera ‘X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X,’ with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. The recording of this project was GRAMMY-nominated in 2023. In addition to his work with BCC, Kenneth is the Music Director of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lynn. Kenneth holds a BM in Vocal Performance from Capital University and an MM in Choral Conducting from Bard College.

Jacob Hiser, Collaborative Pianist

Jacob Hiser is a versatile pianist and violinist who performs and studies a variety of musical traditions. Born and raised in southern Missouri, he grew up playing bluegrass, blues, and classical music, eventually discovering jazz as a teenager. He attended Missouri State University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Jazz Studies. In 2014, he moved to Boston to attend New England Conservatory's Contemporary Improvisation program, completing his master's in 2016. While there, he studied with Ran Blake, Bruce Brubaker, Joe Morris, and Frank Carlberg, and performed in ensembles and concerts coached/directed by John Zorn, Jason Moran, Tanya Kalmonovitch, Anthony Coleman, and Simon Carrington. 

With jazz groups, country bands, choirs, Korean folk music ensembles, and classical cellists, Jacob has performed all over the United States, as well as Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Australia, and New Zealand. In summer 2019, he was accepted into the International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music at Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada, where he spent 3 weeks creating music with 45 other improvising musicians from around the world and working closely with faculty Vijay Iyer, Steph Richards, Tyshawn Sorey, Okkyung Lee, and many others. He has contributed music to “Called to Walls”, a mural documentary broadcast on PBS. 

Currently, Jacob is staff pianist/piano faculty for Phillips Exeter Academy and rehearsal pianist for Boston Children's Chorus. During the summers, he is a faculty member at two fine arts programs: Missouri Fine Arts Academy: a two-week summer residential program for high school student artists in visual arts, theatre, dance, creative writing, and music, and Next Generation Performing Arts Camp: a week-long piano/strings camp in Lawton, Oklahoma for middle school and high school students). He recently left UMass Lowell after teaching there for 7 years. He has released one album, “Seconds”, comprised mostly of original jazz compositions for quintet and trio.