Performer Details
Performer Bio Synopsis
Duluth High School is located in the heart of Old Town Duluth thirty minutes northeast of Atlanta, Georgia. The school has an enrollment of 2400 students, and approximately 14% of the student body participates in the school’s orchestra program. Currently, the orchestra program enrolls 335 string players in six orchestras and employs two directors, Dr. Peter Lemonds and Mrs. Shawn Morton.
The Duluth High School Orchestra Program was recognized for its excellence in the 2002 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ evaluation report. Also in 2002, the Chamber Orchestra was invited to perform as the featured guest orchestra at the University of Georgia Honors Orchestra Festival. The Chamber Orchestra placed as the top public school orchestra in the country in the 2005 National Orchestra Festival at the American String Teacher’s Association Conference in Reno, Nevada and second runner up in the 2007 NOF in Detroit, Michigan In 2007, the Chamber Orchestra was selected to perform at the Midwest Clinic. In addition, in 2009, the Chamber Orchestra performed at the American String Teacher’s Association Conference in Atlanta Georgia, premiering The Green Anthem by Julie Lyonn Liebermann. In March 2010, the Chamber Orchestra performed at the Festival of the States in Washington D.C. In 2004, 2007, and 2011 the Chamber Orchestra was selected to perform at the GMEA In-service Conference. In addition, in 2013, the Chamber Orchestra placed first in the National Band and Orchestra Festival at Lincoln Center where they performed at Avery Fisher Hall.
The orchestra has toured France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, England, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland. The Duluth Orchestras have performed at Music Fest Orlando, where they have received two first place trophies, the Georgia’s Governor’s Mansion, and in April 2003, received an invitation to perform during the model cities of Georgia ceremonies hosted by the Mayor of Duluth. The Chamber Orchestra has also performed for the Symphony Celebration at the Woodruff Arts Center, sponsored by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In 2010, the Duluth High School Orchestra Program was selected by Gwinnett Magazine as a winner in its annual Best of Gwinnett Contest for Best Arts and Cultural Scene. In addition, Duluth High School was a finalist for the 2010 Grammy Signature School Award.
The Duluth High School orchestras consistently earn superior ratings at adjudicated festivals. A large number of students audition into area honor orchestras including the Kendall Youth Orchestra, the Gwinnett County Youth Symphony, the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Buckhead Youth Orchestra, Georgia Piedmont Youth Orchestra, the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. Each year, Duluth Orchestra students are well represented in these orchestras and in Georgia’s All-State Orchestra. In 2010 and 2014, two Duluth High School Chamber Orchestra students were selected to perform with The National High School Honor Orchestra, which is composed of the top high school musicians from around the United States. In 2013, the entire Duluth High School Orchestra Program was awarded the Exemplary Performance Award from the Georgia Music Educators Association.
The orchestra program mirrors Duluth High School’s rich ethnic diversity with students representing 62 countries and 40 languages. In addition to studying and performing music of the European classical tradition, students also study and perform music of alternative styles from their native countries and explore the music of America through the idioms of jazz, blues, swing, and traditional American fiddle music. Each year the orchestra marches in the Duluth Fall Festival parade as one of the only marching orchestras in America. The orchestra’s chamber music program features string quartets that perform in the community for public and private events.
DULUTH HIGH SCHOOL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Conductor's Bio
Dr. Peter Lemonds is currently Co-Director of Orchestras at Duluth High School and the high school orchestra lead teacher for Gwinnett County Public Schools. He has served on the curriculum writing committee for the Gwinnett County School of Science, Math and Technology and as chairman of the Fine Arts Department at Duluth High School and District 13 Orchestra Chair for the Georgia Music Educator’s Association. He is also Co-Director of the Gwinnett County Youth Orchestra. As a performing cellist, conductor, and educator, Dr. Lemonds has enjoyed a varied music career. He has performed numerous concerts as a soloist and chamber musician in the United States, England, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, and Korea. He was a finalist in the Dealy Awards Competition and winner of the Alpha Delta Kappa International Cello Competition. He was an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Southern Mississippi and was a teaching affiliate at Emory University, Agnes Scott College, and Bates College and was on the faculty of the Sewanee Summer Music Center. Dr. Lemonds has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Opera, the Atlanta Virtuosi, the Atlanta Pops Orchestra and the Atlanta Bach Ensemble. As a cellist, he has backed up such artists as Sarah Brightman, Smokey Robinson, Rod Stewart, Al Jarreau, Bob Hope, Bernadette Peters, Johnny Cash, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Dionne Warwick, Beyonce Knowles and Page & Plant of Led Zeppelin. In addition, he recorded “Georgia On My Mind” with Ray Charles for Georgia Public Television. As an orchestra teacher, Dr. Lemonds has directed the orchestra program for the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program, and has taught at the Lovett School, the Paideia School, Wheeler High School, East Cobb Middle School, North Gwinnett High School and Duluth Middle School. He holds a Master of Music degree from Louisiana State University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of the South, Sewanee. He received a Ford Foundation Fellowship for doctoral study at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri, where he completed his dissertation, The Carl Flesch Violin Scale System: An Edition for Cello, and was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree. He has studied conducting with Robert Culver, William LaRue Jones, and Glen Block and his ensembles have been selected to perform at the Georgia Music Educators Convention in Savannah, Georgia five times and twice for the National Orchestra Festival, placing first in 2005 at Reno and third in 2007 in Detroit. In December 2007, the Duluth High School Chamber Orchestra performed at the Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. In April 2013, the orchestra performed at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center receiving top honors in the National Orchestra Festival. In 2011, Dr. Lemonds received the Distinguished Educator Award from the Yale University School of Music.and in 2013 was named the Georgia String Educator of the year by the American String Teachers Association.
Shawn Morton is currently in her twelfth year of teaching in Gwinnett County Public Schools, Georgia and is currently co-director of orchestras at Duluth High School. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and a minor in viola performance. While attending UGA, Mrs. Morton was a member of the Honors program and was president of the UGA chapter of the American String Teachers Association. Mrs. Morton also holds a Masters of Business Administration from Shorter College. She has worked as a sectional coach with the Gwinnett County Youth Symphony, and she has served as a clinician for local school orchestras, the Spivey Hall Chamber Orchestra Workshop, The Gwinnett County Violapalooza Festival, the Gwinnett County 6th Grade Honor Orchestra, the UGA Summer Music Camp and various other workshops and clinics. Her students have been named as members of Kendall Youth Orchestra, Gwinnett County Youth Symphony, Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra, Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Georgia All-State Orchestra. In addition, Mrs. Morton’s orchestras have performed at the 2007 Midwest Clinic, 2009 American String Teachers Association Conference, and the 2011 Georgia Music Educators Association Conference and the 2013 National Band and Orchestra Festival at Lincoln Center. Under her direction, the Duluth High School Orchestras received the 2013 Exemplary Program Award from GMEA. In addition she was selected to present at the GMEA 2014 In Service Conference. Mrs. Morton is a member of the American String Teachers Association, Georgia Music Educators Association, Professional Association of Georgia Educators, and Sigma Beta Delta. In addition, she is currently the GA ASTA secretary. She resides in Dacula with her husband Dale, son Hudson, and dogs Harmony and Mozart.
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