Music Director

Dr. Wiedrich is associate professor of conducting at the University of South Florida School of Music where he conducts the USF Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre. He heads the graduate program in conducting, and maintains a large private studio of conducting students across the state of Florida.

Before his appointment in Tampa, Dr. Wiedrich held faculty conducting positions at East Carolina University and Michigan State University, and visiting professor and conductor at the University of Michigan where he later earned his doctorate. His teachers include Gustav Meier, H. Robert Reynolds, and Larry Rachleff, as well as Gunther Schuller at the Festival at Sandpoint. He has also attended the conducting seminar at Tanglewood.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of Quorum, a professional contemporary music ensemble, and is a founding member of newmusic, a similar ensemble in the Tampa Bay area. He has conducted the Tampa Bay Youth Symphony in Carnegie Hall, and has led the orchestra in a commissioning project that has produced significant new works for young orchestras.

A published composer and arranger, Dr. Wiedrich is in demand as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States. Ensembles with whom he has collaborated have consistently received praise for their sensitive performances.

Ms. Strom graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy with High Honors, where she studied viola performance with David Holland, in 1997. She received several academic and performance based scholarships to attend Stetson University. There, she studied viola performance with Dr. Routa Kroumovitch-Gomez and Dr. Alvaro Gomez and earned Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education, Magna Cum Laude, in 2001.

In 2003, she earned a Master’s Degree in Music Education from The Florida State University. From 2003-2006, she conducted the orchestras at McLane Middle School and earned the highest performance ratings.  She currently resides in East Tampa with her husband and son, where she is the violist in the Rosewood String Quartet, and Benito’s orchestra students continue to earn the highest performance honors including selection to All State Orchestra and All County Honor Orchestra and superior ratings at Solo and Ensemble Festivals and Music Performance Assessment.

Jessica Calandra is co-founder of FloriMezzo, “Florida Musicians Educational Society,” in 2003, and has served in the capacity of Executive Director to oversee the development, financial operation, marketing, education, and membership outreach for the organization.

Under Ms. Calandra’s leadership, FloriMezzo has commissioned and premiered new chamber and orchestral works, established partnerships with the Pinellas County Music Teacher’s Association and Pinellas County Schools, St. Petersburg College, Hillsborough County Young Composers’ Guild, the Sunstate Opera Company, Pinellas County Cultural Affairs Friends of the Arts, the Dali Museum, the newly established St. Petersburg Opera Company, Studio @ 620, the Palladium Theater, and the Mahaffey Theater.

On behalf of FloriMezzo, Ms. Calandra has competed and won grants from the City of St. Petersburg, and Pinellas County Cultural Affairs. As a clarinetist with FloriMezzo, she has been playing chamber music since organization’s inception. She received her B.A. in Clarinet Performance from the University of South Florida, and continued her studies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Ms. Calandra was instructor of Band and Strings at Perkins Elementary Magnet School for the Arts in Pinellas County, served as Manager of Music at Patel Conservatory, taught Elementary Music for Hillsborough County Schools, and is currently the Instrumental Music Instructor at Tampa Preparatory School in Tampa, Florida.

Kyle M. Spence is an educator, performer, and writer from Scotland. Mr. Spence is currently pursuing two Master’s Degrees in Percussion Performance and Conducting from the University of South Florida. He also holds a Bachelor of Music education from the University of South Florida. He serves as a Graduate Assistant teaching lessons and directing the percussion ensemble. He performs as part of the McCormick Percussion ensemble and USF symphony orchestra. He has taught for 7 years in Hillsborough county as a percussion instructor at several high schools including, Steinbrenner, Chamberlain, and currently Newsome HS. He is passionate about his work, and the positive impact it makes with his students.

Jason Jerald, an Atlanta native, has taught in Hillsborough County Schools for 15 years. He is currently the Director of Orchestral Studies at Howard W. Blake High School, Arts Magnet in Tampa, FL. Under his direction, Blake’s orchestras have consistently earned superior ratings for outstanding performances in both local and national assessments.

Mr. Jerald is a graduate of Florida State University where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education, Cum Laude. During his studies at FSU, he served as a violist in the University Symphony, Chamber Orchestra, Opera Orchestra, and the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra. He received his Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of South Florida.

Mr. Jerald has served as a chairperson and guest clinician for several All-County Festivals in Florida. As an approved adjudicator, he has assisted with Music Performance Assessments and Solo & Ensemble festivals throughout Florida. Mr. Jerald served on the Florida Orchestra Association (FOA) executive board as 11/12 All-State Chair and Ethics Chair. He now serves as the President of (FOA).  Mr. Jerald is a strong advocate for excellence in music education and performance.

He is an Individual Artist Grant recipient from the Arts Council of Hillsborough County, which enabled him to participate in the 2015 International Conducting Institute for Conductors in Bacau, Romania.  This presented him with the opportunity to work with the Bacau Symphony Orchestra under tutelage of Maestro Robert Gutter, Charles Gambetta, and Ovidiu Balan. Mr. Jerald maintains an active performing career in surrounding ensembles throughout Tampa Bay. His most rewarding performing experiences have come from his association with Via Musica Productions. Such performances include the Tran-Siberian Orchestra, Mary J. Bligh, David Foster, Kristyn Getty, Idina Menzel, and Ricky Scaggs. These experiences have fostered his zeal for excellence in performance.  He also conducts the Philharmonic Orchestra for the Tampa Metropolitan Youth Orchestras, and directs the Bible-Based Fellowship Church Orchestra-Carrollwood. Mr. Jerald enjoys his time with his wife Maya, their son Emanuel, and their daughter Emery.

Kenneth Kwo received his bachelor’s degrees in math and viola performance from Oberlin College and his master’s degree in music from the University of Iowa. He has performed with the Colorado Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tri-City Symphony, the Northwood Chamber Orchestra, and at the Swannanoa Chamber Festival. Kwo teaches at the Kinhaven Music School and Hillsborough Community College.