State of the Art

Sunday, November 9: Kelly Hall-Tompkins

By Heather McDougall

Published November 10, 2025 at 12:00 PM EST

The electrifying violin concerto by Wynton Marsalis is on the docket for the upcoming Bangor Symphony Orchestra concert on November 16, which features violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins. Kelly joins us this week to talk about this landmark work by the legendary New Orleans jazz man, as well as another very new concerto lighting up her performance schedule these days – one by American composer Jeff Beal. She also shares some thoughts on courage in charting one’s path in life and music.

For more about Kelly, go to kellyhall-tompkins.com, and for more about her upcoming appearance with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, go to bangorsymphony.org.

State of the Art

Heather McDougall

Heather McDougall has enjoyed a varied international career, with more than two decades working across classical radio and music management. With roots as a performing and teaching cellist, she got her start in public media at Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), Ireland’s national public broadcaster, in classical radio production and later as artistic administrator for their two radio orchestras. Other production, music direction, and project management roles at West Cork Music, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, WFMT Radio Network (Chicago) and WRTI (Philadelphia) have rounded out her versatility across these fields and reflect her lifelong passion for radio and music-making.

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