Artistic Director

Gwen Gould

Gwen Gould has enjoyed a diverse career as a recitalist, artistic director, conductor, and entrepreneur.  She founded the West Village Chorale (1971), Columbia Festival Orchestra (1988), Hudson Chamber Opera (2004), and two chamber music series, ClaverackLanding (2010) and Classics on Hudson (2015), and now Hudson Festival Orchestra (2019).

A national competition finalist, Gwen performed extensively as a solo recitalist and developed a career as an organist and director of music in New York City. She performed recitals throughout the Northeast and in many churches in New York City including St. Thomas’ Church, Trinity Wall Street, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, St. Paul’s Chapel of Columbia University, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, among others.

As a choral conductor, Ms. Gould founded and then conducted the West Village Chorale for 27 years, presenting major choral works with orchestra, and establishing WVC’s popular program of Summer Sings in 1972.  She was a frequent guest conductor for the New York Choral Society’s Summer Sings as well. 

As founder and conductor of the Columbia Festival Orchestra, based in Hudson, NY from 1988-2008, she presented concerts in many different venues in Columbia County and the Berkshires, including The Hudson Opera House, The Shaker Tannery, Spencertown Academy, Shaker Museum & Library, PS21 (Performance Spaces for the 21st Century), various churches in Hudson, Chatham, and Great Barrington, as well as at Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall, and Merkin Hall in NYC. 

The model for the “Hudson in Concert” project is CFO’s most successful orchestral program (1995-2003) - an Independence Day weekend outdoor concert at the Shaker Museum and Library in Old Chatham. In a setting rich with local history, the CFO showcased the works of living American composers in programs that were fun and entertaining for the entire family. The annual event attracted an audience of 700-800 people.

Ms. Gould received a Bachelor of Music from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, a Master of Sacred Music from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music/Union, and held teaching posts at Stuart Hall in Staunton, VA, and at St. Luke’s School, NYC.

She currently serves on the Advisory Boards of Kids Need Music, Jazz and Classics for Change, and the West Village Chorale.