Orchestra and Chorus Music Staff
DOMINIQUE RØYEM, Music Director/Conductor
The Houston Chronicle has said that Dominique Royem “conducts with style and feeling” and that “her energy and passion are boundless.” She has been the Music Director of the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra since 2014. During her tenure, she has radically diversified the organization's programming, increased the organization's reach by starting a chorus, instituted family and children’s programming, and commissioned new works for the ensemble. In 2015, the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra was recognized as a Finalist in the American Prize based in New York City. Through the programming done for FBSO, Dominique was a Semifinalist for The American Prize—Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral Programming in the 2017-2018 season.
She has worked with ensembles such as the Ukrainian State Orchestra, Plevin Philharmonic, Galveston Symphony, Moores Opera Center, Sugarland Opera, HBU Opera Theatre, HITS, and the Houston Civic Orchestra. She was the Resident Conductor for Bayou City Concert Musicals, Music Director for Houston Grand Opera’s Opera to Go! during the 12-13 and 13-14 seasons, and the Conducting Fellow for the Allentown Symphony Orchestra’s 2012-2013 season.
She has a Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Houston Moores School of Music. Her dissertation, entitled “Generic Integration and Its Expressive Potential in the Music of Kurt Weill and Richard Rodgers,” uses semiotic and genre theory to illuminate the similarities between opera and musical theatre in the 1940s and 1950s. Dominique currently lectures at the Women’s Institute of Houston.
Dominique is the lead artist facilitator for Artist INC, Houston, where she helps to train artists in entrepreneurial skills such as web design, social media, grant writing, and strategic planning. Dominique’s YouTube channel focuses on sharing her passion for classical music with listeners everywhere. Check out her videos about Music History, Music Theory, and Pop Music.
Her upcoming engagements can be found on www.dominiqueroyem.com, or on Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube @dominiqueroyem.
Julie Sorensen, Principal Conductor, Orchestra
Dr. Julie Sorensen is a conductor as well as an orchestra and chamber musician. Julie served as the assistant conductor for the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra in Lubbock, Texas, before taking the position of Artistic Director and Conductor of the Idaho State - Civic Symphony. Julie also served as the Artistic Director and Conductor for the Idaho State – Civic Symphony Youth Orchestra and was the conductor and organizer of the East Idaho Honors Orchestra. In 2020, Julie was awarded the Southeast Idaho Woman of the Year award for her outstanding service to the arts. Her appearance with the Fort Bend Symphony orchestra is her professional debut in the Houston area. Other recent engagements include guest conducting for both the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra and the Cache Valley Symphony. In January 2025, Dr. Sorensen will serve as the conductor and clinician for the 2025 Wyoming All–State orchestra.
An avid educator, Dr. Sorensen served as the flute professor at Idaho State University and was a member of the City Creek Wind Quintet. Julie is an active clinician for flute, orchestra, and band in and around Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Texas. As a professional flutist, she currently plays flute/piccolo for the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra, under the direction of world-renowned choral conductor Craig Jessop. She has performed with traveling production orchestras for Cirque De la Symphony and Andrea Bocelli. She is a member of the International Conductors Guild, where she serves as the board secretary. Julie received her PhD in Fine Arts with an emphasis in orchestral conducting from Texas Tech University, her M.M. in orchestral conducting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and her B.A. in Music and flute performance from the University of Wyoming.
RAY RHOADS, Chorus Director
Ray Rhoads is a Choral Director, Theatrical Music Director, Composer and Performer who makes his home in Missouri City. Ray is a transplant to the Houston area from Sheboygan, WI. However, he originally hails from Reading, PA. Ray’s extensive Music Theatre experience includes many musicals and revues performed at schools, universities, community, and professional theatre companies around the country. He has taught choir and music theatre from sixth grade through the college level, and is an accomplished arranger for several school, community, professional choirs, and Broadway actors. Ray has directed several plays and revues including The Mousetrap at Stageworks TX, The House of Yes, Jerry’s Girls, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and several other musical revues and shows. As a Conductor, Ray is the founding director of the Sheboygan County Chamber Choir and directed the Reading Area Community College Concert Choir also as founding director, and the Penn State Berks Campus and Chamber Choirs. He also teaches and music directs summer camps for youth and spent seven summers working at Stagedoor Manor, a top performing arts camp, in the Catskill Mountains of NY. Ray is currently the Director Choral Activities at Pin Oak Middle School in the Houston ISD.
STEVE KALKE, Assistant Chorus Director
Steve Kalke holds a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Houston (Dr. Charles Hausmann’s studio). He comes from an extensive educational background having taught students from kindergarten age all the way up to university students.
While he is in his 25 year of teaching, he is currently in his tenth year as Head Choir Director at McMeans Junior High in Katy ISD. His choirs have won three national choral championships and have been featured at the Music for All Choral festival in 2018 and 2020. In 2022, his Varsity Choir won the Mark of Excellence National Choir Honors.
He has taught private voice/piano lessons for years and some of his students have gone on to professional singing careers. He is the proud father of three terrific kids and the lucky husband of Angela.