Paul Vasterling
CEO, Artistic Director
Paul Vasterling, Fulbright Scholar and internationally award-winning choreographer, celebrates his first decade as Nashville Ballet's artistic director. Mr. Vasterling is regarded as an authority in the field of dance and a strong influence on the art form's national landscape. During his tenure as artistic director he has brought 48 world and 17 Company premieres.
Vasterling's visionary leadership set a new standard for arts development. During his ten years at the helm the company's resources grew by over 300% and Nashville Ballet became the first local performing arts organization to purchase its own building. Mr. Vasterling emerged as the company's artistic director in a time of need, and in the last ten years he transformed a troupe of twelve dancers into a professional company of 16 dancers plus six apprentices and a second pre-professional company of 22 additional dancers.
During his first decade as artistic director Mr. Vasterling shaped Nashville Ballet into a company high on artistry and dramatic power, as well as commanding technical ability and virtuosity. Vasterling's stature as an internationally recognized choreographer has given Nashville Ballet a place in the world of dance. He has stewarded this company to national and international success taking Nashville's distinct dance aesthetic on unprecedented tours through Europe and South America to popular and critical acclaim.
His choreographic works are in the repertoire of nationally and internationally acclaimed dance companies. His more than 40 works have been seen on three continents and nearly 50 cities around the world. The prestigious Pointe Magazine said "a standout on the program... exquisite... breathtaking..." The Philippine press hailed, "The audience was ecstatic, the applause was well deserved." The European critics said, "...Both surprised and overwhelmed the public." New York magazine Attitude wrote, "America has not lost its sense of value of elegant dancing as art" about his work.
Vasterling, along with Nashville Ballet, is a three-time recipient of National Endowment for the Arts Creation Grants and is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Loyola University.
Timothy Rinehart Yeager
Ballet Master
Timothy Rinehart Yeager is a native of Washington, Pennsylvania. He received his dance training at Sally Miller Dance, Third Street Music School Settlement, Syracuse University and North Carolina School of the Arts. Mr. Yeager spent ten seasons with the North Carolina Dance Theatre, where he achieved the rank of principal artist. While there he starred in ballets by Salvatore Aiello, Alvin Ailey, George Balanchine, Agnes DeMille, David Parsons, Peter Pucci and Paul Taylor among others. He has also been a guest artist with The Dancers Ensemble and Chautauqua Ballet Company as well as Tampa Ballet.
Mr. Yeager has taught master classes and led intensive arts residencies throughout the eastern U.S., and before joining the staff of Nashville Ballet in 2001, he served as the Ballet Master with the Moving Poets Theatre of Dance in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is also an agent of the Salvatore Aiello estate and has been staging Aiello ballets since 1996.
Since 2003 Mr. Yeager has been Ballet Master of Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance, a summer season company located in Asheville, NC, and has had the pleasure of taking several of Nashville Ballet's company dancers there to perform during their off-season.
Sharyn Mahoney
Ballet Master
Sharyn Mahoney joined Nashville Ballet as a dancer in 1989. Since retiring from performing, she has continued to work with the organization as School of Nashville Ballet faculty, Artistic Associate, Director of Education and Outreach and currently, Ballet Master. During her nine years as Director of Education and Outreach, Sharyn worked closely with Artistic Director Paul Vasterling to develop and fine tune NB2, Nashville Ballet's official pre-professional training program. She initiated Learning Curves, Nashville Ballet's educational outreach program which proudly reaches 30,000 children and families each year. Appointed to Ballet Master three years ago, Sharyn returned to the studio full time to lend her talents to staging and rehearsing the company's ballets. She continues to oversee the dancers of NB2 and all Nashville Ballet youth casts. Sharyn represents Nashville Ballet throughout the United States conducting auditions and guest teaching. She has also staged Mr. Vasterling's ballets on other companies in the United States and Argentina. Sharyn has served on the board of Book 'Em, a children's literacy organization, and she adjudicates dance grants for the Tennessee Arts Commission.
Paul Gambill
Music Director & Conductor
Paul Gambill has been music director of Nashville Ballet since 2003. He is also familiar to Nashville audiences through his work as music director of Orchestra Nashville and was appointed music director of the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra in 2010. His recordings for the Warner Brothers, Naxos, Angel, Albany and Compass labels have been nominated for a Grammy Award and have won three national awards for children's media. The New York Times praised his recent release of the Thomson Cello Concerto with soloist Emmanuel Feldman and Orchestra Nashville as an "excellent new recording." ClassicsToday called his 2003 Naxos recording of Copland works with Orchestra Nashville "practically perfect from every perspective."
Mr. Gambill has commissioned 45 works from American composers that cross all musical boundaries. Known for creative programming that integrates diverse styles, his work has been awarded support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Institute for American Music at the Eastman School of Music, ASCAP, Meet The Composer and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's New Strategies Lab. He began his training as a music educator, French hornist and conductor at SUNY Potsdam and taught public school instrumental music before pursuing graduate study in conducting at Indiana University. Additional conducting studies have been at the Pierre Monteux School with Charles Bruck, and most recently with Leonard Slatkin as one of nine "highly gifted, emerging conductors" chosen to participate in the National Conducting Institute with the National Symphony Orchestra. He currently lives in Montpelier, Vermont.
Scott Leathers
Resident Lighting Designer
Scott Leathers is the Resident Lighting Designer for Nashville Ballet (since 1987), Nashville Children's Theatre (since Sep.2003), and Kentucky Repertory Theatre (since 2005) and has previously served as R.L.D. for the Ryman Auditorium's Musical Theatre Series ('99-'01), Opera at Chattanooga Symphony and Opera ('02-'07), and for Ballet TN ('97-'01). He also served as Nashville Ballets' Production Stage Manager for over 11 years and then as Production Manger for an additional 6 years.
Mr. Leathers has designed lighting for theatre, opera, ballet, and modern dance since 1981 to critical acclaim. Many of his designs have been for original works. He has designed lights for most of Nashville's performing arts organizations as well as Theatre Craft, Milwaukee Ballet, American Negro Playwrights Theatre, Amun Ra Theatre, Karen Steele Dance Quintet, Ballet Omaha, Ballet Austin, Cumberland County Playhouse, Dollywood, and internationally with Tanz Ensemble Cathy Sharp (TECS-Switzerland) and Ballet Manila (Philippines). He has taught Lighting Design at the college level as well as leading over 30 workshops. He has also designed scenery for many productions including Nashville Ballet's productions of Robin Hood, Postcards from the Boys, The Bell Witch, Harvest Home, Western Stars, and Fete Champtetre.
Mr. Leathers graduated from the College of Santa Fe with a BFA in technical theatre and is a member of United Scenic Artists.
Linda Coulter
Costume Shop Manager / Wardrobe Mistress
Linda Coulter joined the Nashville Ballet in 2005. Prior to the Ballet, Linda was co-owner of Encore Theatrics with her mother Ð Maggie Wilkerson. There they serviced the retail costume rental industry and designed and coordinated costumes for schools and productions all across Tennessee and Kentucky.
She has freelanced as an independent costume designer, wardrobe supervisor, seamstress, and actress since 1990, and has worked with theatres and production companies all across the Southeast.
Linda attended Webster Conservatory for the Theatre Arts in St. Louis, Missouri as a Performance Major. She attributes her career in costumes to her mother who gave Linda her first little yellow sewing basket when she 6 years old. She hasn't stopped creating and sewing since.
