Dr. Jim Waddelow,
Music Director
Jim Waddelow, a native of Oklahoma, joined the faculty of Meredith College as Director of Instrumental Activities in 2007 and in 2011 received the Ida H. Friday Award, which was established in honor of Ida H. Friday, a Meredith alumna and wife of former UNC System President William Friday. Waddelow conducts the Meredith Sinfonietta and serves as Musical Director for musical theater productions in the Department of Theater and Dance. He has been the Orchestra Director of the Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony Summer Music Camp in Eureka Springs, Arkansas since 1999.
He has conducted over 30 operas and musicals at the college and professional level. Previous appointments and affiliations include: Texas Tech University, Lubbock Moonlight Musicals, The Oklahoma Youth Symphony, The Lubbock Youth Symphony, Summer Overtures Theater, The University of Central Oklahoma, and The University of Arkansas. He also conducted the nationally recognized Putnam City North High School orchestra for six years. Principal teachers include Gary Lewis, Ralph Morris, Roger Strong and Lon Dehnert. Jim is a member of the Conductor’s Guild, College Orchestra Director’s Association, American String Teacher’s Association, Music Educators National Conference and The College Music Society. He is an active clinician and adjudicator throughout the South.
Degrees Held: B.M.E., M.M., University of Central Oklahoma; D.M.A., Texas Tech University
Courses Taught: Orchestra, Conducting, Instrumentation, Orchestration, Instrumental Music Education.
Photo credit: Katie & Nathan Maher
Andrea McKerlie Luke,
Executive Director
Andrea McKerlie Luke is an arts administrator, performance critic, and freelance flutist from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, studying with flutists Anne Larson Dyke and Pamela Nelson. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance from Meredith College in 2013, with a minor in Professional Writing & Presentation Media. She serves on the board of RAFA (the Raleigh Area Flute Association) as its Development Director and Public Relations Coordinator, and has led website and rebranding campaigns for RAFA, the Oklahoma Haydn Festival, and CVNC.org (the Cultural Voice of North Carolina). She has been a member of Kappa Nu Sigma, Sigma Alpha Iota, and the National Honor Society. Luke has also conducted several ensembles - she was a 3-year competition drum major, led and rehearsed both RAFA’s Silver Winds and Silver Pipes ensembles, and has worked as a marching band woodwind instructor.
Some of her favorite performances have been as a soloist with the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra in Meredith College’s Concerto/Aria Competition, flute/piccolo in Triangle Youth Ballet’s The Nutcracker, marching piccolo with the NC State University marching band, and on the contrabass flute with the Raleigh Flute Choir, with whom she performs regularly. She formerly tutored privately at Quarter Note Music & Instruction, the Chapel Hill School of Musical Arts, and at her home studio. In addition to promoting flute playing in central North Carolina, Luke is the Executive Director and a reviewer/critic for CVNC, where she began as a student intern in 2011.
She enjoys writing in any capacity and has published two young adult novels, in addition to writing extensive performing arts and literary reviews, short stories, and some (very bad) poetry.
Eliandras Sims,
Artistic Operations Manager
Eliandras "Ellie" Sims recieved her Bachelor's in Music Performance from Meredith in 2024. As a vocalist she studied with Dr. Jean Wozencraft-Ornellas. She has performed with Meredith's White Iris Light Opera, in North Carolina Opera's La Bohéme as a youth supervisor, as well as North Carolina Opera's Education and outreach program, which brings opera to schools. She participated in Taos Opera Institute's 2024 summer program in Taos, New Mexico. When she is not working, Ellie enjoys spending time with her loved ones.
Irene Burke,
Financial Operations Manager
Irene Burke has a Bachelor of Music from the Crane School of Music in New York and performs professionally with several arts groups in the Raleigh area. She has also performed with other orchestras in the Northeast as well as being a member of the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra since relocating to this area in 1986. She is a member of the Durham Symphony and the Carolina International Orchestra, and performs regularly with Carolina Philharmonic in Southern Pines. Ms. Burke was a student of Samuel Baron and Donald MacDonald. Currently, Ms. Burke is the Financial Manager and Bookeeper of the Raleigh Symphony and is also certified by the State of North Carolina as a CPA with her own private CPA firm.