have fun
Directors
Dr. Joseph Missal
Band
Joseph
Missal is Director of Bands and Professor of Conducting at Oklahoma
State University. In this capacity, he conducts the Wind Ensemble and
guides all aspects of the OSU Band Program. Dr. Missal also directs the
graduate conducting program, teaches undergraduate conducting, and
serves as Coordinator for Wind and Percussion Studies. He holds a
Bachelor of Music in Instrumental Music Education from Michigan State
University, a Master of Music in Wind Conducting from the University of
Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts
in Wind Conducting from the University of Colorado.
His
ensembles have performed for conventions of the Japan Band Clinic,
British Association of Symphonic Band and Wind Ensembles, World
Association for Symphonic Bands, the College Band Directors National
Association, National Band Association, the Sonneck Society, Kappa Kappa
Psi/Tau Beta Sigma, Oklahoma Music Educators Association, the
Percussive Arts Society, and the Western States Collegiate Wind Band
Festival. He has received praise from composers David Maslanka, Karel
Husa, Cindy McTee, Joel Puckett, D.J. Sparr, Steven Bryant, Scott
McAllister, Michael Daugherty, Frank Ticheli, Shafer Mahoney, Kathryn
Salfelder, Roshanne Etezady, Donald Grantham, Dan Welcher, John Mackey,
Dana Wilson, and others for his expressive interpretations of their
music.
Dr.
Missal has appeared as a guest conductor throughout the United States,
Canada, Europe, Japan, and Israel. His writing has been published in
the CBDNA Journal, the Canadian Band Journal, and the GIA Teaching Music
through Performance in Band. Dr. Missal is a past President of the
Southwest Division of the College Band Directors National Association
and the Big Twelve Band Directors Association. He has also served as a
guest conductor for the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic,
the International Trombone Association, and the United States Army
Field Band. Dr. Missal is an elected member of the prestigious American
Bandmasters Association.
Dr. Tommy Poole
Jazz
Tommy
Poole is Director of Jazz Studies and assistant professor of music at
Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He is an active
saxophonist and woodwind doubler in a variety of genres. He has recorded
as saxophonist on numerous commercially available CDs ranging in style
from classical, to jazz, to pop. He has performed professionally with
Rosemary Clooney, Ramsey Lewis, Johnny Mathis, Maynard Ferguson, Arturo
Sandoval, The Woody Herman Orchestra, Andy Montanez, Glenn Monroig,
Diane Schuur, Jack Jones, Joe Williams, Mercer Ellington, Marilyn McCoo,
and Dianne Reeves among many others. As a classical saxophonist, Poole
studied with Harvey Pittel and recorded on the first University of Texas
at Austin Saxophone Ensemble CD entitled, Tex Sax (1998).
Poole
has composed and arranged works for a variety of settings from
commercial showbands, to jazz big bands, to full-sized studio
orchestras. His orchestrations have been featured on at least seven
commercially available CDs. His first CD as producer, On Cue-the Music of Seamus Blake (2012) featured three of his arrangements and was lauded by jazz critic Jack Bowers, AllAboutJazz.com. His second CD as producer, Out Front (2015), featured three of his original compositions.
Poole
has presented workshops, or served as guest artist/performer, guest
conductor, clinician, and/or adjudicator at Eastfield College,
Northeastern State University, Pittsburg State University, Slippery Rock
University, Oklahoma Christian University, Tulsa Community College, The
University of Texas at San Antonio, and The University of Arkansas
(Fayetteville). He has served in similar fashion for countless regional
high school conferences, honor bands, and jazz festivals. His research
on metric modulations in jazz has been published in Jazz Inside Magazine.
He serves as President of Oklahoma Jazz Educators (OKJE) for the
2015-2016 academic year and is a member of the Jazz Education Network
and College Music Society.
He received his B.M. and D.M.A. from The University of Texas at Austin and his M.M. from The University of Miami.
Dr. Thomas Taylor Dickey
Orchestra
Reviewed
by critics as a “dynamic and exciting conductor” whose conducting is
“imbued with aplomb, energy, and pathos,” Dr. Thomas Dickey is the
Director of Orchestral Studies at Oklahoma State University, where he
conducts the OSU Symphony Orchestra and guides all aspects of the
orchestral program. Prior to his appointment at OSU, he was the Director
of Orchestral Activities at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and
Music Director and Conductor of the Dubuque Symphony Youth Orchestra
(IA).
Dr.
Dickey has conducted many professional orchestras throughout the United
States, Canada, and Europe, including the London Classical Soloists in
England; Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in Canada; Bacau Philharmonic in
Romania; the Bakersfield, Macon, Norwalk, and Rapides symphonies; the
Naples Philharmonic; Rose City Chamber Orchestra; and the Chicago
Reading Orchestra. He has also worked with numerous conservatory,
university, and youth orchestras in Colorado, Florida, Georgia,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas,
Virginia, and Wisconsin.
A
native of Illinois, Dr. Dickey began piano studies at the age of four.
He holds doctoral and master’s degrees in orchestral conducting from the
University of Georgia and Louisiana State University, respectively, and
graduated with highest honors from Eastern Illinois University, where
he received the Excellence in Fine Arts scholarship. He has worked with
conductors such as Carl Topilow, Christopher Zimmerman, Daniel Lewis,
Gustav Meier, and Diane Wittry, and further studied conducting at the
Cleveland Institute of Music, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and
numerous workshops and master classes.
Strings
Dr. Laura Talbott Clark
Violin and Viola
A
vibrant musician and innovative educator, Laura Talbott Clark is a
violinist and violist equally dedicated to performing and teaching.
Currently, Laura serves as Associate Professor of Violin and Viola at
Oklahoma State University, where she was awarded the Wise-Diggs-Berry
Award for excellence in the performing arts in 2011. In 2007, she was
named the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Professor by the OSU
Student Council. She co-founded the OSU String Academy (OSUSA) in 2009
and started the OSUSA Violin Head Start Program in 2011. She is
theDirector and Founder of the OSU Horizons String Chamber Music Camp.
Laura has held teaching positions at the Inspiration Point Fine Arts
String Camp, Meadowmount School of Music, Indian Hill MusicCenter, Bands
and Orchestras of America Summer Symposium, Triada Music Festival, and
Boston University. She has served as a Member-at-Large, Vice President,
and President of the Oklahoma chapter of the American String Teachers
Association (ASTA). She is currently OK-ASTA's Special Projects and
Membership Chair.
An
avid chamber musician, she is the second violinist of the Tulsa Rock
Quartet. She is a member of Tulsa Camerata, for which she performs on
both violin and viola. She has served as the principal violinist of the
Janus 21 Chamber Ensemble of Boston and performed as part of the
Brightmusic Chamber Music Series (Oklahoma City), Mannes Conservatory’s
annual Beethoven Institute (NYC), Triada Music Festival (Ludlow, VT) and
Tulsa Brown Bag-It Recital Series. Formerly, she was the Artistic
Director of theFrontiers New Music Ensemble, an ensemble she
co-founded. She has appeared as a recitalist throughout the United
States.
Laura
has an extensive background as an orchestral musician. She is
currently a member of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, playing in their
viola section; she also performs with the Tulsa Ballet (viola) and the
Tulsa Opera (violin). In the past, she has performed with the New
Hampshire Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Huntsville Symphony, Boston
Virtuosi, Ann Arbor Symphony, Aspen Chamber Symphony, Cantata Singers
Chamber Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and
the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.
Laura
received her doctorate in string performance from Boston University.
She holds additional degrees from Vanderbilt University (B.M.) and the
University of Michigan (M.M.). Her principal teachers have included
Peter Zazofsky, Paul Kantor, Christian Teal, and John Kochanowski. Laura
has spent summers at Interlochen, Meadowmount, Tanglewood, Oberlin
Baroque Institute and the Aspen Music Festival, where she was a
fellowship student.
Equally
interested in the scholarly aspects of performance, music education,
and the creative process, Dr. Talbott has presented lectures at the
American String Teachers Association National Convention (2007; 2009)
and the Maryland Music Educators Association State Convention (2008).
Her 2007 ASTA presentation resulted in a feature article in Strings
magazine’s “Strings 101” column (“From Croak to Croon” compiled by James
Reel; October 2007, No. 152). In 2007, Dr. Talbott organized a two-day
seminar featuring San Francisco-based creativity coach and author, Dr.
Eric Maisel. The workshop, entitled “Coaching the Artist Within,”
attracted artists from all disciplines and provided them with ways to
connect more deeply to their art.
Initially
triggered by her own experiences with overuse-injuries, Dr. Talbott is
actively involved in educating OSU and Oklahoma string students about
the biomechanics of playing the violin/viola and over-use injury
prevention and rehabilitation. She has participated in the Ithaca
College Healthy Musician Symposium and is working toward certification
as an Andover Educator. In 2005, Dr. Talbott organized a three-day
workshop at OSU featuring Andover Educator Chairperson, Dr. Amy Likar.
Dr. Likar worked with OSU students, members of the Stillwater community,
and OU students to increase awareness of the biomechanics of string
playing.
Dr.
Talbott Clark is a member of the American String Teachers Association
(ASTA), Music Educators National Committee (MENC), Oklahoma Music
Educators Association (OMEA), and Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor
Society.
Dr. Meredith Blecha-Wells
Cello
Dr.
Meredith Blecha-Wells leads a dynamic career dedicated to both
performing and teaching. She has appeared as a chamber musician and
orchestral player in the United States, Australia, and Europe, and has
had the pleasure of performing in world class concert halls such as the
Kennedy Center and the Sydney Opera House.
As
a chamber musician, she is a founding member of the Pangaea Chamber
Players and regularly performs with the Tulsa Camerata and the
Brightmusic Ensemble in Oklahoma City. She recently recorded a CD with
the Pangaea Chamber Players entitled Purple Line. The CD,
which will be released under the Blue Griffin Label, includes flute,
cello, and piano and features works by Gaubert, Rorem, Villa-Lobos, and
Weber.
A
devoted teacher, Dr. Blecha-Wells is currently the Associate Professor
of Cello at Oklahoma State University, where she was recently awarded
the College of Arts and Sciences Junior Faculty Award for Scholarly
Excellence. Her students have won a number of competitions, including
prizes in the American Protege Competition, the Music Teachers National
Association Competition, the Ad Astra String Competition, the Buttram
Competition, the Oklahoma City Youth Orchestra, and the Keith
Competition. Her students have been accepted to study at a number of
music schools in the US including Indiana University, Southern Methodist
University, and festivals such as Round Top, Meadowmount, Eastern Music
Festival, Brevard, Interlochen, Hot Springs, and Green Mountain Chamber
Music Festival.
Dr.
Blecha-Wells has taught throughout the United States and has most
recently given classes at Auburn University, the University of Kansas,
Middle Tennessee State University, the University of Northern Colorado,
Florida Gulf Coast University, the University of Oklahoma, and the
University of Georgia. Previous teaching posts include Point
CounterPoint Chamber Music Camp in Vermont, Colorado Suzuki Institute,
Chicago Suzuki Institute, Indiana University Summer Music Clinic, the
Hochstein School of Music and Dance, the Eastman Community Music School,
the Indianapolis Academy of Music, and Indiana University's String
Academy.
Dr.
Blecha-Wells received a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Cello
Performance from Indiana University, studying under Janos Starker and
Helga Winold. Additionally, she holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in
Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music where she
served as the teaching assistant to Distinguished Professor Alan Harris.
Additional studies include festival participation at the Taos School
of Music, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, the
National Repertory Orchestra, and the Bowdoin International Music
Festival.
George Speed
Double Bass
Bassist
George Speed enjoys a career that combines teaching with solo, chamber,
and orchestral performing. He is Associate Professor of Double Bass at
Oklahoma State University and Principal Bass of the Oklahoma City
Philharmonic.
In
the orchestral sphere, Mr. Speed has performed with some of the world's
most esteemed conductors, including Seiji Ozawa, Claudio Abbado, Jaap
van Zweden, David Robertson, James Levine, Andrew Litton, Gerard
Schwarz, Pierre Boulez, Hans Graf, Christopher Hogwood, and Rafael
Frühbeck de Burgos. From 2001 to 2003, Speed held a tenured position
with the now-defunct Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, based in Fort
Lauderdale. In 2005, he was appointed Principal Bass with the Oklahoma
City Philharmonic, with which he performed close to 30 concerts last
year. Since 1999, Mr. Speed has performed regularly with the Boston Pops
Esplanade Orchestra, including 25 domestic and 3 international tours, a
nationally televised performance at Super Bowl XXXVI, and for 12
Independence Day concerts. Additional orchestral experience includes:
Boston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Boston Classical Orchestra, Pro Arte
Chamber Orchestra, Händel and Haydn Society, Fort Worth Symphony, and
Tulsa Symphony.
As
a soloist, Mr. Speed won the Jackson (TN) Symphony Concerto
Competition, the Vanderbilt Concerto Competition, and the SC All-State
Concerto Competition. As part of the 1998 Tanglewood Festival of
Contemporary Music, he was a featured performer for
Composer-in-Residence Henri Dutilleux's chamber work Les Citations. In 1999, the Pierre Boulez Workshop at Carnegie hall selected Mr. Speed to participate in a performance of Schoenberg's Kammersymphonie, Op. 9 in
Weill Recital Hall under Maestro Boulez. He also performs regularly
with the Oklahoma City-based chamber ensemble Brightmusic.
A
devoted educator, Mr. Speed received the 2009 Wise-Diggs-Berry Award
for Teaching Excellence in the Arts at Oklahoma State University. For
the past 5 summers, he has served as a guest faculty member at the
Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, NC. Locally, Mr. Speed is
particularly committed to the advancement of double bass playing in the
state of Oklahoma, having presented numerous clinics around the state.
In 2005, he joined with OU bass instructor Mark Osborn to present the
first Oklahoma Bass Bash, a summer clinic for Oklahoma pre-college
bassists. The Bass Bash (www.okbassbash.com), now in its eleventh year,
continues to be a thriving collaborative effort between OSU and OU, with
the location of the camp alternating between Stillwater and Norman. The
enormously successful 2015 Bass Bash, held in Stillwater, brought over
40 students and 5 faculty members to the OSU campus.
A native of Spartanburg, South Carolina, Mr. Speed earned his Bachelor of Music degree, summa cum laude,
from Vanderbilt University and his Master of Music degree from Boston
University. Additional studies include two summers at both the Aspen
Music Festival and the Tanglewood Music Center, where in 1999 he
received the Rose Thomas Smith Legacy Prize. His principal teachers have
been Edwin Barker, Edgar Meyer, and William Scott. Mr. Speed plays on a
late 19th century Neapolitan bass by Carlo Loveri.
Woodwind
Dr. Virginia Broffitt Kunzer
Flute
Dr.
Virginia Broffitt Kunzer is Associate Professor of Flute at Oklahoma
State University, principal flute of the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas,
a Mentor for the Hot Springs Music Festival, and a founding member of
the Pangaea Chamber Players. A versatile musician, she has established a
successful career as a teacher, soloist, orchestral musician, and
chamber musician. Before her appointment at OSU, she served as faculty
at Western Illinois University and flutist in the Camerata Woodwind
Quintet. She has also held positions in the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and
Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. Dr. Broffitt was a faculty member
with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Preparatory Department and served as guest artist and faculty in
residence for The North Carolina School of the Arts Music Piccola
festival. Among Virginia's notable accomplishments are winning the
National Flute Association's Young Artist Competition in 2004.
An
avid teacher and performer, she has given performance master classes
and performed concerts throughout the United States and Europe. Virginia
has appeared as a soloist with the Quincy Symphony Orchestra, INTY
Ensemble, the OSU Wind Ensemble, OSU Symphony Orchestra, and the WIU
Symphony Orchestra. She is an active presence in the National Flute
Association, performing at numerous conventions, previously serving as
Coordinator of the Young Artist Competition, and currently serving as a
Board Member. An enthusiastic performer of contemporary music, Virginia
has had the opportunity to work with many notable contemporary composers
on their pieces, including Chen Yi, Derek Bermel, George Tsontakis,
Jake Heggie, Michael Fiday, and Moritz Eggert.
A
native of Iowa City, Iowa, Dr. Broffitt received her Bachelor of Music
degree in flute performance from the University of North Carolina School
of the Arts where she studied with Tadeu Coelho. She went on to receive
a Master of Music degree and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Her past
teachers include Dr. Bradley Garner, Randy Bowman, Dr. Tadeu Coelho,
Jack Wellbaum, and Dr. Irna Priore.
Virginia is a Miyazawa Performing Artist.
Celeste Johnson Frehner
Oboe
Celeste
Johnson is currently the Associate Professor of Oboe at OSU, and
maintains positions performing with the Tulsa Symphony and Tulsa Ballet
Orchestras. She hosts the annual Oklahoma Oboe Festival, bringing
renowned oboists to the OSU campus. During the summer of 2016, she will
begin performing with Opera Maya, a summer opera company located in
Cancun, Mexico.
As
a performer, Celeste has appeared with numerous orchestras, music
festivals, and in competitions around the globe. She has held positions
with the Sarasota Opera Orchestra, Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra,
and the Champaign-Urbana Symphony. Ms. Johnson has also won prizes for
her performances at the Barbirolli and the Fernand Gillet/Hugo Fox
International Oboe Competitions. She has also performed in Switzerland,
Canada, Colómbia, the Isle of Man (British Isles), and as guest
principal oboist of the Russian String Orchestra. She served as
principal oboe of the New York String Orchestra with performances in
Carnegie Hall, and has received fellowships to attend the Tanglewood
Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, Kent/Blossom Music Festival, and the
Sarasota Music Festival.
Ms.
Johnson has held additional teaching positions at the Bay View Music
Festival, Roberts Wesleyan College, the University of Kansas, and with
the Colómbian Youth Philharmonic in South America. She has been awarded
the First Lady of OSU Outstanding Music Faculty Award in 2011 and the
College of Arts and Sciences Junior Faculty Award for Scholarly
Excellence in 2007.
Celeste
Johnson holds a Master of Music in Performance and Literature from the
Eastman School of Music and a Bachelor of Music from the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her primary teachers have included Richard
Killmer, Nancy Ambrose King, Dan Stolper, and Phil Koch.
Babette Belter
Clarinet
Babette
Belter is Associate Professor of Clarinet at Oklahoma State University.
Ms. Belter holds degrees in Music Education, Woodwinds, and Clarinet
Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Michigan
State University. She currently performs as principal clarinet with the
Tulsa Ballet Orchestra and Signature Symphony where she has appeared as a
soloist performing works of Weber, Bernstein, and Rossini. Professor
Belter also regularly performs with the Tulsa Philharmonic. Among her
many performances have been presentations for conventions of the
International Clarinet Association, the Music Teachers National
Association, the College Band Directors National Association, the
Oklahoma Music Educators Association, and the Oklahoma Bandmasters
Association.
In
addition to performing as a soloist throughout the United States, Ms.
Belter has presented a series of solo recitals in Japan and has
performed the Copland Concerto with the Guatemala National Symphony
Orchestra in Guatemala City, Guatemala. As a recipient of the
Southwestern Bell Foundation Fellowship, Professor Belter participated
in the Classical Music Seminar-Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria and
researched several Hungarian chamber music manuscripts in Budapest,
Hungary. Ms. Belter has served as an American Cultural Specialist in
Costa Rica through the United States Information Agency where she
presented recitals and master classes on American music. Her travels
have also taken her to Israel and England where she has performed as a
soloist and presented master classes.
In 2004, she received the Wise-Diggs-Berry award for outstanding teaching at Oklahoma State University.
Dr. Jeffrey Loeffert
Saxophone
Dr.
Jeffrey Loeffert serves as Associate Professor of Saxophone at Oklahoma
State University. During the summer months, Loeffert teaches at the
Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan, the Great Plains Saxophone
Workshop in Oklahoma, New Music on the Point in Vermont, and the Cortona
Sessions for New Music in Cortona, Italy.
Loeffert
is a very active chamber musician. As a founding member of the h2
quartet, Loeffert has won numerous chamber music prizes including First
Place at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, First Place at
the North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition, First Place
at the Union Française des Artistes Musiciens Chamber Music Competition
(France), twice First Place at the Music Teachers National Association
Chamber Music Competition - Michigan, First Place in the Northwestern
University Chamber Music Competition, and First Place in the Michigan
State University Concerto Competition. Loeffert has also been a
finalist in the Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Chesapeake Bay
Chamber Music Compeition, the Plowman Chamber Music Competition, and a
three-time finalist in the Coleman Chamber Music Competition. Loeffert
is featured on seven commercially available discs and a DVD, as well as
on a PBS television episode of Backstage Pass, which offers
viewers a first-hand look at the inner workings of a top-flight chamber
ensemble through live in-studio performances and interviews with the
ensemble members. His recording of "Groove Canon" by Marc Mellits was
recently used as the monologue theme music for the Broadway show The Heidi Chronicles, starring Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) and Jason Biggs (Orange is the New Black).
Loeffert
has performed at such prestigious venues as the Avalon Theatre in
Easton, Maryland; the Cankar Dom in Ljubljana, Slovenia; Clowes Hall in
Indianapolis, Indiana; the Guarnerius Center for the Performing Arts in
Belgrade, Serbia; the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland; the
Sarajevo Music Academy in Sarajevo, Bosnia; the Times Center and Merkin
Hall in New York City; and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles,
California; in addition to university recital halls across the country.
An advocate of new music, Loeffert has premiered works by Drew Baker,
Ross Bauer, Karl Blench, Sy Brandon, Jongyun Choi, Thomas Dempster,
Antoine Fachard, Benjamin Fuhrman, Takuma Itoh, Igor Karača, David
MacDonald, John Mackey, Marc Mellits, Victor Marquez-Barrios, Roger W.
Petersen, Forrest Pierce, David Rakowski, Jesse Ronneau, Billy Ryan,
Matthew Schoendorff, Greg Steinke, Timothy Stuhlman, Tina Tallon, Amy
Williams, Kevin Wilt, and Daniel Wohl, among others.
Loeffert graduated Summa Cum Laude from
Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Music double major in
Saxophone Performance and Jazz Studies. At Northwestern, Loeffert won
the Program Honors Award for his graduating class. A Frank Huntington
Beebe Scholar, Loeffert studied in Paris at the Conservatoire à
Rayonnement Régional de Cergy-Pontoise where he received the Médaille
d'Or à l'Unanimité - Saxophone, and the Médaille d'Or à l'Unanimité -
Musique de Chambre. Loeffert also studied at the Conservatoire à
Rayonnement Régional de Boulogne-Billancourt where he received the
diploma Cycle d'Orientation Professionnel with an emphasis in
contemporary music. Loeffert completed graduate studies at Michigan
State University (MSU) as the recipient of a University Distinguished
Fellowship. He received a Master of Music degree and a Doctor of Musical
Arts degree in Saxophone Performance as well as a Master of Music
degree in Music Theory Pedagogy. At MSU, he was awarded the Paul Harder
Award for music theory and composition. Loeffert studied music theory
under Bruce Campbell, Gordon Sly, Bruce Taggart, and Leigh Van Handel.
His primary saxophone teachers include Bob Chreste, Jean-Yves Fourmeau,
Jean-Michel Goury, Frederick L. Hemke, Joseph Lulloff, and Scott Plugge.
Loeffert has had additional studies with Jan Berry Baker, Griffin
Campbell, Masahito Sugihara, and Kelland Thomas, and significant support
and mentorship from David Dees and John Nichol.
Loeffert
is a Yamaha and Vandoren Performing Artist and plays exclusively on
Yamaha saxophones and Vandoren reeds, mouthpieces, and ligatures.
Dr. Kelly Hancock
Bassoon
Dr.
Kelly Hancock is the newly appointed instructor of bassoon at Oklahoma
State University. Prior to this appointment, she was a member of the
United States Army Europe Band and Chorus, stationed in Heidelberg,
Germany. In this engagement she performed extensively throughout Europe
as a member of the band, as a featured soloist, and as a member of the
woodwind quintet. Dr. Hancock has also performed with the Cleveland
Opera, Cleveland Pops, Miami Symphony, South Florida Symphony, Ashland
Symphony, Canton Symphony Orchestra, and was second bassoonist of the
Youngstown Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with summer
festivals including the National Repertory Orchestra and Opera in the
Ozarks.
An
active and passionate chamber musician, Dr. Hancock was a founding
member and bassoonist of the Heidelberg Arts Ensemble, a professional
chamber group featuring artistic programming consisting of varied
instrumentation. Comprised of musicians from the United States and
Germany, this ensemble served the broader purpose of fostering a sense
of community between the diverse cultures living in the state of
Baden-Württemberg.
Dr.
Hancock's commitment to music education has been a constant throughout
her career. During her time in Europe, she was actively involved in
outreach programs as a member of the Army, and also served as a double
reed coach for the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project in Schladming,
Austria. She has taught master classes involving students from across
Europe, the United Kingdom, Asia, and Australia where she coached
students in solo, chamber, and large ensemble musical environments.
Dr.
Hancock holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of
Texas at Austin, a Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute
of Music, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Baldwin-Wallace
University. Her principal teachers include Kristin Wolfe Jensen, Barrick
Stees, Jonathan Sherwin, and Mark Popkin.
Brass
Dr. Ryan Gardner
Trumpet
Dr. Ryan Gardner is the Associate Professor of Trumpet at Oklahoma State University.
Originally
from Santa Monica, California, Dr. Gardner received his Bachelor of
Music from the Eastman School of Music with highest distinction, his
Master of Music from Rice University - Shepherd School of Music, and his
Doctor of Musical Arts from the Manhattan School of Music. While in
New York, he worked with former principal trumpeter of the Metropolitan
Opera Orchestra, Mark Gould, and the former second trumpet player of the
New York Philharmonic, Vincent Penzarella. Dr. Gardner's thesis is
based on Penzarella's pedagogical techniques and philosophies, which
include innovative ideas on breathing, air usage, and brass playing, as
well as performance psychology.
Dr.
Gardner has been teaching students for more than a decade. Prior to
his appointment at Oklahoma State University, Dr. Gardner served as the
Assistant Professor of High Brass and the Jazz Band Director at the
University of Arkansas - Fort Smith. In New York, Dr. Gardner enjoyed a
successful free-lance and teaching career. He held faculty positions
at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege, Third Street Music
Settlement, Music Conservatory of Westchester, Greenwich House Music
School, and Meyer London School, as well as at the Manhattan School of
Music Summer Camp.
Under
the direction of Dr. Gardner since 2011, the Oklahoma State University
Trumpet Studio has taken extraordinary strides. Dr. Gardner's students
have been accepted on scholarship into distinguished graduate programs
including the New England Conservatory, DePaul University, Carnegie
Mellon University, Southern Methodist University, University of Southern
California, University of Louisville, University of Colorado and
University of Texas-Austin. At the 2012, 2013 and 2014 International
Trumpet Guild Conferences, the OSU Trumpet Ensemble received rave
reviews and standing ovations for their performances. Dr. Gardner's
students have achieved success at the regional, national and
international levels, most recently winning the 2014 and 2015 National
Trumpet Competition Ensemble Division in addition to International
Trumpet Guild Scholarship Awards.
Dr.
Gardner, outside of his work at the University, maintains his private
studio and additionally gives master classes and lectures
internationally while continuing to perform.
As
an orchestral performer, Dr. Gardner has played with the Los Angeles
Philharmonic, the Honolulu Symphony, the Charleston Symphony, the
Rochester Philharmonic, the Tulsa Symphony, the Tulsa Opera, the Tulsa
Ballet, the Fort Smith Symphony, the New World Symphony, the Spoleto
Festival Orchestra USA, the Music Academy of the West Orchestra, the
Aldeburgh Festival Britten-Pears Orchestra in England, and the Verbier
Festival Orchestra in Switzerland, directed by James Levine. He has
also performed in many prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall,
Symphony Space, Merkin Concert Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully
Hall, and the Palau de la Musica Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. Dr.
Gardner continues to have an active orchestral performing schedule. He
plays principal trumpet with the Distinguished Concerts International
Orchestra in New York City and is a member of the Symphony of Northwest
Arkansas and the Artosphere Festival Orchestra.
Dr.
Gardner also stands out as an avid chamber musician and soloist.
Ensembles of note are the Three-Fifths Trio, the OSU Brass Trio, the OSU
Brass Quintet, the Eastman Brass Quintet, the Rochester Philharmonic
Brass Quintet, the Houston symphony Brass Quintet, and the Seventh
Partial Brass Quintet, as well as the new music ensembles Alarm Will
Sound and Crash Ensemble. Dr. Gardner has also performed with Broadway
touring shows including Young Frankenstein and The Three Phantoms. As
the Concerto Competition winner in trumpet at the Eastman School of
Music and the Music Academy of the West Brass Ensemble Competition, Dr.
Gardner soloed with both the Eastman Wind Orchestra and the Music
Academy of the West Brass. He has also been a featured soloist with the
Southeast Symphony and most recently with the OSU Symphony Orchestra.
Dr.
Gardner has been privileged to work with artists such as Ray Charles,
Doc Severinson, Wayne Bergeron, Lenny Pickett, Mark Inouye, Don Green,
Allan Vizzutti, the Canadian Brass, Michael Tillson-Thomas, Esa-Pekka
Solonen, and David Zinman, to name a few. He can be heard on the Naxos,
Mark Records, and BX Entertainment labels and is a Bach performing
artist and clinician. His latest album, On Track, has been lauded as
having a velvety tone that never loses roundness, strength and technical
skills, and playing with all the feeling we want to hear (American
Record Guide).
Holding
memberships with professional associations, Dr. Gardner actively
participates with the International Trumpet Guild, College Music
Society, and National Associaton of College Wind and Percussion
Instructors, as well as the National Trumpet Competition. In 2010, Dr.
Gardner was honored for his philanthropic work as Spotlight Artist of
the Year by Music for Autism. He is now the Artistic Coordinator for
Music for Autism, programming music nationally for those with autism and
their families, and most importantly, helping raise awareness and
advocating for those with autism.
Dr.
Gardner is indebted to all of his main trumpet teachers: Vincent
Penzarella, Mark Gould, Marie Speziale, James Thompson, Boyde Hood, and
Paul Salvo. He is thankful to have had additional studies with Adolph
"Bud" Herseth, Jens Lindemann, Ryan Anthony, Mark Niehaus, Laurie Frink,
Doug Prosser, Michael Sachs, Mario Guarneri, Joe Burgstaller, Ed
Carroll, Thomas Smith, and Per Brevig.
Lanette Lopez Compton
Horn
Lanette
Compton has been Associate Professor of Horn at Oklahoma State
University since 2005. She earned her Bachelor of Music Degree in
performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a student of
Allen French and her Master of Music Degree in performance from the
University of North Texas as a student of Dr. William Scharnberg.
Lanette
is presently a member of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, Tulsa Opera
Orchestra, Tulsa Oratorio Chorus Orchestra, and Tulsa Ballet Orchestra.
She has also been a member of the North Arkansas Symphony Orchestra,
Texas Wind Symphony, Allen Philharmonic Orchestra, Flower Mound Chamber
Orchestra, Garland Symphony Orchestra, Los Colinas Symphony Orchestra,
Signature Symphony Orchestra, University of North Texas Symphony
Orchestra, University of North Texas Wind Symphony, Camerata Chamber
Winds, and the Myriad Brass Orchestra. She has also performed with the
Dallas Wind Symphony, Fort Smith Symphony, and Enid Symphony Orchestra.
Lanette
has performed on more than a dozen CD’s, including the critically
acclaimed CD The Manne We Love: Gershwin Revisited featuring the Steve
Houghton Quintet and the University of North Texas Two O’clock Lab
Band. She has performed as soloist with the Camerata Chamber Winds,
North Central Texas College Singers, and the University of North Texas
Wind Symphony. She has performed at the Mid-South Horn Workshop, Texas
Music Educators Association Convention, College Band Director’s National
Association Convention, World Association of Symphonic Bands and
Ensembles Convention, and the American Bandmasters Association
Convention. Lanette has performed for such artists as Luciano Pavarotti,
Pat Boone, Diane Schurr, and Collin Raye.
Lanette
has extensive chamber music experience in both brass and woodwinds
quintets, including being a finalist in both the Coleman and Fischoff
chamber music competitions. She is on the faculty of the Western Chamber
Music Institute held at Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado.
Paul Compton
Trombone
Paul
Compton has been Associate Professor of Trombone at Oklahoma State
University since 2003. He studied trombone at the University of North
Texas with Vern Kagarice and Tony Baker, at the University of Texas at
Arlington with Andrew M. Russell, at the Henry Mancini Institute with
Bruce Paulson and Andy Martin, and at the Alessi Seminar with Joseph
Alessi. Paul has also performed in master classes for Christian
Lindberg, Denis Wick, Ben van Dijk, Ron Barron, Scott Hartman, and John
Fedchock. Prior to his appointment at OSU, Paul taught at North Central
Texas College and the University of North Texas. He has enjoyed an
extremely versatile career, with extensive experience as a solo,
symphonic, jazz, and chamber music performer.
Paul
is devoted to promoting the trombone as a solo instrument. He has
premiered more than twenty new compositions for trombone, by composers
James Kazik, Wil Swindler, Joseph T. Spaniola, Stephen Smith, David
Wilborn, Ian McDougall, James Beckel, David Herring, Michael Schneider,
Dave Rivello, Sy Brandon, and David Shipps. Paul has performed as
soloist with the University of New Mexico Wind Symphony, Camerata
Chamber Winds, Oklahoma State University Wind Ensemble, Oklahoma State
University Symphony Orchestra, Signature Symphony Orchestra, Myriad
Brass Orchestra, Oklahoma State University Jazz Ensemble, Jacksonville
State University Jazz Ensemble, University of North Texas Trombone
Ensemble, Stillwater Community Band, and the Wills Point High School
Band. Paul was a semifinalist in the prestigious Concert Artists Guild
Solo Competition, and he received an Outstanding Performance Award in
the Down Beat Student Music Awards. He has given recital performances at
the University of Missouri, University of Saskatchewan, Texas Tech
University, Del Mar College, Central Methodist University, and Oklahoma
State University. Paul received a Commission Assistance Grant from the
Co-op Press in 2004, which resulted in the premiere of Ballad and Dance
Variations for Solo Trombone and Wind Ensemble by Sy Brandon. Paul
subsequently won First Prize in the Co-op Press Recording Competition
for his recording of Ballad and Dance Variations, and his recording can
be heard on the album Trombonarama.
Paul
is a member of the North Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and he has
performed and recorded with several other orchestras, wind ensembles,
and choral ensembles. He has held regular positions in the University of
North Texas Symphony Orchestra, Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra,
Irving Symphony Orchestra, San Angelo Symphony Orchestra, University of
North Texas Wind Ensemble, University of Texas at Arlington Wind
Ensemble, and the Myriad Brass Orchestra, and he has performed with the
Flower Mound Chamber Orchestra, Plano Symphony Orchestra, Texas Wind
Symphony, North Central Texas Chorale Orchestra, Women's Chorus of
Dallas Orchestra, Tulsa Opera Orchestra, Tulsa Oratorio Chorus
Orchestra, Signature Symphony Orchestra, Tulsa Ballet Orchestra, and the
Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. Through these ensembles Paul has performed
with artists such as Luciano Pavarotti, Diane Reeves, Herbie Hancock,
Terrence Blanchard, Christian McBride, Sam Harris, Larry Gatlin, John
Williams, Tony Bennett, Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, Bob
Brookmeyer, and Monica Mancini. He has also performed in such venues as
the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, Kodak Theater, Walt Disney Concert
Hall, Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, and Bass Hall.
Paul
was lead trombonist of the well-known University of North Texas One
O'clock Lab Band, and he can be heard on four of the group's albums. He
also performed with the ensemble at the Molde International Jazz
Festival (Norway), Pori International Jazz Festival (Finland), PASIC in
Dallas, IAJE Conventions in New York and New Orleans, the New York Brass
Conference, the Texas Jazz Festival in Corpus Christi, Texas Ballet
Theater, Lone State Ballet, and the North Texas Jazz Festival in
Addison. He played for such artists as Greg Bissonette, Terry Gibbs, the
Brecker Brothers, Jim McNeely, Bill Watrous, Byron Stripling, Tim
Hagens, Kenny Wheeler, and Joe Lovano. Paul played every Monday night
for 5 years with the house Big Band at Sambuca Jazz Café Addison. He was
lead trombonist of the University of Texas at Arlington Jazz Orchestra,
and performed with the ensemble at the Montreux International Jazz
Festival (Switzerland) and the Texas Music Educators Convention. He also
performed with the Cary Richards Orchestra, Dreamaker Big Band,
Eastside Jazz Orchestra, Tuxedo Junction, Collection Jazz Orchestra,
Shelley Carroll Big Band, Dallas Jazz Orchestra, In Full Swing, Galen
Jeter Orchestra, and the Les Elgart Orchestra. Paul is lead trombonist
of the jazz trombone ensemble Slide Tradition, winner of the
International Trombone Association Kai Winding Jazz Trombone Ensemble
Competition and the National Jazz Trombone Ensemble/Capitol Bones
Competition. Slide Tradition was an artist ensemble at the 2002
International Trombone Festival in Denton, TX.
Paul
has performed regularly as a chamber musician. In 1997 he began
performing with the Texas based Bluebonnet Brass, and has since
performed several hundred concerts with the ensemble. This includes
guest performances with the San Angelo, Temple, and Georgetown Symphony
Orchestras, as well as concerts across the United States and Japan. Paul
has also performed with the Infinity Brass Quintet, Newcastle Brass
Quintet, Classic Brass Quintet, and the Bravo Brass Quintet. He was a
member of the Camerata Chamber Winds of Coppell, TX for two seasons,
performing some of the finest chamber music for winds. As a member of
the Bravura Trombone Octet, Paul twice won the Down Beat Magazine
Student Music Awards Competition for Classical Chamber Ensemble. Paul is
a faculty member for the Western Summer Chamber Music Institute held at
Western State College of Gunnison, Colorado.
Paul is an artist for the Edwards Instrument Company of Elkhorn, Wisconsin and Griego Mouthpieces.
Stephen Kunzer
Tuba and Euphonium
Stephen
Kunzer currently resides in Stillwater, Oklahoma where he is professor
of tuba and euphonium at Oklahoma State University. Stephen received his
Bachelor of Music from the University of Arizona with emphasis in both
Tuba Performance and Music Education. His Master of Music is from the
University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where he
served as a graduate assistant.
In
addition to his position at Oklahoma State University, Stephen is a
first-call musician on the Las Vegas Strip, performing with countless
headliners including Jennifer Hudson, Carole King, Joshua Bell, Emmylou
Harris, Martina McBride, John Fogerty, Arturo Sandoval, and Willie
Nelson. He performs regularly in Broadway Las Vegas, including such
shows as Disney's Lion King and Mary Poppins, The Gershwins' Porgy &
Bess, The Rat Pack Is Back, and has toured extensively with the Dallas
Brass Quintet.
Stephen
is in high-demand throughout the world as a solo artist and clinician,
giving lectures, master classes, and recitals. His performances have
been heard coast-to-coast in the United States, Thailand, and Korea, and
he is a regular presenter at regional and international music
conferences. Stephen has previously served on faculty at the University
of Nevada, Las Vegas and is a contributing writer for the International
Tuba and Euphonium Association Journal.
Stephen is a Besson/Buffet Crampon USA, Inc. Tuba Artist and Clinician.
Percussion
Wayne Bovenschen
Percussion
Wayne
Bovenschen has served as Associate Professor of Percussion for 28
years. In this capacity, he directs the Concert Percussion Ensembles,
Taiko Ensemble, studio lessons, percussion techniques class, and the OSU
Marching Percussion Ensemble. He is the sponsor of the Alpha Chapter of
Kappa Kappa Psi. From 1987-2015, he also served as Assistant Director
of Bands and Director of the OSU Spirit Band. A graduate of Michigan
State University, Mr. Bovenschen holds a B.M. in Education and an M.M.
in Applied Percussion.
The
OSU Concert Percussion Ensemble was selected as one of three ensembles
to perform at the PAS International Conference (PASIC) in November 2014
in Indianapolis. This ensemble also performed at PASIC 1996 in
Nashville. In 2011, the OSU Marching Percussion Ensemble performed as
one of three university drumlines invited to present an exhibition at
PASIC in Indianapolis. This group has competed at PASIC seven times,
placing second in 2001.
Mr.
Bovenschen also serves as music director for the Stillwater Community
Band, which was invited to perform at the OMEA state convention in 2011.
In the summer of 2016, this ensemble will perform in the Festival of
States in Hawaii. He has conducted high school and junior high honor
bands throughout Oklahoma as well.
Mr.
Bovenschen's prior teaching experience includes percussion instructor
for the Michigan State University Spartan Marching Band and Lansing
Community College. He has performed with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra
and the Cavaliers and Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps. He is a
member of PAS, formerly serving on the board of the International
Percussion Ensemble Committee and twice as president of the Oklahoma
Chapter. He is also a member of NAfME, IARP, KKY, TBS, and PMA, and
serves as a clinician for Ludwig and Vic Firth. Mr. Bovenschen has
arranged over 400 scores for high school and college marching bands and
drum & bugle corps across the country, and is publishec by Drop6
Media and Arrangers Publishing, Inc.
