Ellen Taaffe Zwilich is an American composer, the first female composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Her early works are marked by atonal exploration, but by the late 1980s, she had shifted to a postmodernist, neoromantic style. She has been called "one of America's most frequently played and genuinely popular living composers." She was a 1994 inductee into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. Zwilich has served as the Francis Eppes Distinguished Professor at Florida State University.
Sarah Chang is a Korean American classical violinist. Recognized as a child prodigy, she first played as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1989. She enrolled at Juilliard School to study music, graduated in 1999, and continued university studies. Especially during the 1990s and early to mid-2000s, Chang had major roles as a soloist with many of the world's major orchestras.
Philip Smith is an American classical trumpet player. He is former Principal Trumpet with the New York Philharmonic and played with the orchestra from 1978 to 2014. Smith, born in the United Kingdom, is from a Salvation Army background. He assumed the co-principal position in the New York Philharmonic in June 1978 and the principal position in 1988. He also is a supporter of brass bands, performing with various groups of distinction.
Melinda Jane Wagner is a US composer, and winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize in music. Her undergraduate degree is from Hamilton College. She received her graduates degrees from University of Chicago and University of Pennsylvania. She also served as Composer-in-Residence at the University of Texas (Austin) and at the 'Bravo!' Vail Valley Music Festival. Some of her teachers included Richard Wernick, George Crumb, Shulamit Ran, and Jay Reise.
The Five Sacred Trees is a concerto by American composer John Williams. It was written for Judith LeClair, the principal bassoonist of the New York Philharmonic in 1995, to honor the orchestra's 150th anniversary. The first performance was given by LeClair and the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur on April 12 of that year. The orchestra consists of three flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones and tuba, timpani, harp, piano, celesta, percussion and strings. Performance time is approximately 26 minutes. Inspiration for the work also comes from the writings of British poet and novelist Robert Graves.
Arthur Weisberg was an American clarinetist, bassoonist, conductor, composer and author.
Gwydion Brooke was the principal bassoonist of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of its "Royal Family" of wind instrumentalists, along with Jack Brymer (clarinet), Terence MacDonagh (oboe), and Gerald Jackson (flute).
Jeanne Baxtresser is an American flutist and teacher. She is most notable for her position as principal flutist of the New York Philharmonic for over 15 years, she decided to play the flute when she was only nine years old, as an author, and as a professor and master teacher. Previous positions include professor of flute at the University of Montréal, The University of Toronto, Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, New England conservatory and Carnegie Mellon University. She received the National Flute Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. She has been credited with "upholding an increasingly higher standard of artistic excellence for the flute."
Frances Blaisdell was an American flautist, widely recognized as one of the first female professional flautists. She held positions with the National Orchestral Association, the New Opera Company and the New Friends of Music. In addition, she was the first woman to appear as a soloist and wind player in concert with the New York Philharmonic. In addition to playing, she also held teaching positions at the Manhattan School of Music, New York University, Dalcroze School, Mannes School of Music, and Stanford University where she taught for over 35 years. Blaisdell's teachers included Georges Barrère, Marcel Moyse and William Kincaid.
Marvin-Matis P. Feinsmith, bassoonist, was a native New Yorker and a graduate of the Mozarteum University of Salzburg, the Juilliard School, and the Manhattan School of Music as first bassoonist with a master's degree. Marvin studied bassoon with Simon Kovar for five years and Elias Carmen one year. He studied reed making with Harold Goltzer and Norman Hertzberg and chamber music at Juilliard with Julius Baker and privately with Harold Gomberg.
Karl David Van Hoesen was an American bassoonist and second professor of bassoon at the Eastman School of Music where he succeeded his teacher, Vincent Pezzi. During his career, Van Hoesen was second bassoon of the Cleveland Orchestra, and principal bassoon of the Rochester Philharmonic. Van Hoesen became known as a prolific bassoon pedagogue, and his students went on to occupy positions in the majority of American symphony orchestras.
Victoria Ellen Bond is an American conductor and composer in New York City.
Tamás Benkócs is a Hungarian classical bassoonist.
Richard Fleischman is an American violist and viola d'amore player, conductor and pedagogue.
Christopher Martin is an American trumpet player who was named the principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic in May 2016 and began his tenure there in September 2016. He has also served as Principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2005-2017) and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (2000-2005), Chris was a New World Symphony Fellow, although briefly, in the Fall of 1997. Then as Associate Principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra (1997-2000). He has also performed with High Bridge Brass, an American conical brass quintet, since its founding in June 2018. During his time in Chicago, Martin gave the world premieres of several trumpet concerti, notably Christopher Rouse's Heimdall's Trumpet in 2012. Christopher Martin plays on a YTR-9445CHSIII C Trumpet, YTR-9335CHSIII Bb trumpet, a Large Bore Bach 25 Bb trumpet, a Schilke P5-4, Bach Cornet, Yamaha Cornet.. He plays on Parke Mouthpieces, specifically 640(1.5c)-285(5B cup) and the 640-280(C cup) for high stuff & pops. For piccolo he uses a Bach 7E.
Uzi Shalev is an Israeli bassoonist. Since 1987 he is assistant principal bassoonist with Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO).
Mordechai Rechtman was an Israeli bassoonist, conductor, academic teacher and arranger. He was principal bassoonist of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra from 1946 to 1991. He was professor of bassoon at the Tel Aviv University from 1968 to 2002, and taught as a guest professor internationally, including the Indiana University School of Music, the Juilliard School and the Royal Academy of Music. Rechtmann was also known for transcriptions and arrangements for wind quintets and other ensembles that he had founded and conducted, specifically of concertos.
Francis Poulenc's Sextuor (Sextet), FP 100, is a chamber music piece written for a standard wind quintet and piano. Estimates about the time of its composition range from between 1931 and 1932 and 1932 alone. It received its debut in 1933 but was later revised in 1939. Performed in its entirety, the three-movement piece lasts approximately 18 minutes.
Bram van Sambeek is a Dutch bassoon soloist and teacher.
Helen Campo is an American flute virtuoso. She has held the flute chair on nine Broadway shows, including the long-running hit Wicked. Campo has recorded extensively for films, television, and albums, including the 2005 Grammy-winning cast album of Wicked.
