conductor violin viola cello bass flute oboe clarinet trumpet trombone euphonium kayagûm changgu

The CrossSound Sinfonietta formed in Juneau in 1999 with five Juneauites in collaboration with CrossSound for the purpose of premiering and performing new musical works by living composers. Since then, the CrossSound Sinfonietta and its sister ensembles in Sitka and Ketchikan, SitkaSound (2000) and RevillaLegato (2001) respectively, have included more than 100 musicians from all over Alaska, the US and the world.

William Todd Hunt - Conductor (Juneau) - Conductor of the Juneau Lyric Opera, Mr. Hunt has also appeared with the Northern Hungarian Symphony Orchestra, the Kling Chamber Orchestra (Louisville, KY), Indiana University Chamber Opera, Opera to Go (Juneau, AK) and the Juneau Symphony. He served as Assistant Conductor at Indiana University Opera Theatre, University of Louisville Opera Theatre, Music Theatre Louisville and the Evansville Philharmonic where he has worked with conductors Arpád Jóo, Alfred Savia, Imre Palló and David Harman, among others. Mr. Hunt holds a Masters Degree in Conducting from Indiana University where he studied under Imre Palló and Thomas Baldner and a Bachelors Degree in Music Performance (Woodwinds) from the University of Louisville (KY). He has participated in masterclasses, seminars, and lessons in America under the guidance of such auspicious conductors as Kurt Masur, Stephen Schwartz, Raffi Armenian and Lawrence Leighton Smith. In Europe he has studied with Jorma Panula, Kirk Trevor, Johannes Schlaefli, Mariusz Smolij, and Toma? Koutnik. Mr. Hunt served as co-founder and Music Director for Ardo Opera (Bloomington, IN), where he produced and conducted several productions, notably at the Bloomington Early Music Festival. Although presently focused on operatic work, he is equally at ease with symphonic orchestral conducting. Recently Mr. Hunt was a semi-finalist in the conductor competition sponsored by the Hungarian Television were he conducted the Northern Hungarian Symphony Orchestra in performance. He has also conducted the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic in both Kromerí? and Zlín, Czech Republic. Currently, Mr. Hunt is the founder and Music Director for the Amalga Chamber Orchestra of Southeast Alaska. Previous opera and musical theater productions include Candide, The Turn of the Screw and Albert Herring, Amahl and the Night Visitors, L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Così fan tutte and Le Nozze di Figaro, Madama Butterfly, Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Il Turco in Italia, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Don Pasquale. This is his 2nd season with CrossSound as a conductor.

Ken Wright - Violin (Washington) - is a native of Washington State and began studying violin at the relatively ripe age of 11.  Six years later, Ken became Concertmaster of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra and was the winner of the Seattle Young Artists Concerto Competition, where he played one of his favorite pieces: the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto.  He attended the University of Washington in Seattle where he studied with Maestro Vilem Sokol and Steven Staryk.  Since then, Ken has become a prolific performer and recording artist, and was recently featured as a soloist in a Showtime documentary.  Ken is a member of the Auburn Symphony and was recently appointed Principal Violin II of the Yakima Symphony Orchestra. Ken plays regularly as a guest with the Juneau Symphony. This is his 3rd season with CrossSound.

Joël Belgique - Viola (Oregon) - was born in Lansing, Mich., and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, by French parents. He first studied viola with Mikhail Boguslavsky, and later with David Holland at the Interlochen Arts Academy. His viola studies went on to include undergraduate work at the Eastman School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music and a master’s degree from Brigham Young University. His principal teachers were Heidi Castleman, Clyn Barrus, David Dalton and Laurent Nouvelhomme. Before joining the Oregon Symphony in 1997 as principal violist, he was a member of the San Diego Symphony. He also performed as a guest with the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Topaz Trio of Canada, the Utah Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, Portland Chamber Orchestra, Yaquina Bay Symphony, the International Viola Congress in Seattle, Wash., the Minneapolis Viola Congress, The Four Violas, Mainly Mozart in San Diego, Spoleto in Italy, the National Repertory Orchestra in Keystone, Colo., and Round Top in Texas. Joël has collaborated as a chamber musician with artists such as Elmar Olivera, Leonard Pennario, Igor Gruppman, Ralph Matson and in Portland with the Ethos Quartet and the Third Angel Ensemble. He is a strong advocate of new music and as a member of new music group Fear No Music, he has performed works by Schnittke, Svoboda, Penderecki, Berio and others. As well as maintaining a private studio, Joël is on faculty at Portland State University where in addition to his viola class, he teaches a course for string majors on orchestral techniques and audition preparation with colleagues from the Oregon Symphony Orchestra. This is his 1st season with CrossSound.

Jared Carlson - Cello (Minnesota) - is a native of the midwest, most recently Duluth, MN.  He received Bachelors degrees in both Cello Performance and Environmental Studies from Lawence University, in Appleton WI, where his principal teacher was Professor Janet Anthony.  While at Lawrence, Jared attended the Soundfest Chamber Music Festival in Falmouth, MA on scholarship where he and his string quartet were coached by the Colorado Quartet.  Jared originally found his way to Juneau, Alaska three summers ago as a raft guide on the Mendenhall River, and has happily spent the past two summers exploring the skies and glaciers of Southeast Alaska as a Glacier Trekking Guide with Northstar Trekking — a helicopter-based glacier trekking company serving clients primarily from the cruise ship industry. While in Juneau, Jared has served as Principal Cellist of the Juneau Symphony and the Juneau Lyric Opera, performed as both a soloist and ensemble member in the Juneau Symphony's annual Showcase Concert, performed at the Juneau Folk Festival, and performed as a chamber musician and soloist in several recitals.  He maintains a studio of cellists in Juneau, teaching members of the Juneau Symphony as well as younger students from the community.   Future plans include attending flight school to receive his rotary wing pilot's license, and returning to the Minneapolis area to begin studies with Peter Howard, former Principal Cellist of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, in preparation for Graduate School. This is his 1st season with CrossSound.

Patrick Murphey - Double Bass (Juneau) - Originally from  Knoxville Iowa, Patrick received his B.A. in Double Bass Performance and a minor in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Iowa, and a post-graduate degree in Music Education from Wartburg College. He was a long time member of the Waterloo Symphony Orchestra bass section. After leaving Iowa, Patrick served as Principal Bassist of the Plymouth Symphony for a short time until accepting a teaching post in Unalakleet, Alaska. After that, he moved to Juneau, AK where he has worked as the orchestra teacher at Dzantik I Heeni Middle School, Jazz Band Director at the Montessori Adolecent School, Music Director of the high school musical, Principal Bassist for the Juneau Symphony, as well as a writer of music and performer for Perseverance Theater. Patrick currently teaches music at Riverbend Elementary School and maintains a private teaching studio. He can be regularly seen around Juneau playing in the acoustic jazz trio Tres Feles. This is his 1st season with CrossSound.

Laura Koenig - Flute (Anchorage) - Laura Koenig teaches flute and music history at UAA. She received her doctorate from the University of Iowa as the first performer ever awarded the prestigious Iowa Fellowship. Her dissertation on experimental music in eighteenth-century France received both the Stanley Fellowship for Research Abroad and the Indiana University Press Award. Dr. Koenig also holds music degrees from UCLA and UC San Diego, and she has completed graduate course work at Oxford University. As a specialist in baroque and contemporary music, Dr. Koenig has performed throughout the U.S., Europe, and Australia, including the Australian Broadcasting's Young Artist Series, the Darmstadt Festival, and the National Flute Association's Annual Convention. She has taught at Knox College and the University of Iowa. Since moving to Anchorage in 1997, Dr. Koenig has performed in the Anchorage Festival of Music, Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, Anchorage Opera Orchestra, and as a regular member of the John Damberg Latin Jazz Ensemble. This is her 1st season with CrossSound.

Nancy Nash - Oboe (Haines) - is a multi-instrumentalist who has spent all her adult life, happily, in Haines. In Southeast Alaska she is known mainly as a pianist, but she served as principal oboist with the Juneau Symphony under conductor Mel Flood. She has studied oboe with Robert Mayer, former principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Peter Christ, of the Westwood Wind Quintet. Hailing originally from the Midwest, Nancy holds a degree in philosophy from Gustavus Adolphus College and a BA in Music from the University of Alaska. She has taught piano privately for thirty years in Haines and also serves as Music Coordinator for the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska. Nancy especially enjoys working with children with special needs, coordinating music activities with physical and developmental therapy plans. The one drawback to life in beautiful Haines is the scarcity of chamber music playing opportunities, so Nancy is very much looking forward to this, her 1st season playing with CrossSound.

William Todd Hunt - Clarinet (Juneau)- was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He holds a Masters Degree in Conducting from Indiana University where he studied under Imre Palló and Thomas Baldner, and a Bachelors Degree in Saxophone Performance with outside fields in woodwinds from the University of Louisville (KY). He has performed many recitals and concertos in the US and Canada, and has also worked in the pit. He has taught saxophone since 1989. As a conductor, Todd has participated in masterclasses, seminars, and lessons under the guidance of such conductors as Kurt Masur, Stephen Schwartz, Raffi Armenian and Lawrence Leighton Smith. Mr. Hunt served as co-founder and Music Director for Ardo Opera (Bloomington, IN), where he produced and conducted several productions, notably at the Bloomington Early Music Festival. Although presently focused on operatic work, he is equally at ease with symphonic orchestral conducting. Recently Mr. Hunt was a semi-finalist in the conductor competition sponsored by the Hungarian Television. He is the founder and Music Director for Amalga Chamber Orchestra of Southeast Alaska. This is his 3rd season with CrossSound as a musician.

Rick Trostle - Trumpet (Juneau) - experienced his first joy with music classes, choirs and piano lessons as a young student at Interlochen, National Music Camp (now National Arts Camp) where he spent five summers studying voice, drama, piano, trumpet, orchestra and band. Rick began playing trumpet at the age of ten and has studied with a number of teachers, most notably Ron Hassleman of the Minnesota Orchestra and Richard Pressley of the Seattle Symphony. Rick attended Oberlin College and where he received BA in Biology (in order to get a "real job.") After several years pursuing real jobs, music reared its beautiful head in the form of a music teaching job at a school in southwestern Alaska. Rick's musical projects include playing principal trumpet in the Juneau Symphony and Juneau Brass Quintet, producing and performing annual trumpet recitals, directing the Juneau Student Symphonies (youth orchestras with no age limit), directing and teaching at Thrush Hill Music (a private lesson studio), and teaching elementary music for the public Montessori elementary classrooms in Juneau.  He has performed with CrossSound since its first program in 1999 and loves every aspect of this festival from working with the composers and fellow musicians to the excitement of bringing sparkling new music to life. This is his 6th program with CrossSound.

Roger Schmidt - trombone (Sitka) - grew up in his present home, Sitka. As a musician he has studied music at the Bruckner Konservatorium in Linz, Austria, at Oberlin Conservatory and at the Aspen Music Festival. His principal teachers have been Raymond Premru of the Philharmonia Orchestra and Paul Welcomer of the San Francisco Symphony. He has toured with the Orion Trombone Quartet, and has worked as a free lance musician in the San Francisco Bay area playing with various groups in a wide range of musical styles. He currently teaches music in Sitka. Roger is a former student of the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, which won the Governor's Award for the Arts under his direction in 2004. This is his 6th program with CrossSound.

Nathan Bastuscheck - Euphonium (Juneau) - received the majority of his musical education at the University of Washington where he was a three-time recipient of the Walter Welke Scholarship for Wind Ensemble. While at the University, Nathan performed regularly with the Wind Ensemble and the University Symphony, and studied privately with Richard Byrnes and Stuart Dempster. Other performance credits include the Seattle Brass Ensemble, Seattle Philharmonic, Everett Symphony, Washington Wind Symphony, Seattle Concert Band, Puget Sound Musical Theater, Civic Light Opera, Village Theater, Tacoma Concert Band and the Seattle Symphony Brass Ensemble. Nathan has also been an active freelance musician with many different small ensembles and as a solo performer. He currently plays with the Juneau Symphony, the occasional polka gig with accordionist Dale Wygant, and with his lovely wife, violist Julia Bastuscheck. This is his 4th program playing with CrossSound.

Jocelyn Clark - Kayagûm (Juneau) - grew up in Juneau, Alaska playing the piano, clarinet, and oboe with Nancy Nash in the Juneau Symphony, and attending the Sitka Fine Arts Camp with Roger Schmidt. After a year in Japan, she started studying the koto at age 18 with the Sawai Koto Academy under Yagi Michiyo, and later Maruta Miki at Wesleyan University. In 1990-1 she studied zheng at the Nanjing Academy of Arts in China, and then in New York with master Wang Changyuan. From 1992 to 1994 she received a scholarship to study traditional Korean music majoring in kayagûm performance at the National Classical Music Institute in Seoul, Korea. She returned in 1995 to study kayagûm with a grant from the Harvard Korea Institute. In 1999-2000, she received a Fulbright Fellowship to study Korean traditional music in Seoul with Ji Aeri and “National Intangible Human Cultural Asset” Kang Jeongsuk. Jocelyn won the KBS Korean Folk Arts contest for foreigners in 1994 and 1999, and the HBS contest in 1995. In 2000-1 she returned to Korea on a Seonam Foundation Fellowship and appeared at the 2001 Jeonju Sanjo Festival. She is the co-founder and co-director of the new music festival, CrossSound, in Alaska with composer Stefan Hakenberg, and she founded the East Asian zither ensemble IIIZ+ in 2001 with changgu player/composer Il-Ryun Chung of Berlin, with which she has toured throughout Europe and the East Coast of the US. Her writing on the kayagûm appears in the liner notes of Hwang Byung-Ki's 2001 re-release box set in English, Korean, Japanese, and French. She has a 2005 Ph. D. from Harvard University in East Asian Languages and Civilizations where she wrote on Kayagûm Pyôngch'ang. This is her 4th program playing in the CrossSound festival.

Il-Ryun Chung - Changgu (Berlin, Germany) - was born in Frankfurt/M. Germany in 1964. From 1967 to 1971 he lived in Seoul, Korea. At the age of 16, Chung taught himself to play the guitar. In 1984 he went to Berlin to study guitar and composition with Carlo Domeniconi. In 1994, he was awarded at the Berlin Festival for Guitar and Chamber Music, for his Movement in Circles II for flute and guitar. Chung completed his studies in composition at the Berlin Music Academy in1995 with Prof. Jolyon Brettingham-Smith. An encounter with the Korean master drummer Kim Duk-Soo made a lasting impression upon Chung's rhythmic perception. In 2000-2001 he worked on a concerto for SamulNori and Orchestra. Chung is a founding member of the ensemble IIIZ+ with Jocelyn Clark, with which he tours in Europe and the US regularly. This is his 1st CrossSound season.

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