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, Ketchikan, and Anchorage, SitkaSound (2000), RevillaLegato (2001), and KnikKlang (2006) respectively, have included more than 100 musicians from all over Alaska, the US and the world.
William Todd Hunt - Conductor (Juneau) 2004, 2005 - 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.
Ken Wright - Violin (WA) 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 - 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.
Andreas Bräutigam - violin (Germany) 2004 - studied at the "Franz Liszt" conservatory in Weimar, majoring in Violine; he has worked as a Violinist in Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin; he is the founder and director since 1989 of the Ensemble UnitedBerlin.
Inés Voglar - violin (OR) 2004 - joined of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra this past August 2004 and is active as a teacher, coach, chamber music player, and soloist. Ms. Voglar began her musical training at an early age as a member of the Carabobo Youth Orchestra in her native Venezuela. Just a few years later, she bacame the concertmaster of the Carabobo Symphony Orchestra. Following a scholarship to come to the United States, Ms. Voglar earned a Bachelor of Music degree with Honors from Duquesne University, where she won the 2000 Young Artist Competition, and a Master of Music degree from Carnegie Mellon University, where she studied with violinist Andrés Cárdenes and won the CMU Concerto Competition. She has appeared at the Latin American Violin Festival, the Western Slope Summer Music Festival and with the National Repertory Orchestra, where she served as Concertmaster and appeared as a soloist. In 2002, Ms. Voglar was selected as one of the Concertmasters for the UBS Verbier Festival Youth Orchestra, touring and working under the batons of James Levine, M. Rostropovich, Paavo Jarvi, Bobby McFerrin and Kurt Masur. Prior to her arrival in Portland, Ms. Voglar performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony for two seasons, with whom she also appeared as a soloist. Her interest in contemporary music led her to become a member of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble for a few years. During that time, she had the opportunity to premier various works, including a violin solo piece, “Chameleon,” written for her by American Composer David Stock in 2001. Ms. Voglar has been invited to play with Portland based group Fear No Music.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review brought out “the evening’s most musically touching moment occurred when violinst Inés Voglar played [...] with ineffable poignancy, a magical moment that required impressive technical finesse.” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said she “attacked the music with fierce intensity and absolute precision.”

Currently, Ms. Voglar is preparing for future solo appearances with various orchestras in Venezuela, and working in projects with Venezuelan composers to commission pieces to promote and support their music.
Steve TADA - violin (Juneau) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 began playing the VIOLIN at the age of five through the Seattle Suzuki School under Mihiko Hirata. He later studied with Denes Zsigmondy at the University of Washington, Seattle. He has participated in many chamber concerts with the Bravura String Quartet and is now concertmaster of the Juneau Symphony in Juneau, Alaska.
Kathryn Hoffer — violin (Anchorage) 2001, 2006 — studied with George Perlman in Chicago and at the Eastman School of Music with Carroll Glenn and John Celentano. She has been a member of the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra since 1974, and concertmaster since 1982. Other ensembles of which she is an active member include the Arioso Chamber Ensemble, a group which enjoys performing contemporary music, particularly music written by women; and the Capriccio String Trio, a group which plays for social functions in the Anchorage area. Kathryn has been an orchestra teacher for the Anchorage School District responsible for the beginning orchestra programs in 7 elementary schools. Currently she is the music director of the Anchorage Elementary Honor Orchestra program. The orchestra is open by audition to 6th grade students. Ms. Hoffer is married to Martin Hoffer, principal bassoonist of Anchorage Symphony. She plays a violin made in Genoa, Italy, in 1756 by Bernardus Calcanius.
Hale Loofbourrow - VIOLIN (Juneau) 2000, 2001 is a senior at Juneau-Douglas High School and is a VIOLIN student of Linda Rosenthal. He started violin at age seven and has also studied with Guo-Hua Xia and Lisa Ibias. Twice a winner of the Juneau Symphony Youth Concerto Competition, Hale received a Superior rating and a command performance at the Southeast Alaska Music Festival, was a 1999 winner of the Alaska Solo Competition and has received several scholarships from the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council. Hale is a member of the Alaska All-State Honor Orchestra, the Juneau Symphony, Concertmaster of the Juneau-Douglas High School Orchestra and was a member of the Fireweed String Quartet. This summer Hale attended BRAVO String Institute in Minneapolis, and he also has received training at the Indiana String Academy. An avid soccer player, he is on the high school soccer team and also enjoys running.
Stefan Hovik - violin (Ketchikan) 2001 - was born in Ketchikan and lived there for all his 16 years. He started playing violin at age 5 and made his debut with the Southeast Symphony of Ketchikan at the age of ten in the Brahms Requiem. He also played with the Juneau Symphony for 5 years where he was a winner of the reqional Youth Concerto Competition. Stefan lives on Pennock Island and takes a boat to and from town. He enjoys soccer, hockey, running, and snowboarding. He has two parents, two brothers, a dog, and two cats on the island to keep him company.
DAVID GLAZIER - VIOLIN (Kotzebue) 2000 - has spend the past five summers in Sitka powertrolling his own commercial boat for salmon. During the school year he teaches music in Kotzebue. Before that, he also taught music in Southeaset for nine years and in Southwest Alaska for one year. Mr. Glazier hold a Master's Degree in Music from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor's of Music from the University of Oregon. His symphony experiences are extensive and varied and he has a strong background in jazz and folk music as well.
Bob King - violin (Juneau) 2000, 2001 of Juneau plays in the second VIOLIN section of the Juneau Symphony and is a member of the Symphony's Board of Directors. A long time and enthusiastic supporter of contemporary classical music, King's paying gig is as Press Secretary to Governor Tony Knowles.
Joël Belgique - Viola (OR) 2005 - 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.
Kirsten Doctor - viola (OH) 2002 - is a member of the Naumburg Chamber Music Award winning Cavani String Quartet, and is on the faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music.  She was the first prize winner of the 1991 Primrose International and the 1992 American String Teachers Association Viola Competitions.  As a member of the Cavani Quartet, Ms. Docter performs regularly on major series and festivals throughout North America and Europe. Appearances include the Carnegie Hall Centennial Series in New York, the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Ambassador Series in Los Angeles, and Festival de L'Epau in France.  The quartet records for the Azica Records label.  Ms. Docter has collaborated with such musicians as Itzhak Perlman, Robert Mann, Donald Weilerstein, Franklin Cohen, Warren Jones, and Stephanie Blythe. 
 
A dedicated teacher of both the viola and chamber music, she has given masterclasses at many colleges, universities, festivals and schools throughout the country. She has performed and taught at numerous summer festivals including Interlochen Arts Camp, Madeline Island Music Festival, Kneisel Hall, Yale Summer School of Music and Art at Norfolk, Britt Arts Training Program, the Perlman Music Program and currently serves on the faculty of the Encore School for Strings. Ms. Docter is a graduate of the Oberlin College Conservatory and the Curtis Institute of Music. Major teachers include Karen Tuttle, Jeffery Irvine and Lynne Ramsey.  Ms. Docter resides in Cleveland, OH with husband Paul Cox and their sons Sebastian and Benjamin.
Julia Bastuscheck - viola (Juneau) 1999, 2000, 2001 - began her study of the VIOLA in the Palo Alto, CA, public schools in 1965. She was fortunate to have many outstanding teachers and musical opportunities as she was growing up, and decided to make music her career. In 1978, she received a B.A. in viola performance from Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA, where she studied viola and chamber music with Barton Frank, Serge Kardalian and Charmian Gadd. After graduation, Julia moved to Seattle, where she performed regularly with local symphonies and musical theater groups on a free-lance basis. Feeling the need for full-time work inmusic as well as the responsibility to continue the tradition of string education, Julia decided to pursueteacher certification at the University of Washington. She enrolled in the music education program in 1985 and studied viola and chamber music with Paul Coletti, conducting with RickByrnes and Timothy Salzman and played in the University Symphony and Chamber Orchestra, where she met her husband, Nathan. After receiving certification in 1988, Julia was contacted by the Juneau School District, where she has been teaching strings, choir and general music classes since October 1988. During the 10 years Julia has been teaching in Juneau, the orchestra program has growntremendously. The Juneau-Douglas High School Orchestra was recently selected to perform inDisneyland as part of Magic Music Days. Besides her teaching duties, Julia has been conductorof the Juneau Youth Symphony, is principal violist with the Juneau Symphony and performs with the Nimbus Ensemble.
Jenny Quinn - viola (Juneau) 2004 - studied violin from age 8 and as a student, played viola with the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras' Senior Orchestra under Joel Bard, the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra of the New England Conservatory under Benjamin Zander, and the Middlebury College Orchestra. She studied viola under Boston Symphony Orchestra's Ed Gazouleas and Emily Bruell, and throughout her undergraduate program was a member of various chamber emsembles. Jenny became interested in East Asian music and culture during her year at Sophia University in Tokyo, where she privately studied tsugaru shamisen and traditional festival music of Japan. Jenny holds a B.A. from Middlebury College in East Asian Studies, Japanese Literature and Culture, and a minor in Music Performance. In 2003, she became an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer for the Southeast Regional Resource Center in Juneau, Alaska. Currently she is the administrator of the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council. Jenny plays with the Juneau Symphony, the CrossSound new music festival, and as a chamber musician.
Andrew Schirmer - viola (WA) 2002 - hails from Seattle WA. He currently lives in Bellingham where he is pursuing a double degree in viola performance and Russian at Western Washington Univeristy. He has performed throughout Europe, Japan, and the continental US. He regularly plays with the Juneau Symphony. A passionate epicurean, he enjoys cooking, traveling, and art -- when he is not practicing.
Kari Jane Doctor - cello (NY) 2002 - has performed as cello soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Europe, and Asia.  Among her accomplishments are a duo performance with Bobby McFerrin and the Juilliard Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall, a collaboration with Yo Yo Ma on Wynton Marsalisí Marsalis on Music PBS production, and a nationally televised performance from the Great Wall of China.  She has spent the last two summers as an artist at the Marlboro Music Festival, and will perform in their upcoming fiftieth anniversary concerts in New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.  Ms. Docter has soloed with ensembles such as the Minnesota Orchestra, the New World Symphony, and the National Repertory Orchestra, and has participated in many music festivals, including the Taos School of Music, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and the Tanglewood Music center.  A native of Minneapolis, MN, Ms. Docter holds degrees from Rice University (magna cum laude) and the Juilliard School.
Andrew Talle - cello (MD) 2002 - B.M. in Cello Performance, B.A., M.A. in Linguistics, Northwestern University; M.A., Ph.D. in Musicology, Harvard University. Active baroque and modern cellist. Awards include the Packard Fellowship and Sheldon Traveling Fellowship from Harvard University; Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) Traveling Fellowship for research in Germany; Blakemore Foundation fellowship for advanced study of Vietnamese. Currently working on a book-length study of Bach’s Suites and Partitas. Former lecturer, Harvard University.
Mary Riles (WA) — cello 2006 — received her B.M. in Cello Performance from Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1992, and her Masters of Music in Cello Performance from Temple University in 1996. She then relocated to Seattle, Washington, where she provides private cello instruction and chamber coaching. Mary has performed with several area orchestras, including Thalia Symphony where she was principal of the cello section for five years. She also gave two performances of the Haydn Cello Concerto in C Major with Thalia. She also plays regularly as a guest with the Juneau Symphony and teaches cello in Juneau. Mary's first love musically has always been chamber music, and she is a founding member of the new Seattle-based Meridian Ensemble, as well as a guest performer with other local ensembles. She is passionate about both traditional and contemporary repertoire, and is looking forward premiering works by living composers in her first season with CrossSound.
Jared Carlson - Cello (MN) 2005 - 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.
 DAVID SEID - CELLO (Juneau) 2000, 2001 - will listen to his mother in his next life and continue to play and practice his cello throughout school. After about 13 years of musical inactivity, including a degree in English and law school, he started playing again in Ketchikan. Two kids later, David is back in Juneau and loves to be asked to play with chamber groups and orchestras.
Patrick Murphey - Double Bass (Juneau) 2005 - 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.
John Staub - double bass (Juneau) 2000, 2001 - a woodworker by trade, has played BASS since his early teens in orchestras and chamber groups, in jazz and big bands and around gypsy campfires. John has been principal bassist for many years with the Juneau Symphony and has also performed in local jazz trios and with the Fiery Gypsies among other ensembles. "I like an instrument that can do it all." And, he's both base and vile.
Kathryn Kurtz - piccolo (Juneau) 2001 - studied flute with Janet Gellert in Anchorage and Jacquiline Hofto at the Interlochen Arts Academy. She is extremely grateful to Gail Coray and the many other patient piano teachers who taught her so much about music, as well as her colleagues in the Juneau Symphony for the opportunity to keep playing.
Laura Koenig - Flute (Anchorage) 2005, 2006 - 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.
Sally Schlichting - Flute (Juneau) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 - began playing flute at the age of ten in her home town, Juneau, Alaska. She played flute through high school, and attended music workshops and summer camps including Interlochen before continuing her music studies at the University of Southern California and the University of Washington, where she earned a degree in music in 1990. She has studied flute with Pamela Ryker, Mary Louise Poor, Felix Skowronek, Gary Woodward and Mel Flood. Ms. Schlichting currently enjoys a full life in music, playing regularly with the Juneau Symphony, the Nimbus Ensemble, the Dal Segno flute and guitar duo and especially with her aunt, pianist Mary Watson. She has been the concert coordinator for the Symphony Showcase chamber music concerts since 1995, and firmly believes there can not ever be too much chamber music in the world.
Skyler Lashley - alto flute (Juneau) 2001 - began studying piano as the age of 6 in Deer Lodge, Montana. At 11, he began flute. After high school, Skyler studied music education at Monana State under Karen Leech. He played with the Montana State Wind Ensemble, the Prarie Symphony, andthe Butte Symphony. He is now a music teacher.
Coral Pendell - flute (Sitka) 2002 - Sitka High student
Greg Steinke - oboe/oboe d'amore (AZ) 2002 - is former Joseph Naumes Endowed Chair of the Departments of Art and Music, and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies at Marylhurst University in Oregon. Currently he is active in the Flagstaff Symphony, as a soloist specializing in contemporary music, and as a composer of chamber and large ensemble music with many published works and recordings.
Nancy Nash - Oboe (Haines) 2005 - 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.
JAN COLDWELL - OBOE / ENGLISH HORN (JNU/Anchorage) 1999 - Having been described as a "fellow eccentric", Jan Coldwell began her musical studies on clarinet but later switched to the oboe at the age of 14. In junior high she made her own reeds and performed Alec Wilder's "Air for Oboe and Strings" with the school orchestra. While she was in high school the music department purchased a Marigaux English horn. From then on, she was hooked. She had her first oboe lesson when she went to the University of Kansas to continue her music studies. At SUNY Buffalo she was a competition winner performing J.S. Bach's Oboe d'amour Concerto. Her teachers include: Robert Stanton, Florence Myers, Ronald Richards, Galan Kral, Julie Brye, Susan Hicks Brashier, and Alan Hawkins on bassoon. She considers it a distinct pleasure meeting and playing for such notables as: John Mack, Paul McCandless, Robert Sprenkle, Tom Stacy, Allen Vogel, and David Weiss. Her music activities in Juneau include: the Juneau Symphony, Juneau Lyric Opera, Symphony Showcase chamber music concerts, the Nimbus Ensemble, and the most enjoyable -- adding to the chamber music in the world with Sally Schlichting and Mary Watson. Ms Coldwell considers it an honor to be included in the inaugural season of CrossSound.
Mark Wolbers - Clarinet (Anchorage) 2004, 2006 - is Professor of Music at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) where he serves as Division Head for Wind and Percussion Studies, conducts the University Wind Ensemble, and coordinates music teacher education. His doctoral degree in clarinet performance was earned at the University of Michigan where he was the Associate Conductor of the U of M Youth Band & Wind Ensemble and recipient of both Rackham and School of Music Fellowships. He is a founding member of the UAA faculty trio Alaska Pro Musica and is an active performer, conductor and clinician. His compositions, recordings and published works include A-ri-rang Fanfare for brass and percussion, Singing in the Band Rehearsal (Music Educators Journal), the UAA Fight Song, Mozart Duo K. 423 arranged for two clarinets (Woodwindiana/ANDEL), UAA Alma Mater, Alaska Pro Musica CD Contrasts, and numerous articles for the Alaska Music Educator Journal. Wolbers currently serves as the State of Alaska Chair for the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA).
Karl Pasch - clarinet (Anchorage) 2004 - is principal clarinetist with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Anchorage Civic Orchestra, and the owner of the Music Man music store in Anchorage. He has performed with the Birchwood String Quartet, the Anchorage Opera, and the Anchorage Festival of Music. Conducting appearances include the Anchorage Ballet, Anchorage Festival of Music Conservatory, and the South-Central Suzuki Institute. Karl has conducted the New World Symphony in masterclass with Michael Tilson Thomas, and for several Conductor's Workshops. He has composed fils scores for Northstar Productions and Broadcast Services of Alaska, and plays saxophone with several blues and rock bands. He recently performed for elementary children in Banda Aceh, INdonesia while on a tsunami relief project with Solace International. Karl is also an avid skier, snowboarder, skydiver, and kayaker.
William Todd Hunt - clarinet/ soprano sax (Juneau) 2002, 2003, 2005 - 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.
Kevin Schempf - bass clarinet (OH) 2004 - is Associate Professor of Clarinet at Bowling Green State University and is active as a teacher, chamber player, soloist, and orchestral musician. After graduating from the Interlochen Arts Academy and the Eastman School of Music, he performed with the United States Coast Guard Band and toured with them throughout the United States and to St. Petersburg, Russia. A frequent soloist with the Band, he was featured on NPR broadcasts and on their 75th Anniversary CD Recording. He was on the faculty at Connecticut College and performed with the New London Contemporary Ensemble. He has also taught at Wesleyan University where he played with the New World Consort, which gave regular concerts throughout Connecticut, in New York City and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Schempf played with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra for nine years, appearing as a concerto soloist on several occasions. He has also performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Chautauqua Orchestra, and The Toledo Symphony. Chamber music engagements include performing with the Ying Quartet, several concerts and a CD recording with the Society for New Music in Syracuse, NY, appearances at the Skaneanteles Festival, with the Wall Street Chamber Players, Chamber Music Plus, and Venti da Camera.

He has performed throughout Europe and Japan, and most recently in Stockholm as a recitalist at the International Clarinet Conference in 2002. CD recordings include the premiere recording of Stephen Albert's "Wind Canticle" with the Bowling Green Philharmonia and most recently Appalachian Spring with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra.
Jeremy Brandt-Young - soprano sax (Juneau) 2003 - grew up in Newport News, Virginia. There he emerged from the successive traumas of middle school concert band and high school marching band with his love of music undaunted. He moved to North Carolina and studied classical saxophone with James Houlik until completing a batchelor of music degree in saxophone performance from the North Carolina School of the Arts. He remained in North Carolina to start his master's degree in music with James Kalyn and to perform iwth the North Carolina Symphony, the North Carolina Ballet Orchestra, the North Carolina Saxophone Quartet, and the Janus Woodwind Trio. During this time, he married Christina, a musicologist and violist. Mr. and Mrs. Brandt-Young began studying and performing early music on viols and bloc flutes. Then, suffering from overwork, horrible commutes through the Research Triangle, and a complete lack of time to spend with their family, both of them took a break and moved to Alaska. (They have unfortunately since left.)
SUSAN BRANDT-FERGUSON - BARITONE (Sitka) 2000, 2001, 2002 and teaches music in her home town of Sitka, Alaska. Although baritone saxophone is her primary instrument, she began her musical studies on piano, and continued them on the clarinet. However, it was her introduction to the baritone saxophone at the age of twelve that gave her love for music a voice. In college she also studied the bassoon. Susan has a music education degree from Pacific Lutheran University where she studied saxophone with Roger Stemen and Bruce Wilson, and bassoon with Francine Peterson. Following college, Ms. Brandt-Ferguson taught music in Washington state before making Sitka her home once again. Susan has been teaching general music and band at Verstovia Elementary School since 1996. She has recently become certified in the Kodály philosophy of music education. She is also a member of the Sitka Sound Saxophone Quartet.
Dale Curtis - trumpet (Ketchikan) 2001, 2004 - teaches band at the high school in Ketchikan, Alaska. He holds a BA and MA in music education from the the University of Idaho's Lionel Hampton School of Music. He also has attended the US Armed Forces School of Music in Norfolk, VA and holds an AA degree in business. He has a wide range of experience and is comfortable with all styles of music from jazz to classical. Awards include first place (twice) in the Jazz Soloist Competition at the University of Idaho/Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. His professional experience includes principle trumpeter and section leader for the 82nd Airborne Division US Army Band as well as numerous clubs and studio work in California before moving to Alaska. While in Alaska he has performed as lead/jazz trumpeter for the Ketchikan Jazz Society Big Band, and the Mel Flood Big Band in Juneau. He has also performed as principle trumpeter and soloist for the S.E. Symphony in Ketchikan and has performed with the Juneau Symphony. Notable artists he has performed with incloude Bobby Shew, Diane Reeves, Urbie Green, Lionel Hampton, The Supremes, and others. During a recent leave of absence from teaching he was employed by Princess Cruises where he performed in a show band aboard the Dawn Princess in Alaskan and Caribbean waters.
Rick Trostle - Trumpet (Juneau) 1999, 2000, 2001 (PI, PIII) 2002, 2005 - 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.
John Plucker - horn - (Haines) 2004 - grew up in Haines, Alaska and started playing the horn at age 11. After graduating from high school he went to the University of Fairbanks to study with Jane Aspnes, graduating in 2004. After graduation, he attended the State Acedemy of Music in Oslo, Norway. John plays with the Fairbanks Symphony Orechestra and the Artic Chamber Orchestra. He has also played new music in New Zeland with the ensembles Gate 7 and Stroma. John finds the diversity in CrossSound amazing and hopes to return in the future.
Tia Wilhelm - Horn (Ketchikan) 2001, 2002, 2004 - grew up in Ketchikan. In 1984 she received two Bachelor of Music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, one in horn performance and one in music education. She returned to Ketchikan to teach music. In 1986 and 1988 she was an Artist in Residence in Perryville and Chignik, Alaska. Through the 1980's Tia performed regularly with the Southeast Symphony and gave several solo recitals. In 1990 Tia and her husband Chris (rustygate.com) began Ketchikan City Tours (citytours.alaskamade.com) offering double decker bus tours. This will be Tia's 3rd season with CrossSound. Tia and Chris currently live in Ketchikan with their two children, Gretchen and Matthew along with 6 cats and 1 dog.
Bill Paulick - horn (Juneau) 1999, 2000, 2001 was hooked on the FRENCH HORN following the Leonard Bernstein "Concerts for Young People" series of the 1960's. He started playing in the public school system of Whittier, California and continued studying privately for many years under Arthur Franz and later Philip Farkas. Bill played in various ensembles in the Los Angeles area, including regional honor bands, brass and woodwind quintets, and the Rio Hondo Symphony, conducted by Mehli Mehta. Following graduation from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1973, Bill settled in Juneau and has been active in brass and woodwind quintets, the Juneau Symphony and the Southeast Alaska Symphony in Ketchikan. In a 1984 partnership with Professor Farkas, Bill produced a two-hour video entitled "The Horn" for use as a surrogate instructor in rural areas. Distribution eventually included 14 countries around the world. Bill was president of the Juneau Symphony in 1986 and currently teaches horn and manages the Juneau Brass Quintet. He is owner/manager of Juneau Brass & Woodwinds, serving the repair, sales, and rental needs of Southeast Alaska brass and wind musicians.
Roger Schmidt - trombone (Sitka) 2000, 2001 (PII, PIII), 2002, 2004, 2005 - 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.

And Students: Mike Bagley, Laurinda Marcello, Mary Marx, Matt Howey, Nicola Trainor, Greg Hunter, Judy Totten, Mica Trani, Jenny MacDougall, Kari Perensovich
Dr. Christopher R. Sweeney — trombone (Anchorage) 2006 — Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Alaska Anchorage, was raised in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.  He received a B.S. in Music Education and a B.S. in Music Therapy from Duquesne University, an M.M. and a Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Miami.  He has taught elementary through high school band, choir and guitar in the McKinley County Public Schools, New Mexico, and the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Florida.  Prior to working at UAA, Dr. Sweeney served as Assistant Professor of Music at Limestone College, Gaffney South Carolina, where he was the coordinator of the Music Education and Music, Jazz emphasis programs.  At Limestone he also served at the Head of Teacher Education.  In addition, Dr. Sweeney is an active clinician, adjudicating and rehearsing bands throughout New Mexico, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.  His research interests are in helping musicians, especially at the beginning levels, make home practice more efficient.
Wayne Houtcooper - trombone (Ketchikan) 2004 - an Assistant Professor of Science with the University of Alaska Southeast in Ketchikan, has been playing trombone for over four decades.  He is a past member of the 1964 International Peace Garden European Tour Band, the Prestigious University of North Dakota Wind Ensemble, the Pierre-South Dakota City Band, and the Over Forte' Big Band Orchestra.  He currently performs with the Ketchikan Community Concert Band, the Ketchikan Community Orchestra, and the Ketchikan Jazz Society Big Band.  During the day, Dr. Houtcooper teaches Biology and Society, Fundamentals of Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology, Histology, and the Science of Nutrition.  Dr. Houtcooper has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Natural Sciences from the University of North Dakota.  He received his Master of Arts and Ph.D. degrees in Vertebrate Ecology and Systematics from Indiana State University. Prior to teaching, he worked as an Environment Senior Scientist for the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Director and Chief Zoologist at the South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, and was a Field Representative of Zoology at the Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission. He and his wife, two daughters, and four dogs enjoy living in Ketchikan.
Logan Wild - trombone (Sitka) 2000, 2001, 2002 - Sitka High student
Jim Rogers - bass trombone (Juneau) 2001 - moved to Juneau in 1999 from "NOLA" (New Orleans, LA). Rogers grew up in Chicago where he learned to play trombone in the public school system, but picked up most of what he knows from playing on the streets and in jazz bands. He spen 19 years with the US Army Band and six years with teh US Navy Band. Rogers has played jazz with the likes of such greats as Gordy Gordon, Greg Harrison, Cy Zentner and the Dixieland Band in New Orleans. His "legit" playing credits include the Southwest Floriday Symphony, the Wiesbaden Symphony and the Juneau Symphony. CrossSound is jazzed to have this "cat" as part of the program!
Nathan Bastuscheck - Euphonium (Juneau) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005 - 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.
Rob Holston - tuba (Ketchikan) 2004 - was born in rural Montana, previous century, ‘48. He received his first trombone at the age of 12 and has been playing since. Rob began tenor sax in Jr. College and played trombone and bari sax in the University of Montana’s jazz bands I & II, graduating with a Music Ed. Degree in 1973. Rob brags of playing for a national college football championship game. Asked ?what position?? he replies, ?All seven, I was a trombone player.? Rob founded the Rob’N’Hoods 15 piece big band which he directed for 7 years prior to moving to Ketchikan, Alaska in 1981 to teach music. He is a founding member of the Ketchikan Jazz Society Big Band. He performs weekly at his church on trumpet and flute. Rob’s last real gig on tuba was playing Dixieland for tourists in downtown Ketchikan. Rob has performed with nationally acclaimed artists including: Alan Visutti, Bobby Shew, Dale Curtis & now Fred Ho. Rob currently owns an excursion business, Google ?Lighthouse Excursion? or ?Loggerville? to learn more.
Clea Will - tuba (Sitka) 2000, 2001, 2005 - has been studying tuba for 7 years. She lives in Sitka, Alaska, where she studies with Roger Schmidt. She also studies piano and has recently begun to study organ as well. In addition to her instrumental studies, Clea also composes. She will graduate from Sitka High School in May and hopes to pursue a career in tuba performance after graduation.
Bob Banghart - MANDOLIN (Juneau) 2000, 2001 (PI, PIII) - grew up within the traditions of the American Southwest and brings a blend of cowboy, country, western swing and Cajun to both his fiddle and mandolin playing. Over the last twenty five years he has played festivals, dances and clubs throughout the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Canada and has shared the stage with a variety of musicians such as Marc and Ann Savoy, Commander Cody, Tiny Moore and Michael Doucet. He has also written and performed music for theater and film, including original scores for theater productions of John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and Michael Ondaatje's The Collected Works of Billy the Kid.
Dan Hobson - guitar (Juneau) 2002 - grew up playing piano and brass instruments in central NY, but found his way into classical guitar after coming to Alaska in 1970. In 1980-81 he studied music at Montana State University, including guitar master classes with Christopher Perkening. Dan has toured extensively throughout Alaska and the Pacific Islands as accompanist to Juneau violinist Linda Rosenthal, as well as playing locally in S.E. Alaska as part of the flute/guitar duo Dal Segno with Sally Schlichting. He composed an original score for the Perseverance Theatre musical "Red Noses" and directed music for Perseverance's Oriental Fantasy "Water of Life." He is a founder of the Alaska Folk Festival, having performed there often, and continues to perform and teach in the Juneau area.
Jocelyn Clark - Kayagûm/koto (Juneau) 2000, 2001 (PII, PIII), 2002, 2005, 2006 - 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.
Shoshannah Seligman - hurdygurdy/narration (Juneau) 2003
Phillip "Ossie" Kairaiyuak (Chefornak) — Cauyaq (Central Yup'ik frame drum) 2006 — Yup'ik-Eskimo born in Bethel and raised in Chefornak, Alaska. Yup'ik is my first language and English is my second. I am the youngest of 10 children that Maria and Hilary Kairaiuak produced (my numeral uno heros) raised in a subsistance village. I, along with my brother Larry and sister Rose, graduated from UAF with a degree Art-Sculpture. My love for the Native Culture is apparent in my works and working mostly with youth in teaching Native Arts: Dancing and Fine Arts. I am also a member of group Pamyua that exposed me to the rest of the world for several years. We now have 4 albums under our belt. At the 45th Annual Grammy Awards in March of 2003 we were chosen to represent Native American music. The Celebration of American Music was held at Times Square Studios, NY. The concert was just prior to the release of our third album, Caught in the Act, which won Record of the Year at the 2003 Native American Music Awards ("Nammy" Awards). In 2005, we won an Alaska Governor's Award for the Arts. My message to students is that there are many, many possibilities in the world in what you want to become — especially how we want the world to look at our Native Cultures many years from now. I say let the rest of the world say, "WOW!! That is cool!"
Il-Ryun Chung - Changgu (Berlin, Germany) 2005 - 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.
Paul Cox - timpani (Sitka/OH) 2000, 2001, 2004 Born and raised in Sitka, Alaska, Paul Cox received a bachelor of music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1992. He pursued additional study at London's Royal College of Music, Rice University, the Aspen School of Music, and Yale's Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. In 1999, he became co-director of the internationally recognized Aki Festival of New Music (FOUR-time winner of the ASCAP / CMA Award for Adventurous Programming). Leading a multi-faceted career in the arts as composer, performer, writer, and curator, Paul is currently ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC AT the Cleveland Museum of Art, where he has produced hundreds of performances ranging from baroque opera to Broadway show tunes to the latest avant-garde performance art. An active chamber musician, Cox has performed with numerous soloists and ensembles, including the Cavani String Quartet, Syzygy (Houston), marimbist Robert Van Sice, and organist Karel Paukert, among others. In addition, he has premiered new works written for marimba and various Western and Asian instruments (pipa, kayagum, and koto) at the CrossSound New Music Festival in Alaska. Other CrossSound commissions include Gale in CrossSound for student brass ensemble (Sitka High) (2000), Variations on a Summer Day for Joyce Parry Moore and the CrossSound Sinfonietta (JNU) (2001), Lint for the SitkaSound Ensemble (SIT) (2002), and Albion for piano solo (2003). Paul is a former student of the Sitka Fine Arts Camp. This is his 5th season with CrossSound.
DAVID SHEAKLEY - snare (Juneau) 2003 - was born in Juneau, Alaska but grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania. David, wife Stephanie and daughter Abigail decided to move back and live in Juneau six years ago. David’s great grandfather was also a drummer. In high school, David played the marching snare drum with the award winning Academy High School Marching Band, which competed with other marching bands from around the country where he earned the rank of Drum Section Leader and other awards. One hundred and fifty strong, the band traveled to and competed yearly in Toledo Ohio and West Virginia University for regional competitions, and in numerous Northeast cities and states for local competitions, ending the season in Indianapolis, Indiana for the Bands of America finals where bands from 49 states came to compete. During his time with Academy High, David also had the opportunity to march in the Endimien Parade in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and at Disney World for a bicentennial Celebration in Orlando, Florida. During the off-season David played percussion with the concert band, and drum set for the jazz band. With music flowing and rhythm pounding David started to sing with the school choir and dance with the dancing show-choir where he learned even more about music and rhythm. Now, for over a year, David has been playing snare with the Stroller White Pipes and Drums with which he competed in the 20th Annual Alaskan Scottish Highland Games, and won a medal in the Highland Drumming solo competition. Outside music, David runs his own business as a professional photographer as well as owning Sunburst Tanning in Juneau with his wife.
Ed Littlefield - percussion (Sitka) 2004 - attended the University of Idaho where he majored in Vocal and Instrumental Music Education, with an emphasis in percussion. There he studied percussion with Mr. Daniel Bukvich. Last summer, he worked with Carnival Cruise Lines where he played in the show band on the Carnival Holiday. He is now teaching music at Sitka High School. Ed is a former student of the Sitka Fine Arts Camp.
Andy Engstrom - drums (Juneau) 2002 grew up playing music in Juneau and graduated from Juneau-Douglas High School in 1984. He studied composition, music and recording in Alaska and Ohio and studied drumming in California. He attended the Musicians Institute of Techonology in Hollywood for a year to get a background in all the styles, from big band to Latin to heavy metal, and then moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music. From 1992 to 1995 he was on the road, playing 49 weeks a year, six nights a week, covering a 13-state circut from Louisiana to Michigan. Returning to Juneau in 1996, he has performed steadily and recorded awith a variety of bands. He recently released a new CD called Volitar, a rock extravaganza.
LEE HACKER - PERCUSSION (Juneau) 2001, 2002 began playing percussion at the age of nine. After high school he attended the U.S. Navy School of Music in Washington D.C., later serving on board the USS Kitty Hawk as a member of the admiral’s band. Following his military service, Hacker earned a bachelor’s degree at Southern Illinois University where he studied composition with Alan Oldfield, himself a student of Nadia Boulanger of the Paris Conservatoire. Since then he’s been a regular freelance musician, playing the club and dance circuit, and performing with more than 20 stage productions. About 15 years ago, Hacker got serious about symphonic music and has since played with the Stockton Symphony, the Camellia Symphony in Sacramento, and the Bremerton Symphony, along with many dance and opera companies. In addition to regular performing, Lee has worked as a piano technician for the past 36 years.

In 1995, Hacker moved to Juneau to tune the pianos throughout Southeast Alaska, a decision that also brought him to the Juneau Symphony, where he is a regular and versatile member of the percussion section. When asked what instrument he likes best, Lee doesn’t play favorites. “I like the triangle as much as the tympani,” he says.

As a composer, Lee has a particular appreciation of new music, both the challenges of writing music to be performed, as well as performing the new works of other composers. “New music is a kick. It’s really difficult, but it’s a status report, an update, it’s the news. We need to get that feedback on what’s happening in music. There’s so much that’s happened in music, just in the last 60 years, that we don’t even know about. We need to grow audiences’ ears. This music needs exposure.”
Woody Littman - percussion (Sitka) 2002 - Sitka Hight student
TIMOTHY SMITH - PIANO (Anchorage) 2003 - is Professor of Piano and head of Piano Studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Raised in Seattle, Washington, Smith began private piano studies at age five, and at ten was accepted into the Pre-College division of the Juilliard School. He made his orchestral debut at the age of 15. He then studied under scholarship with Bela Siki in Seattle and with Martin Canin at Juilliard where he received his Master of Music degree, and later at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he was awarded the Doctorate of Musical Arts in 1985. Dr. Smith has won major prizes and recognition in many international competitions. As a winner of the Artists International Competition, Smith made his New York recital debut in Carnegie Recital Hall. He has appeared with many orchestras, including the Seattle and Utah Symphonies, the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, as well as orchestras in Anchorage and Japan. Smith has performed on NPR, WQXR-FM (New York), RTB (Belgium), and other radio stations. He has taught master classes at universities in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan and has recorded for Seoul Records (Korea). In addition to teaching piano at UAA, Dr. Smith teaches Chamber Music and Piano Master Class. His first solo recording, Timothy Smith plays Liszt, has just been released nationally by Albany Records and is available locally at Borders, Barnes and Noble, etc. Of this recording, Adrian Corleonis of Fanfare Magazine wrote, ?...impressive and towering...one of the more gripping accounts of the (Liszt) Sonata in recent memory.? Timothy Smith is a Steinway Concert Artist. For more information on Smith, see http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/music/page8.html.
Mary Watson - piano (Juneau) 2001 - began her piano studies in Juneau in 1957. She took piano lessons from several Juneau teachers including Jane Stewart and Elizabeth Evans. After studying for 3 years at the University of Southern California with David Berfield, she continuted her studies with jean-Paul Billaud, Alberto Rafols, Daniel Epstein and Neal O'Doan. She has been a teacher in Juneau since 1977. Always interested in contemporary music, she is delighted to be the first pianist in CrossSound history.
HEATHER DAWN JANES - piano (Juneau) 2003 was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska where she graduated from Juneau-Douglas High School in 1995. While growing up in Juneau, she studied piano with Mary Watson, as well as playing the flute and various other instruments. In 1999 she obtained a B.A. in Music Education from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. At UAF, she studied piano with Dr. Eduard Zilberkant and Dr. Rose Chancler, completing a B.M. in Piano Performance in 2001. Ms. Janes has also studied piano with Antoinette Perry at the Aspen Music Festival and School. Currently, Heather is working on her M.M degree in Piano Performance at the Ithaca College School of Music, where she is an active chamber musician and accompanist, and a member of the Ithaca College Piano Ensemble and the Ithaca College Contemporary Chamber Players. She hopes to graduate this spring.
JOYCE PARRY MOORE - soprano (Juneau) 2001, 2003 completed her Master’s studies in Opera at the Boston and New England Conservatories under John Moriarty. She also performed with Mr. Moriarty at Central City Opera in Colorado. Ms. Parry Moore has sung roles with Lake George Opera Theatre and Liederkrantz Opera in New York, and Boston Lyric Opera and Longwood Opera in Massachusetts. Her roles include Violetta in La Traviata, Mimi in La Bohème, and Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus. Always a fan of new music, Joyce worked with "Friends and Enemies of New Music" in New York, and performed contemporary pieces like Face on the Barroom Floor at Central City and the children’s opera The Goose Girl by Pasatieri with Boston Lyric. Now a voice teacher in Juneau, Joyce came to Alaska to work with Perseverance Theatre and Molly Smith, with whom she performed Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf both in Juneau and Anchorage. Joyce also leads the Opera To Go group in Juneau, offering performances of contemporary opera and vocal music and dedicated to making opera accessible to Southeast audiences. SeaBoard Alexander will include the fourth work of contemporary music commissioned for Joyce by CrossSound. Joyce believes that CrossSound is a vital reminder that contemporary " classical music" is alive and well and written by all kinds of exciting people all over the world."