CAO : Woodwinds

Flute

	Leslie Fagan : Flute Leslie Fagan is a substitute for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago and is a founding member of the Barossa Quintet. She played piccolo with the Lyric Opera of Chicago for their 2003-2004 season and has performed as principal flutist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra during the current season. An active freelancer in the Chicago area, she has performed with numerous other organizations as both an orchestral player and soloist. She was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago during the 1997-1998 season and performed with that organization at Carnegie Hall under Daniel Barenboim during the 1999-2000 season. She spent two seasons as second flutist with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and has appeared as soloist with the Zion Chamber Orchestra, the Suburban Youth Orchestra, and the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra. As a member of the Barossa Quintet, Ms. Fagan has performed live on WFMT's Dame Myra Hess concert series as well as on Chicago's Music in the Loft chamber music series, and in recital at Ravinia's Bennett Gordon Hall. With the Barossa Quintet she also regularly presents educational concerts in Chicago public schools through the International Music Foundation and Ravinia's educational outreach program. Ms. Fagan teaches privately and was studio instructor for flute majors at Roosevelt University in Chicago for the 2003-2004 academic year. She holds a Doctorate of Music in flute performance from Northwestern University.
	Melissa Ngan Snoza : Flute Flutist Melissa Ngan Snoza currently performs with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and will be returning to the Peninsula Music Festival for her second season this summer. A passionate advocate for chamber music, Melissa is a founding member of the Fifth House Ensemble, which presents innovative performances and educational programs throughout Chicago. Also an active educator, Melissa currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Flute at Carthage College and teaches privately throughout the Chicago suburbs.  Previous award credits include First Prize at the National Flute Association’s Orchestral Audition Competition. She has been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, has performed with the New World Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the Aspen Music Festival.  In 2001, Melissa was the only American flutist invited to the first Music Master’s Course in Kazusa, Japan.  Melissa is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and of Northwestern University, with principal teachers including Bonita Boyd and Walfrid Kujala.

---

Oboe

	James Smith : Oboe James is finishing his undergraduate degrees as an honors candidate in Political Science and in Oboe Performance at Northwestern University, where he is a student of Grover Schiltz, English Horn Soloist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. An active performer as chamber musician and soloist, James has performed both the Strauss and Vaughan-Williams oboe concertos with the Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra (CT) and was recently a guest artist at the annual Fritzinger Concert at Miss Porter's School (CT). This past February he participated in a workshop and performance at Northwestern with composer John Adams. A scholarship recipient at the Domaine Forget in Quebec, James studied with former Berlin Philharmonic Principal Hansjorg Schellenberger. James has studied with Ray Still, former principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and his high-school teacher (and foremost musical mentor) is Humbert Lucarelli. James will travel next year to Munich, Germany, as a Fulbright Scholar to study at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. James is the son of musician parents; he was born in New York City and raised in Avon, Connecticut. When not practicing and making reeds, James enjoys a good jog, learning new languages and roaming the streets of Chicago.
	Lissa Stolz : Oboe Oboist Lissa Stolz, a native of Iowa, received her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa (Go Hawks!). Currently a freelance artist in the Chicago area, she is a member of the Rockford Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the Illinois Symphony, the South Bend Symphony, the Chicago Chamber Musicians, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Lissa is a former member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and attended Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts where she studied with Grover Schlitz and Alex Klein. Lissa maintains a private studio at the LaGrange Conservatory, where she introduces young students to the challenging world of reed-making. Also an active chamber musician, Lissa is a founding member of the Fifth House ensemble which presents innovative performances and educational programs throughout Chicago. When she’s not making reeds, she enjoys watching movies. With an uncanny ability to remember facts about anything on the screen, she remains the undisputed champion of the game “Scene It”.

---

Clarinet

Barbara Drapcho : Clarinet Barbara Drapcho is a freelance clarinetist in the Chicago area. She frequently performs with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 2000 to 2002. She has also performed with the Chicago Chamber Orchestra and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. For the past three years, she has been a member of Quintet Attacca, Grand Prize winner of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2002. Her wind quintet recently enjoyed its New York debut on the Schneider Concert Series at New School University and is looking forward to a residency with Lake Forest College in the fall. Barbara also maintains a large teaching studio, currently on faculty at Lake Forest College and Merit School of Music. Barbara received her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in clarinet performance from Northwestern University in 1998 and 2000 with a semester in between at Manhattan School of Music. Her teachers have included Russell Dagon, Charlene Zimmerman, Alan Kay, and Dennis Nygren.

---

Bassoon

	Rebekah Heller : Bassoon  Rebekah Heller is currently a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, a substitute with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, and a rotating member of the International Contemporary Ensemble. Originally from upstate NY, Rebekah completed her undergraduate studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and College of Arts and Sciences, where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. She completed her Master of Music degree at the University of Texas at Austin, where she was awarded with a full-tuition scholarship as well as a lucrative graduate fellowship. While at UT, Rebekah became the first bassoonist to win the school-wide concerto competition, and was awarded with a solo performance with the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra in the spring of 2003. Since moving to Chicago in the fall of 2004, Rebekah has been a member of the Barossa Quintet and a recipient of several awards. She was the winner of the 2005 Musician's Club of Women Scholarship Audition, as well being awarded first-prize in the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Scholarship Competition in May 2005. Rebekah is looking forward to playing co-principal bassoon in the Utah Festival Opera Orchestra this summer in Logan, Utah.
	Jason Kramer : Bassoon Jason Kramer is an active orchestral musician in the Chicago area and performs often with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, the Whiting Park Festival Orchestra, and the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra . He has also performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra, the Kalamazoo Symphony, and the South Bend Symphony. Jason recently completed the Master of Music degree from DePaul University, where he studied with William Buchman. As a chamber musician, Jason was a founding member of The Inneffable Trio, and currently performs with Fifth House and Amarante Ensembles. He has also performed as a guest artist with the Western Wind Quintet. Jason is currently Instructor of Bassoon at Kalamazoo College, and has served as visiting Instructor of Bassoon at Western Michigan University.

Strings

Brass

Percussion