Dr. Peter Neubert, Instructor of Viola and Chamber Music, received a Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude from Lawrence University as a student of Mathew Michelic; a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music as a scholarship student of Paul Neubauer, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in viola performance from the University of Kentucky as a student of Dorotea Vismara Hoffman.  Additionally, Dr. Neubert has participated in viola master classes with Thomas Riebl, Jeffrey Showell, and Emmanuel Vardi; studied with Vladimir Mendelssohn at the Estate Musicale a Portogruaro, Italy, Barbara Maurer at the Internationale Ferienkurse fur Neue Musik in Darmstadt, Germany, and Michael Gieler at the Ensembleakademie IMPULS in Graz, Austria; and coached chamber music with the Audubon and Orion Quartets, Jaime Laredo James Tocco, Michael Tree, and Alain Meunier at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy.  He has performed in solo and chamber concerts across the United States and in Europe, and was a semi-finalist at the 1998 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and a second prize winner at the Chamber Music Competition of the Estate Musicale a Portogruaro in 1999.  An avid supporter of new music, Dr. Neubert has commissioned several works and has been a guest artist at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s Festival for Contemporary Chamber Music where he collaborated in performance with notable American composers including Aaron Jay Kernis, Steve Reich, and Michael Torke.  Prior to joining Hardin-Simmons University, Dr. Neubert taught at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Southern Mississippi.

Heather Wood received her Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from Hardin-Simmons University. Upon graduation she began her teaching career as an assistant orchestra director at Madison and Clack Middle Schools as well as at Cooper High School in Abilene. She is currently the orchestra director at Madison Middle School where the orchestra program serves around 180 students enrolled in three different levels of orchestra, ranging from 6th grade beginners to advanced 8th graders. Mrs. Wood's orchestras at Madison Middle School have received Superior "Sweepstakes" ratings at UIL contests. Her groups have also earned "Superior" ratings and "Best in Class" trophies at festivals. Her Symphonic Orchestra received the Non-High School, Instrumental "Grand Champion" award at the 2011 Spring in the Park Music Festival.

During the past she has served as Head Counselor, Librarian, and Assistant Program Coordinator for the Abilene Summer Music Festival. Mrs. Wood holds membership and affiliations with the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Orchestra Directors Association, and Sigma Alpha Iota, International Music Fraternity for Women, and also maintains a private violin studio.

George Amorim is Assistant Professor of Double Bass at the University of Texas Pan American. He holds a Doctor of Musical Degree in Double Bass Performance from the University of North Texas, a Master of Music from Baylor University and a Bachelor Degree from the Ceará State University. Before joining the UTPA faculty in 2006 Dr. Amorim served the University of North Texas as assistant to the world renowned performer and pedagogue Jeff Bradetich. In addition, Dr. Amorim also pursued advanced training in Italy with Francesco Petracchi at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena and at the Gubbio Music Festival. Dr. Amorim also devotes time to the studies of early music and historical performance practices of the baroque bass and the Viennese violone.

Dr. Amorim's performances have taken him to Europe and across Central, South and North America, with concert credentials that include eight years as a full time member of the Paraná State and Recife Symphony Orchestras in Brazil and, since 2003, as a member of the Santo Domingo Music Festival Orchestra under Phillip Entremont. He currently performs with the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra in addition to regular guest appearances with various ensembles in the United States, Europe and Brazil.

As a soloist, Dr. Amorim was a prize winner at the Paraiba Music Award in 1996 and finalist at the Young Talents Award in 1999; as a member of the Zenamon Quintet, an ensemble dedicated to the promotion of the music of Latin American composers, he was a first prize winner in both the Honorina Barra International Chamber Music Competition and the Curitiba Chamber Music Award in 1999.

An educator in demand, Dr. Amorim's articles on double bass pedagogy have been published by Bass World and Strings journals. He has been a featured clinician, adjudicator and consultant in events such as the Texas Music Educators Association Convention, the International Society of Bassists Convention, the Texas Bass Symposium and the Chicago Bass Festival.

Dr. Amorim heads a thriving double bass studio at UTPA, which inspired him to organize ¡Viva el Bajo!, an organization that promotes double bass playing in south Texas and helps inspire and guide young musicians in their studies of the double bass.

Dr. Amorim spends his summers teaching and performing in various programs such as the Pan American Music Festival, the Abilene Summer Music Festival, and this summer he will direct the first edition of the ¡Viva el Bajo! International Summer Festival. Dr. Amorim performs on an Italian double bass from the late 1700's and a bow made by Marco Pasquino.

Dr. Jeff Cottrell is an active performer, teacher and award-winning composer. He currently plays euphonium, trombone, and tuba with the Dallas based Legend Brass Quintet; trombone and tuba with the Razzmajazz Dixie Land Band; and trombone with Dash Riprock and the Dragons and Johnny D and the Doo-Wops (two of the Dallas area’s most popular oldies bands). He is greatly in demand for private lessons, master classes, and band camps for various Texas public schools. Jeff's first love is composing and arranging; he has many published works to his credit and in 2006 was awarded The International Tuba-Euphonium Association’s Harvey Phillips Award for Composition Excellence for euphonium featured in jazz/rock/fusion. He earned his Doctorate at the University of North Texas under the instruction of internationally acclaimed euphoniumist Dr. Brian Bowman.

Janelle Davis holds degrees in violin performance from Hardin-Simmons University and the University of North Texas, where she studied with Celeste Myall, Peter Isaacson and Julia Bushkova. While at UNT she also had the privilege of studying baroque violin with Cynthia Roberts and performing in early music ensembles under the direction of Lyle Nordstrom. Currently, Ms. Davis is a student of Stanley Ritchie and is completing a Doctor of Music degree in Early Music at Indiana University. She performs regularly as a freelance musician and has appeared in the Aston Magna, Boston (fringe) and Bloomington Early Music festivals. Locally, Ms. Davis is a member of the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra and Bourbon Baroque, an ensemble based in Louisville. Most recently she performed at the Berkeley Early Music Festival with ¡Sacabuche!, a chamber group comprised of vocalists, strings, and early brass specializing in music of the 17th century. In addition to performing, Ms. Davis is an active and enthusiastic string teacher in the Monroe County Schools where she teaches 5th and 6th grade beginning orchestra.

Dr. Wayne F. Dorothy is Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Hardin-Simmons University where he conducts the Concert Band, "The World Famous" Cowboy Band, and teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in conducting and music education. His prior appointments include Director of Bands at North Dakota State University, Assistant Director of Bands at Ball State University, and music education positions at Kansas State University and Morehead State University. He previously taught high school band for eight years in Tennessee, where his bands consistently received superior ratings in concert performance, sight-reading, and marching.

Dr. Dorothy received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in music education from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and the Doctor of Arts degree in conducting from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He is a recipient of the National Band Association's "Citation of Excellence" and has been honored as the "1999 North Dakota Band Director of the Year" and with membership in Phi Beta Mu - International Bandmaster's Fraternity (1985).

Dr. Dorothy is an active guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the United States and regularly performs as a clarinetist and saxophonist. He has served as conductor of the Kansas State University-Faculty Chamber Ensemble (2000-02), North Dakota FFA State Band (1996-99), North Dakota Governor's School Band (1995-99), and as principal guest conductor of the Abilene Community Band since 2003. He has presented papers at national meetings of the Music Educators National Conference, National Band Association, Kansas Music Educators Association, Mid-South Educational Research Association, American Evaluation Association, and American Educational Research Association and is published in three volumes of the GIA Teaching Music through Performance in Band series and in The Jazz Band Directors Handbook: A Guide to Success.

Dr. Dorothy is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, National Band Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Phi Beta Mu, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Pi Kappa Lambda. He recently finished a term on the Board of Directors of the National Band Association and currently serves as College Chair of TMEA, Region 16.

Jennifer Fox was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska where she began playing the violin at the age of 4. While in Nebraska, she participated in the All-State Orchestra for three years. Mrs. Fox has won Concerto Competitions held by the Lincoln Youth Symphony (1998) and the Abilene Tri-Collegiate Orchestra (2001). After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Abilene Christian University she played vital roles as concertmaster for the Mesquite Symphony, the Abilene Philharmonic and the Southwest Symphony Orchestras. Following a year as a professional musician and private instructor, Mrs. Fox began her public school teaching career in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, teaching at Long Middle School and Creekview High School where her groups consistently received outstanding ratings at UIL competitions. She has served as an adjudicator and clinician for UIL competitions and All-Region orchestras. Mrs. Fox currently teaches in Northwest ISD helping to expand a brand new orchestra program.

Matthew Haislip is completing his second season as the Co-Principal Horn and Personnel Manager of the Midland-Odessa Symphony Orchestra. He is also a member of the orchestra's resident wind quintet, the West Texas Winds, and has performed with the Cincinnati Opera, Abilene Opera, Kentucky Symphony, San Angelo Symphony, Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony, North East Texas Symphony, Big Spring Symphony, Lone Star Brass, and the Queen City Brass Quintet. He was a soloist at the White Lake Chamber Music Festival in Montague, Michigan in 2010. Haislip received his B.S. in Music Education from Texas A&M University-Commerce, and his M.M. in Horn Performance from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. His primary teachers include Randy Gardner, Michael Morrow, Duane Dugger, Elizabeth Freimuth, and Thomas Sherwood. In 2011, he appeared as a guest artist at Angelo State University, performing as a member of the faculty wind quintet, presenting a solo recital, and teaching a masterclass. In addition to maintaining a studio of private brass students, Haislip is on the faculties of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, the Abilene Summer Music Festival, and the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan.

Dr. Hunsaker has taught instrumental music in Duncanville and McAllen, Texas, and currently teaches trumpet and music education courses at Hardin-Simmons University. She is a member of the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra and the Big Country Brass Quintet and has also performed with the Dallas Orchestra, the Southwest Baroque Ensemble, and the Orchestra of New Spain.

Kristin Isaacson, instructor of cello and bass, is a candidate for the doctor of musical arts degree in cello performance at Louisiana State University.  Ms. Isaacson holds a master of music degree from Louisiana State University and a bachelor of music from Indiana University.  Her interests in Jazz and improvisation led her to pursue a thesis topic on translating the improvisational style of Charlie Parker to the cello.  Ms. Isaacson has held faculty positions at Abilene Christian University, Eastern Kentucky University, the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, the Craftsbury Chamber Players Youth Program, the Music Academy at Louisiana State University, and she served as instrumental music director at the Upper Valley Waldorf School in Quechee, Vermont.  Ms. Isaacson has performed extensively in New England and Louisiana, performing with such diverse groups as the Craftsbury Chamber Players, the Hop River Chamber Players, the Abilene Chamber Players, the Louisiana Sinfonietta, the Ohio Light Opera, the Vermont Symphony, and the Lexington Philharmonic.  Ms. Isaacson’s principal teachers include Iseut Chuat, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Helga Winold, Dennis Parker and master classes with Janos Starker, Aldo Parisot, and Ralph Kirschbaum.  In addition, she has studied improvisation techniques with Eugene Friesen and jazz improvisation with pianists Willis Delony and Kent Hewitt.  She has studied chamber music with Rostislav Dubinsky, Miriam Fried, members of the Tokyo Quartet, and the Apple Hill Chamber Players.

L. Keith Lloyd, Instructor of Music/Percussion at McMurry University since August of 2006, is a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Music in Percussion Performance at Florida State University.  He holds a Master of Music degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and has studied with Dr. John W. Parks IV and Dr. Eric Hollenbeck.  Mr. Lloyd is an artist/clinician for the Innovative Percussion Corporation. 

Mr. Lloyd is currently Principal Percussionist for the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra and Section Percussionist for the Carl Fischer Publications recording ensemble in Tampa, Florida.  His international performance credits include serving as Principal Percussionist for the 2006 Aegean Verdi Festival (Lesvos, Greece) and the St. John’s Orchestra of the International Cathedral Music Festival (Canterbury Cathedral and Queen Elizabeth Hall, England).  As soloist, he has performed with the Montana State Percussion Ensemble, The Florida State Chamber Percussion Ensemble and the University of Kansas Percussion Ensemble (2002 Kansas MENC convention), and was also a performer on the critically-acclaimed compact disc Dusk: Percussion Music from the Heartland, released in August of 2004.  Mr. Lloyd's other performance credits include the San Angelo Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, the Tallahassee Ballet Orchestra, and many of the internationally renowned Florida State University musical ensembles.

Christy Myers has been teaching orchestra in the Texas public schools for 20 years. Her experience includes conducting beginning, intermediate, high school and college level students, as well as teaching courses in music theory, string education, string pedagogy and conducting at the college level. A graduate of Hardin-Simmons University and Sam Houston State University, Ms. Myers has been the Director of Orchestra at R. L. Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas for eleven years, where she has also served as Fine Arts Department chair. During her tenure at Turner High School her orchestras have consistently achieved top ratings at Texas University Interscholastic League Competitions and state-wide competitions in Colorado and Florida. Ms. Myers has served the profession as Region Chair in two Texas Music Educators Association regions, has been the secretary for TexASTA, and continues to be in demand as adjudicator, convention presenter and/or presider. She currently holds memberships in TMEA, the Texas Orchestra Directors Association, the Texas Music Adjudicators Association, the Texas State Teachers Association, and the Dallas/Fort Worth Professional Musicians Association. Ms. Myers spends her summers teaching at music camps at Hardin-Simmons University, the University of North Texas, Sam Houston State University and Texas Tech University.

Dr. Karla Ordóñez holds a Bachelor of Music from Louisiana State University where she studied with Dr. Katherine Kemler and Judy Hand. In 1999, she received a Master of Music in Flute Performance with a minor in Music History from the University of North Texas. Dr. Ordóñez has participated in regional MTNA competitions, Collegiate Honor Band, and a Kennedy Center debut as a member of the LSU Wind Ensemble. A member of the UNT Wind Symphony, she performed on several recordings of contemporary music for wind ensemble under the direction of Eugene Corporon. Dr. Ordóñez has also performed in several masterclasses for acclaimed artists such as Julius Baker, Claire Johnson, Jim Walker, Kate Lucas, Linda Chessis, Sandra Miller and Carol Wincenc. She has recently completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Flute Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music, where her principal teacher was Bonita Boyd. Dr. Ordóñez was a member of the Eastman Wind Ensemble, ESM Philharmonia and Musica Nova.

Summer studies have included performances with the Chautauqua Institution in Jamestown, NY, the European International Music Program through the North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria. Professional engagements include performing as 2nd flute/piccolo with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, OK Mozart Festival and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra.

As a teacher, Dr. Ordóñez continues to be active as a clinician and adjudicator at music festivals throughout the United States. She is a former faculty member of Houghton College, Oklahoma State University, the Community Music School of the Eastman School of Music and the Belvoir Terrace Fine Arts Camp (Lenox, MA). Dr. Ordóñez maintains a private studio in Texas and was the founding director of the Sine Nomine Flute Choir, the first amateur flute ensemble made up of western NY New Horizons adult members.

Andy Patterson is a graduate of Hardin-Simmons University, having earned a bachelor of music degree in music education. He has taught in the Texas public school system on both the high school and junior high school levels for the past fourteen years where his bands have consistently received Division I ratings. In addition to teaching and playing the trumpet, Mr. Patterson is active as composer and arranger, having written music for several radio commercials and a website. He recently composed and arranged the music for a musical about the town of Post called Ragtown, which is scheduled to premiere in Post during the summer of 2008. Mr. Patterson and his wife, Kathy, reside in Grand Prairie and recently welcomed the arrival of their son, Adam Richard.

Darcy Radcliffe is Director of Orchestras at Abilene High School and Cooper High School.  She maintains a Private Violin/Viola Studio and is the creator of the dynamic fiddle group, “Revolution” which was featured on the NPR show “From the Top,” in April of 2005.  She received her Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from Hardin Simmons University where she studied with Celeste Myall.  Mrs. Radcliffe is the founder of The Abilene String Project, which provides private instruction for middle school and high school students.  This project was awarded the American String Teacher Association grant for private lessons.  She has served as the General Music Teacher at Kenley School, and has been on the faculty of the Abilene Summer Music Festival for the last 4 years.  She has been honored as a Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Mrs. Radcliffe was also locally recognized by KTXS’ Teacher Tribute in December of 2004.  Recently she was named the winner of the ASTA’s Marjorie Keller’s Young Teacher of the Year Award in recognition of outstanding promise in string education.  As a violinist Mrs. Radcliffe has performed with various organizations such as the Abilene Opera Association, the Abilene Chamber Players, the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra, and Paramount Productions.

Susetta Dunn Rockett, originally from West Texas, has performed as Second and Guest Principal Oboist with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra since 1998. She is currently performing with the Abilene Philharmonic and the San Angelo Symphony, and is the Principal Oboist for the Lone Star Wind Orchestra based in the Dallas area. Ms. Rockett attended the Las Vegas Music Festival for two years and was a participant in the John Mack Oboe Masterclass in Carmel Valley, California in 1998. While living in Boston, Ms. Rockett performed in several area orchestras including the New England Philharmonic, the Gardner Chamber Orchestra, the Concord Symphony Orchestra, the Brockton Symphony Orchestra and the Newton Symphony Orchestra. In March 2004, Ms. Rockett performed with the NanBei Winds at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in a recital of works by composer Lewis Neilson. In June of the same year she was invited to perform with her chamber ensemble at Boston’s Symphony Hall for the annual Longy Gala.

Ms. Rockett completed a Master of Music Degree in Oboe Performance With Distinction at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA. She received a B.A. in Music Performance and Education from Texas Tech University where she was a scholarship recipient throughout her degree. While attending Texas Tech, Ms. Rockett was also awarded the distinguished Presser Scholarship for outstanding musical achievement in 2000. She has since been invited to be on the oboe faculty for Texas Tech's Band and Orchestra Camp, and is currently an adjunct faculty member at Hardin-Simmons University, McMurry University and Abilene Christian University while maintaining an active freelance career throughout Texas and a successful private studio in Abilene. Ms. Rockett’s principal teachers include Wayne Rapier and Amy Anderson.

Dr. Bernard Scherr has written over 70 compositions, and his catalog includes numerous orchestral works, an oratorio, several song and choral sets, and numerous works for wind ensemble and various chamber ensembles. His works have been performed by orchestras in California, Texas, and in Europe, and he has received a number of commissions from professional and university ensembles. The recipient of multiple awards at the University of Oregon, including the University of Oregon's 125th Anniversary Composition Commission competition, his music has also been recognized in competitions in Boston, Pennsylvania, and the Waging Peace through Singing Project in Oregon. He is the Theory and Composition Department Head at HSU, and he earned a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon and an M.F.A. and B.A. in music from UCLA.

Pianist Leslie Spotz enjoys an international solo career that has included performances at the Tchaikovsky Hall of Moscow University and the South Bank Center of London, as well as performance tours of Germany and recitals in Italy for the Lorenzo de'Medici Institute. She has performed extensively throughout the U.S. at venues ranging from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. to the famed Academy of Music in Philadelphia, and has appeared as soloist with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Mozart Society of Philadelphia, South Jersey Symphony, Curtis Symphony, Kinhaven Symphony in Vermont, the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra in North Carolina, the Old York Road Symphony in Abington, PA, and the Clear Lake Symphony in Texas.

Completing her doctorate in piano performance at Rutgers University in 2002, Dr. Spotz's early studies were with Irwin Freundlich at the North Carolina School for the Arts and with Evelyn Swarthout at American University. She received a full scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music where she was a student of the legendary pianist Mieczyslaw Horszowski. The winner of numerous honors, Dr. Spotz was a finalist in the National Federation of Music Clubs Competition and received special recognition in the performance of chamber music from Performers of Connecticut, Inc.

An active proponent of music by women, Dr. Spotz's 1999 solo CD for Leonore Records features music of women composers. Her discography includes a performance on "Fantasias," the critically acclaimed CD by flutist Adeline Tomasone. Dr. Spotz has also collaborated with violinists Maria Bachmann, Joseph Genualdi, and Mark Steinberg; sopranos Julianne Baird, Gwendolyn Bradley, Donna Connolly and Judith Lovat; tenors Martin Dillon and Robert Guarino; and several members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She presently heads the piano faculty at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX.

Staci A. Spring currently teaches bassoon and other music courses for McMurry University and Abilene Christian University, while also maintaining a private studio of local junior and senior high school students. She has been on the faculty of the Abilene Summer Music Festival since 2008, and also served as co-director of the 2010 and 2011 McMurry Summer Band Camps.

In addition to frequent recital and chamber performances, Ms. Spring performs regularly with the Abilene Philharmonic and San Angelo Symphony Orchestras, and has also performed with several professional orchestras including the Ft. Worth Symphony Orchestra, Abilene Opera Association, Northeast Texas Symphony, Philharmonic of Northwest Florida, Northwest Florida Symphony, Albany Symphony, Valdosta Symphony, and Pensacola Symphony. She has participated in several music festivals in the U.S. and abroad, such as the Banff Centre Master Classes, Dublin International Symphonic Festival, Aegean Verdi Festival, Las Vegas Music Festival, Marrowstone Music Festival, and the Domaine-Forget Music and Dance Academy.

Ms. Spring earned Master of Music degrees in Historical Musicology and Bassoon Performance from The Florida State University, where she studied bassoon with Jeff Keesecker. She will begin studies with Kathleen Reynolds in the fall of 2011 in the DMA program at the University of North Texas. Her recent scholarly activities include the contribution of several essays to the Salem Press publications Great Lives in History: African Americans, Musicians and Composers of the 20th Century, The Twenties in America, and The Forties in America, and presenting jazz research at the CMS 2008 South Central-Southern Super-Regional Conference.

Peter Yang is a master string instrument maker who operates violin shops in Chicago, Wisconsin, and Taiwan. Over more than 20 years, he has had the privilege of working with the finest violins of Stradivarius, Guarneri Del Gesù, Nicolò Amati, Guadagnini, Bergonzi and other 17th century makers. Mr. Yang has serviced these instruments for Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman, Cho-Liang Lin, Harvey Shapiro, Shlomo Mintz, Joshua Bell, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yo-Yo Ma, and other prominent musicians. He has acquired on-the-job experience at some of the most renowned violin shops throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia, including Jacques Français & René Morel of New York, Peter Benedek of Munich, Germany, and Bein & Fushi of Chicago. Because of the diversity of his training, Mr. Yang has not only become an expert in his field but has also cultivated a network of resources which allows him to acquire instruments from around the world. Mr. Yang offers the highest quality instruments, carefully selected and set up specifically for the musician’s individual needs; his skill in providing a custom set-up offers the musician an instrument that is comfortable to play and produces superior tone and projection. The Abilene Summer Music Festival is pleased to have Mr. Yang return as resident luthier for his fourth summer this year.