The Musicians

There are many musicians who enjoy playing with Rainier Chamber Winds. As expressed by Gregg Miller, "Playing in the Rainier Chamber Winds over the past 12 years has been like attending a musical spa on a regular basis. The musical diet is fresh and interesting, the atmosphere is positive and invigorating, and I always end up feeling better than before I came. There are so few opportunities anywhere else to play the repertoire we're treated to, and it's really a joy to be inspired both by the music and by the wonderful playing by colleagues from around Puget Sound. I'm also proud of the recordings we've made. CDs have become indispensable calling cards for musicians, and it's great to have a number of high quality recordings to share with people. Finally, the blend of serious music-making with good humor and great people is hard to beat!"

The following are brief biographies of some of our most regular players:

Susan Telford, flute

Susan Telford holds degrees from the University of Washington and Northwestern University. She has won numerous scholarships, competitions and awards, including the Northwest Young Artists Competition, the Bushell Concerto Competition, and the Farwell Award. While living in the Midwest, Susan was a member of the Elgin Symphony, the Evansville Philharmonic, and the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, with which she toured Europe as Principal Flute. She has also performed with the Grant Park Symphony and many other Chicago-area ensembles, as well as serving as instructor of flute and chamber music at the University of Evansville and Northwestern University. Susan is currently a member of the Tacoma Symphony and the ensemble Quake, and has performed with the Seattle Symphony, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, and in numerous recording sessions, as well as with many other local ensembles.

Mary Kantor, clarinet and bass clarinet

Mary Kantor received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Washington and graduated from the Academy of Music in Vienna with Honors in clarinet performance. She has studied with David Atkins, William McColl, and Rudolf Jettel. Mary is a founding member of the Johann Strauss Trio and the Mazeltones, both of which have toured widely and appeared on radio and television. She is currently principal clarinetist with the Bellevue Philharmonic and the Seattle Choral Company, a member of the Rainier Chamber Winds, the Shalom Ensemble, and the Ensemble Vindobona.

Recordings include “Out and Back Again” and the Mozart “Gran Partita” with the Rainier Chamber Winds, “The Ant and the Grasshopper” with the Chaspen Orchestra, and “Songs of the Heart” with Julie Mirel, Soprano, among others.

As a soloist, Mary has performed the Mozart Concerto and Richard Strauss’ Duet-Concertino with Philharmonia Northwest. She has also performed with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Northwest Chamber Orchestra, and the Austrian Radio Orchestra.

As an educator, Mary coaches the Seattle Youth Symphony and Cascade Youth Symphony clarinet sections, and is Professor (adjunct) of clarinet at SPU. In addition, she maintains a private studio of clarinetists, many of whom graduate from music schools such as Indiana University, Peabody, University of Michigan, etc. She has also recently been published in Clarinet Magazine, in March ‘03 and Sept’03.

Gregg Miller, clarinet

Gregg Miller is the Director of Arts Programs at Centrum in Port Townsend, Washington. He received his DMA from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1987 and has been active as a performer on clarinet and saxophone in the United States, Germany, Finland, and Japan. He has also studied at the Hocschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany on a grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). He has performed with a variety of ensembles, including the Colorado, Arianna, and Cypress String Quartets. Gregg taught woodwinds and directed the jazz ensembles at Hastings College from 1987-92. From 1992-2001 he was chair of the music department and then a faculty member at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.

Keith Bowen, bassoon

Keith Bowen holds performance degrees in bassoon performance from the Saint Louis Conservatory, the University of Georgia and the University of Northern Colorado. He has held positions in the Florida Orchestra, the Florida West Coast Symphony, and the South Bend Symphony (IN). Currently, he plays with the Tacoma Symphony and is the proprietor of a local bassoon repair shop.

Ann Kosanovic-Brown, bassoon

Ann Kosanovic-Brown received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory. She has also studied at the Mozarteum Hochschule in Salzburg and the Karajan Akadamie in Berlin. Her teachers have included Gunter Piesk, Milan Turkovic, Ken Moore, and Mark Eubanks.

Ann has been the Principal Bassoonist with the Bellevue Philharmonic in Washington; Natal Philharmonic in Durban, South Africa; Das Symphonie Orchester in Berlin; and the Camerata Akademica in Salzburg. She has also performed with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Mozarteum Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Oregon Symphony, Oregon Ballet, Linfield Chamber Orchestra, and the Northwest Chamber Orchestra. She has appeared as soloist with Rainier Chamber Winds, Philharmonia Northwest, Rainier Symphony, Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in South Africa, Jeunesse Orchester Linz, Capella Salisburgensis, Round Top Festival Orchestra-Texas, and the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra. She is a founding member of the clarinet, bassoon, and piano trio Ensemble Vindobona, and is currently free-lancing in the Pacific Northwest.

Cynthia Jefferson, french horn

Cynthia Jefferson was a student of Philip Farkas and Michael Hoeltzel. She studied music at Indiana University and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. She has performed with the Salzburg-Mozarteum Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, and was soloist and principal hornist with the Wurzburg Philharmonic. Cyndy is a member of the Northwest Sinfonietta, the Auburn Symphony, and Cascadia Brass. She plays regularly with the Pacific Northwest Ballet and at the 5th Avenue Theater. She was formerly on the music faculty at Western Washington University and currently teaches at the Everyone Has A Song (EHAS) Learning Center in Seattle (http://www.ehas.info). Cyndy makes her home in Indianola, Washington, where she lives with her husband, Charles.

Kristen Reitz-Green, french horn

Kristen Reitz holds degrees in horn performance from the Juilliard School in New York City and from the Hartt School of Music in Hartford CT. She has performed locally with the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, the Northwest Chamber Orchestra, the Auburn Symphony, the International Festival of Seattle, the Northwest Sinfionietta, and is currently a regular member of the Tacoma Symphony, the Tacoma Opera Orchestra, the Village Theatre Orchestra, the Washington Brass Ensemble, and the Rainier Chamber Winds. Kristen has also been involved in studio recording and youth symphony coaching, and is currently Instructor of Horn at Western Washington University. Prior to arriving in the Northwest, Kristen toured the U.S. and Canada with several Broadway shows. She has also performed with the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, the Hartford Symphony, the New Haven Symphony, the Connecticut Opera Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic and the Chataqua Symphony.

David McBride, french horn

David McBride is a native of Seattle and holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Western Washington University, where he received the Outstanding Music Graduate award in 1984. He earned a Masters of Music Composition from New England Conservatory. His horn instructors have included Christopher Leuba at Western Washington University and Stephan Blonk of the Orchestra of the 18th Century in the Netherlands. David has been Principal Horn of the Thalia Symphony, and has performed with Bellevue Philharmonic, Federal Way Philharmonic, Auburn Symphony, Tacoma Symphony, Boise Philharmonic, Seattle Men’s Chorus, Seattle Choral Company, Seattle Children’s Chorus, and the Jim Knapp Orchestra, and has been a member of the Village Theatre Orchestra since 1996. When not playing horn, David enjoys life with his wonderful wife, Stephanie, and daughter Samantha, and is an accomplished home brewer.

Yuh-Pey Lin, oboe

Yuh-Pey Lin is currently pursuing a DMA at the University of Washington. She earned her Bachelor of Music in oboe performance with distinction from Eastman School of Music and a Masters degree from Rice University. She has received full-tuition scholarships at both of these schools. She has studied with Richard Killmer, Robert Atherholt, Rebecca Henderson, and John DeJarnatt.

Yuh-Pey won the Ladies Musical Club solo competition in 2003 and toured through East Washington. She interviewed with George Shangrow and played live in “Live! By George” on classic KING-FM 98.1. She was also the first-prize winner in the Capital Area Youth Symphony Association’s Concerto competition in Olympia, Washington. Yuh-Pey currently freelances around the Seattle area and has performed with Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Tacoma Symphony, Bellevue Philharmonic, and Chamber Music San Juans. Her summer festival experience includes Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Banff, American Institution of Musical Studies, Round Top, and Sarasota.

Shannon Spicciati, oboe

Shannon Spicciati is an active free-lance oboist in the Seattle/Tacoma area. She plays regularly with the Seattle Symphony on oboe and English horn, and holds positions with Northwest Sinfonietta and the Camas Wind Quintet. She has performed with the Seattle Opera, Northwest Chamber Orchestra, and Pacific Northwest Ballet, and has worked in musical theatre at both the 5th Avenue and Paramount Theatres. Originally from Portland Oregon, she received her Bachelor's degree from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Richard Killmer. Shannon received her Master's degree from the University of Washington, where she studied with Rebecca Henderson and Alex Klein. Shannon also maintains an active teaching schedule. In 2001, she was appointed Lecturer in Oboe at Pacific Lutheran University, and she maintains a private studio.

Dan Williams, oboe

Dan Williams is one of Seattle's most sought-after performers, as soloist, orchestral musician, teacher, and recording artist. He is currently principal oboist with both the Northwest Sinfonietta and the Northwest Chamber Orchestra, and has also played 1st oboe with the Seattle Symphony, the Seattle Opera, and the Pacific Northwest Ballet orchestras. Of this 1996 performance of Bach's Double Concerto with Joseph Silverstein and the Northwest Chamber Orchestra, the Seattle Times reported that "oboist Dan Williams poured out waves of beautiful tone with considerable musicality." In a 1999 review of the Vaughan-Williams Oboe concerto, the Bellingham Herald described Dan as "a consummate player, in easy command of those subtle shades of color and phrase that can let the oboe approach the expressive range of the human voice. It was a performance to melt your heart."

Dan served as principal oboist of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra in its 1992-93 season and previously held the same positions in the Harrisburg (PA) and Binghamton (NY) Symphonies. Dan currently teaches oboe at Western Washington University, and has served on the faculty of the University of Washington School of Music.

A native of Seattle, Dan received his musical training at the Juilliard School and at Western Washington University, where he was voted most Outstanding Graduate by the music faculty.

Janet Putnam, oboe

Janet Putnam studied oboe performance at Western Washington University where she obtained her Bachelor of Music degree. She also holds a Master's in Counseling and Guidance from Pacific Lutheran University. She received additional music training from Indiana University with Jerry Sirucek.

Janet performed with the Broadway Symphony (now Orchestra Seattle) for six years as an orchestra member and a soloist. She has performed several concertos with them, including Strauss’ Oboe Concerto and Bach’s Double Concerto. In 1997 she performed with the Seattle International Music Festival, and she participated in the Oboe Repertoire Festival 2000 in France with John de Lancie, Laila Storch, and Wayne Rapier. She freelances with Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Northwest Chamber Orchestra, and Fifth Avenue Theatre. In the summer of 2004 she joined Chamber Music San Juan for the first time, performing Handel's Concerto in G minor.

Beth Lenz, percussion

Beth Lenz received her Bachelor of Music Education from Drake University, and her Master of Music in Percussion Performance and her Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology from the University of Michigan.

Beth is currently the principal timpanist with the Seattle Choral Company Orchestra and has performed with the Bellevue Philharmonic for four years. She was principal timpanist with the Des Moines Symphony for one year where she also spent three years as a percussionist. Beth is currently a member of Xylophonia, a mallet ragtime ensemble, and Rhythm Magic, a percussion trio specializing in educational performances. She also teaches privately and free-lances in the Seattle area.