Patrick Godon made his debut as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in May of 2007, playing one of the solo piano parts along with Mary Sauer in Colin McPhee's Tabuh-Tabuhan: Toccata for Orchestra and Two Pianos, with Alan Gilbert conducting. In March 2008, Patrick was the featured soloist with the Lake Shore Symphony Orchestra in Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. In 2005, Godon was the featured harpsichord soloist in Alfred Schnittke's Concerto Grosso No. 2 with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, along with Gidon Kremer, violin, and Kristina Blaumane, cello. In 2004, he was the featured harpsichord soloist in Alfred Schnittke's Concerto Grosso No. 4, "Symphony No. 5" along with Alicia Koelz, violin, and Somerlie Aston, oboe. Godon has also appeared as featured soloist in Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 with the Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest, and in both 2002 and 2008 with the DePaul University Wind Ensemble in Hindemith's Konzertmusik, with Donald Deroche conducting.

Patrick Godon made his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as second keyboardist at Ravinia in 2003. He was invited to play second keyboard on the CSO's 2005 European Tour and for the past four years at Carnegie Hall. He is a member of the CSO's MusicNOW Ensemble, having played first keyboard for George Benjamin's Antara and piano solo in Mundry's Panorama ciego in rehearsals, covering for Daniel Barenboim. The Chicago Sun-Times said of his most recent performance that “Patrick Godon…showed he firmly belongs in the realm of chamber music.” In addition, he served as rehearsal pianist for Barenboim and Deborah Voigt for Schoenberg's Erwartung. In 2008, Patrick began performing as orchestral keyboardist with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra. As a collaborative pianist, he has performed for two Dame Myra Hess concerts at the Chicago Cultural Center, broadcast live on WFMT.

A nine-year member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Patrick served as principal pianist from 2002-2007. In April 2007, he was pianist for the Civic Orchestra's performance of Stravinsky's Petrushka. He has played under leading conductors including Alsop, Barenboim, Boulez, Colnot, Conlon, Davis, Dutoit, Eschenbach, Haitink, Maazel, Nagano, Robertson, Salonen, Slatkin, and Tilson Thomas. He has performed in Civic's chamber music masterclasses with Mitsuko Uchida and Thomas Kakuska of the Alban Berg Quartet.

Patrick Godon is president, artistic director, and pianist for the International Chamber Artists (ICA), a chamber music ensemble that he founded in 2006. ICA showcases a diverse group of young professional musicians and supports musical organizations through collaborations and financial support. Through educational components during performances, ICA seeks to sustain the future of classical music audiences. ICA has been featured on WFMT, at the Chicago Cultural Center, and the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. ICA went on its first international tour to Germany from September 27 through October 5, 2009.

Since July 2003, Godon has been the Director of Music at Saint Gregory the Great Church in the Andersonville/Edgewater neighborhood, where he composes and arranges music for liturgies. He led the parish choir on a seven-city performance tour of Italy in March 2007 and led the choir on a three-city performance tour of Louisiana in June 2008. In March of 2009 he led the choir on a performance tour of Greece and Turkey, and in 2011 he will bring the choir to Ireland.

A native of Fargo, North Dakota, Patrick Godon began his studies with Chicago Symphony principal piano Mary Sauer in 1997. He studied with Andrej Dutkiewitz at the Interlochen Arts Camp in 1995, and with Jacob Lateiner in New York City at the Mannes Beethoven Institute in 2001. In 2000, he studied opera coaching with Linda Hirt and Benton Hess in Urbania, Italy through the Oberlin Conservatory. He holds both Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance from DePaul University. He and his wife Keri are the proud parents of Gilbert Maurice Godon, born May 30, 2009.

Jessica Usherwood, soprano, was a recent participant of the Steans Institute for Young Artists at Ravinia Festival. She holds a professional diploma and a master's degree from Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) at Roosevelt University, where she performed the role of Polly Peachum in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and Drusilla in Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea. Jessica participated in the CCPA Opera Night at the Auditorium Theatre and performed a duet with Samuel Ramey. She also shared the stage with Richard Stillwell at the Opera Gala at the Center for Performing Arts at Governors State University with the CCPA Orchestra. She has appeared with the Chicago Opera Theater for the past several seasons, also singing the role of the Young Soprano in their outreach production of Mozart's The Impresario. Jessica sang Ninetta at the Chicago Cultural Center's summer production of Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges. Last fall, she was the soprano soloist for Handel's Messiah with the Marion Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Alexander Platt.

Elizabeth Choi graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as a chamber music performance major. She received her undergraduate studies at DePaul University. Her orchestral experiences include holding positions as associate concertmistress in the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and concertmistress of the Classical Symphony Orchestra. She has also played with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, East-West Divan Workshop conducted by Daniel Barenboim, Illinois Philharmonic, Green Bay Symphony, Monterey Symphony, Marin Symphony, and the Golden Gate Opera. She has performed in the Civic Opera House, Symphony Center, Florence Gould Theater, and other venues throughout the United States and Europe.

As a chamber musican, Elizabeth won 1st and 3rd prizes at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and has performed with great artists including Ian Swensen, Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Jodi Levitz, Axel Strauss, Gil Kalish, Ellen Jewett, Seth Knopp, Joseph Swensen, and Paul Hersh. She has also played with chamber orchestras including Camerata Chicago, Avedis chamber musicians, Concertante di Chicago, Advent Chamber Orchestra, and Ensemble Parallel. She premiered a string quartet written by Fred Adler in Ghent, Belgium in the summer of 2005 and also premiered his violin sonata at the Victorian Englander in San Francisco. She has played in masterclasses for Ruggiero Ricci, Miriam Fried, Abram Stern, Robert Mann, and Menahem Pressler.

Sarah Jacques, violin, has performed with various orchestras and ensembles including the Rembrandt Chamber Players, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Concertante di Chicago, Chicago Philharmonia, Park Ridge Symphony Orchestra, Lake Shore Symphony Orchestra, Athena Ensembles, and was the Principal Second Violin of the Kankakee Valley Symphony Orchestra for the past two seasons.

In 2002, she premiered chamber works through the American Composers Forum's Chicago Parks series. Previously, Sarah was the Administrative Director for the Rembrandt Chamber Players and was on the faculty of Midwest Young Artists as a chamber music coach. With a Bachelors Degree in Violin Performance and Music Business from DePaul University, she is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Violin Performance at the Longy School of Music in Boston. She attributes her love for chamber music to studying in the hills of New Hampshire at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music.

Roxana Pavel Goldstein, a native of Romania, came to the US in 1996 with a scholarship to study violin with Cyrus Furough. She has won numerous prizes at major competitions including First and Second Prize at the Cita di Stessa International Competition in Italy, as well as First Prize in the Rembrandt Chamber Music Competition. She took First Prize at the coveted Lyre of Gold Competition in Bacau Romania. In 1997, she performed in a masterclass for Maxim Vengerov. More recently she won the DePaul Annual Concerto Competition in 2002. She received full scholarship to attend many of the country's most prestigious summer music festivals including the Interlochen Arts Camp and the Chautauqua Summer Institute.

Roxana was often the concertmaster of the DePaul Symphony Orchestra, where she completed her Masters Degree under the tutelage of Mark Zinger. She is an active chamber musician and soloist, and has appeared with the Concertanti Di Chicago, the Rembrandt Chamber Players, and will perform chamber works together with internationally reknown artists such as Eteri Anjaparidze, and Steve Balderston.

Currently in his fifth season as Principal Violist with the South Bend and Rockford Symphonies, Gabriel Schlaffer has also performed on occasion with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Elgin, Northwest Indiana, and New World Symphonies. His chamber music activities include performances with the Callisto & Nagaokakyo Ensembles and recitals in Boston, Chicago, and Nagoya, Japan. He graduated from the New England Conservatory with a Bachelor of Music in violin/viola performance in 2002, and finished his Master of Music at DePaul University in 2006. He has studied with James Buswell, Keith Conant, Rami Solomonow, and Marcus Thompson. Gabriel grew up in Missoula, Montana, and now lives in Birmingham, where his beautiful wife Machiko plays oboe with the Alabama Symphony. Gabriel has many hobbies, like playing Scrabble and Sudoku, flying kites, watching movies, and sampling various cuisines. He also loves to take road trips, participate in late night extended chamber music reading sessions with friends, and spend time at home with his wife and their two cats, Lily and Figaro.

Born in Medellin, Colombia, Carolina Gomez started her musical training at age 5. She graduated from the Instituto Musical Diego Echavarria Music Highschool, the only school of its kind in Colombia, in 1994.

In 1997, Carolina Gomez was accepted into the Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where she was also awarded with a talent scholarship. That same year, she was accepted into the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony, and was awarded with a fellowship for the 2000-2002 seasons. Through the Civic Orchestra, Ms. Gomez played under the batons Christoph Eschenbach, William Eddins, Pierre Boulez, Michael Gielen, Neeme Jaarvi, and Daniel Baremboim, among others. Carolina Gomez received her Master's degree from DePaul University in 2002, and a Performance Certificate from the same in 2004.

As an orchestral musician, Ms. Gomez has participated in different festivals such as Festival Orchestra of the Europaisches Musikfest Stuttgart for the 2002-2003 seasons. Her chamber music experience includes attending the Colorado College and Manchester Chamber Music Festivals, as well as participating in numerous chamber ensembles at Roosevelt and DePaul Universities. She has collaborated in chamber music performances with artists such as Eteri Andjaparidze and Stefan Hersh, both faculty members at DePaul University, and her performance of Mozart's Piano Quartet in G minor was featured in a live broadcast on WFMT. In 2005 Ms. Gomez performed in a concert series that included all of Brahms' piano quartets, collaborating with pianist Eteri Andjaparidze and world-renown violinist Ilya Kaler. She is currently a member of the Vincent string trio.

Carolina Gomez has studied with cello professors Ludmil Vassilev, Svetoslav Manolov, Natalia Khoma, and Steve Balderston. She has performed in master classes with John Sharp, Desmond Hoebig, Amanda Forsyth and Yo-Yo Ma. She plays a German cello of unknown maker, dated from 1860.

Jocelyn received her Bachelor and Masters’ degree in music performance from Indiana University where she studied with Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, and wrapped up her post-graduate studies at the Chicago College of Performing Arts where she studied with John Sharp and Brant Taylor. She was a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra for two years, ending her final year as co-principal. She has performed with several great orchestras such as the Aspen Chamber and Festival Orchestras, Music Now, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Miami Symphony. Jocelyn has also been an avid chamber musician collaborating with many talented artists at Indiana University and in Chicago. Her quartet became the quartet in residence at Indiana University for a year after winning the IU Kuttner Quartet competition. After arriving to Chicago, she was invited to perform in a string quartet coached by Richard Young of the Vermeer Quartet. They performed on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert broadcasted on WFMT and the quartet played several concerts in the Netherlands. She is currently a member of the New Millennium Orchestra, International Chamber Artists, Advent Chamber Orchestra, Illinois Symphony, and the Illinois Philharmonic. Jocelyn also has a private cello studio at the Music Connection and Apostolic Church of God.

Jeremy Attanaseo graduated from DePaul University with his Masters Degree in Double Bass Performance in 2005. He received his Bachelors of Music from DePaul in 2003. He teaches privately in his hometown of Buffalo Grove, as well as Maine South High School in Park Ridge. He has played with the Chicago Civic Orchestra and is a member of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and the New Millennium Orchestra. In the summer Jeremy teaches at the Birch Creek Music Festival in Door County, WI.

Harpist Marguerite Lynn Williams has concertized throughout the United States, Europe and Asia as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestra member in such venues as Carnegie Hall (New York), Shostakovich Hall (St. Petersburg, Russia) and Symphony Center (Chicago). Ms. Williams has won prizes in numerous competitions including First Prize of the Anne Adams National Competition sponsored by the American Harp Society in both 1998 and 1999; the National Endowment of the Arts Artist Recognition Talent Search (1997), the National Federation of Music Clubs (1997), the American Opera Society (2003) and Sigma Alpha Iota (2001).

Among other solo engagements, Marguerite Williams has been featured as soloist with the New World Symphony (2007), Roosevelt University Chamber Orchestra (2001); has premiered numerous compositions including Augusta Read Thomas' The Soul is Light for harp, oboe and violin in 2007; and is under high demand for her performances of contemporary music including Berio's "Circles". Recent performances have included collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Renee Flemming, Maxim Vengerov, Kanye West and appearances as royal entertainment for H.I.H. Princess Thi-Nga of Vietnam.

An experienced orchestra musician, Ms. Williams has appeared with the Chicago Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Ravinia Festival and Joffrey Ballet Orchestras. She is currently principal harpist for the New World Symphony (Miami, FL) and the Colorado Music Festival (Boulder, CO). Previously she was the principal harpist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, New Philharmonic Orchestra (Glyn Ellen, IL), and DuPage Opera Orchestra. She is a founding member of the International Chamber Artists, Project Copernicus and Fifth House ensembles.

Marguerite Lynn Williams attended the Eastman School of Music where she received both a Bachelor of Music degree and Performer's Certificate studying with Kathleen Bride. She then attended Roosevelt University to study with Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal harpist Sarah Bullen, where she received a Masters Degree in Orchestral Studies. Ms. Williams is published exclusively by Lyon & Healy publishing and is currently on faculty at the Frost School of Music, University of Miami.

A native of Polo, Illinois, Joanna Messer began studying flute at the age of 10. From 2004 to 2006, she was a regular member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and their outreach program, MusiCorps. While a member of Civic, she often performed as principal flutist on such works as Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, Ravel's Boléro and Daphnis et Chloé, Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, and Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps and L'Oiseau de Feu. Beginning with the 2007-2008 season, Ms. Messer has been appointed to the second flute/piccolo position with the Illinois Symphony. She will also appear as third flute/piccolo player with the Southwest Michigan Symphony, and she serves as a frequent substitute with the Madison Symphony Orchestra in Wisconsin.

In May 2006, Joanna performed Nielsen's Concerto for Flute and Orchestra with the Leipzig Akademisches Orchester at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany, as a result of winning First Prize in the Texas Music Festival's Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition. She also performed the Nielsen Concerto in Houston as soloist with the TMF Orchestra in June 2005. Joanna won First Prize in the New York Flute Club Young Artist Competition in 2003 and presented her New York debut recital at CAMI Hall as part of NYFC's Recital Series. In 2002, she won the University of Chicago Concerto Competition and performed Mozart's Concerto in G Major with the Chamber Orchestra. Joanna is also an avid chamber musician and has founded the Hara Quintet with colleagues from the Civic Orchestra. Ms. Messer is also a passionate proponent of new music and promoting the composers of our current time, and will be presenting the world premiere of fellow Carnegie Mellon alumnus Mark Fromm's Northern Sonata for Flute and Piano in recital at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, in February 2008.

Currently, Joanna teaches and performs in the Chicago area and is a member of the adjunct faculty for the Center for Distance Learning of the City Colleges of Chicago. Joanna received her Master of Music degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 2004, where she studied with Jeanne Baxtresser and Alberto Almarza, and her Bachelor of Music degree magna cum laude from Lawrence University in 2001, where she studied with Dr. Ernestine Whitman and Suzanne Jordheim. She is a member of Pi Kappa Lamda, the national music honor society, and the National Flute Association. In her free time, Joanna likes to take long bike rides on the lakefront and to read voraciously.

After graduating from the Tokyo Musashino Academy of Music with a Bachelor of Music in 1999, oboist Machiko Ogawa decided to pursue further education in the United States. As if learning a new language wasn't enough, she earned her Graduate Diploma at the Boston Conservatory in 2001 and her Artist Diploma at the Longy School of Music in 2002. During the next few years she played with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and earned a Master of Music at Roosevelt University while freelancing with many orchestras around the area. In 2007 she was appointed assistant principal oboe of the Alabama Symphony. She has attended many summer music festivals around the U.S., including Tanglewood, the National Orchestral Institute, and Colorado College Summer Music Festival, and she has studied with Lothar Koch, Grover Schiltz, Ray Still, and Keisuke Wakao.

When Machiko isn't commuting to Chicago to perform with ICA, she enjoys hanging out with her friends and cats, watching movies, cooking, and making the occasional reed. Machiko often travels back to Okazaki, Japan, to visit her family, and she currently lives in Birmingham with her husband Gabriel, and their two cats Lily and Figaro.

As a young oboe player growing up in Seattle, Washington, Anna played Principal Oboe and English Horn with the Seattle Youth Symphony, Philharmonia Northwest and Seattle Performing Arts Chamber Ensembles for several years. At age 16, Anna won the Seattle Philharmonic 1999 Honors Concerto Competition and at age 18 accepted a full scholarship to attend the Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Joseph Robinson.

In addition to her college studies in New York City, Anna founded, led and performed with a world music group, Anna and the Post Road Band. In 2003, Ms. Velzo moved to Chicago, and studied with Alex Klein and Bob Morgan for two years while she performed as Principal Oboe with DePaul University Orchestra and started her professional career.

She has performed as soloist, and is currently Principal oboe with the New Millennium Orchestra, is a member of the International Chamber Artists, and has performed with various groups including Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, and Illinois Symphony Orchestra. She has also had the honor of performing Oboe and English horn in the renowned St Barth Music Festival in the French West Indies.

Along with continuing freelance work, and teaching oboe, Ms. Velzo is currently working on innovative classical projects for solo and small ensemble performances, as well as various recording projects.

As a soloist in the Orpheus Classical Music Series at the Harold Washington Library of Chicago, Pamela Coats, clarinettist, began her performing career in 1997. Since then, she has been noted for her many roles as a clarinettist. As a recitalist, Ms. Coats is a regular performer at the Bürgermeisterhaus Concert Series (the Mayor's hall) and the Augustinum Concert Series in Essen, the Basilika St. Aposteln Concert Series, DOMKultur Forum and Musik In Lindenthal in Cologne, and the Hermann-Grochtmann-Museum Concert Series in Datteln. She has been described as having an "amazing musical ability" by the Dattelner Morgenpost. "With great ability," writes the DOMKultur Forum, "Ms. Coats breathed life into wonderfully distinguished works." And the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung adds, she has "a great romantic musicality."

An active chamber musician, Ms. Coats has performed in several projects, ranging from smaller groups through chamber orchestras and has been honored with chamber music performances in such halls as the Berliner Philharmonie, Dachau SchlosserKonzert, the Cleveland Orchestra's Severance Hall, and in halls throughout Switzerland. She was also selected to participate in the Yehudi Menuhin project, Live Music Now, in the North Rhine Westphalia area. Chamber music groups that Ms. Coats has founded include the Chicago-based Prism Chamber Music Society, and Inventio Concertante of Cologne, both of which are involved in the promotion of women composers through the performance of their works.

Pamela Coats has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, a Master of Music degree from DePaul University, as well as a Artist's Diploma from the Music Conservatory of Cologne. Her main teachers include David Smeyers, Adolf Münten, John Bruce Yeh, and Dr. Kelly Burke. Ms. Coats has also attended several Masterclasses under the tutelage of Anthony Gigliotti, Fred Ormand, Alfred Prinz, Larry Combs, Eduard Brunner and Ralph Manno.

Marci Gurnow has been the second and bass clarinetist with the Jacksonville Symphony since 2006. Raised in Marietta, Georgia, she began playing clarinet at age 11 and credits her teacher and mentor Laura Ardan, principal clarinetist of the Atlanta Symphony, for instilling in her the love for the instrument. Marci went on to earn her Bachelor of Music degree from Southern Methodist University studying with Paul Garner and Steve Girko. She received her Master of Music degree from Northwestern University studying clarinet with Russ Dagon and bass clarinet with J. Lawrie Bloom. She has also been fortunate to work with Burt Hara, Ted Oien, and Kalmen Opperman.

Prior to her position with Jacksonville, Marci was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago for three years. While in Chicago, she was privileged to get to work with Larry Combs and John Bruce Yeh on orchestral and chamber music and to play under renowned conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, and Lorin Maazel. Marci has also performed with other orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Alabama Symphony, and Naples Philharmonic. She has participated in orchestral and chamber concerts at the Aspen Music Festival and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan.

A lover of chamber music, Marci is a founding member of the Chicago-based group the International Chamber Artists, whose commitment goes beyond simply playing the music and seeks to link performance and education together in order to build audiences for years to come. She has also participated in various chamber and solo recitals across the United States.

In her free time, you can find Marci practicing yoga, listening to Mahler, or spending time outdoors hiking, cycling, or skiing. She loves the mountains and has recently climbed her third "fourteener" and looks forward to climbing more. She is also a big fan of baseball and loves the Chicago Cubs.

Marci is a Buffet Crampon USA Performing Artist and performs exclusively on Buffet Crampon clarinets.

Over the past decade, bassoonist Jason Kramer has been an active artist in orchestras, chamber ensembles, and new music collaborations. He is Associate Principal Bassoon of the South Bend Symphony, and is former Principal Bassoon of the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Jason made his Carnegie Hall debut as a guest artist with the Western Wind Quintet. He was a founding member of The Ineffable Trio, and currently performs with International Chamber Artists.

He has worked with other diverse musicians including DJ Cyborg_K, vocalist Carol Genetti, and Paul Hartsaw's Socio-Cybernetic Music Machine. His recital of compositions for bassoon and tape was featured on "In Fear of Abstractions", a weekly radio broadcast by WIDR Kalamazoo.

Jason holds degrees in bassoon performance from Western Michigan University and DePaul University, with additional studies done at the Bay View Conservatory and the Henry Mancini Institute. He has been Instructor of Bassoon at Kalamazoo College since 2002.

Keri received her Bachelors of Music degree in 2001 from DePaul University. From 2001 to 2003 she studied music at Portland State University and in 2004 she received a Master of Music from Northwestern University. Her teachers have included Russell White, Larry Johnson, Greg Flint, Jon Boen, Bill Barnewitz, and Gail Williams.

Keri served as a teaching assistant for the Mt. Hood Brass Festival, Birch Creek Music Festival, Brass at Wallowa Lake, the Marrowstone Music Festival, the Brevard Music Festival, and the Menorca Pro Musica Festival in Spain.

As a freelance hornist Keri has performed as extra horn with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Columbia Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Concertante di Chicago, Evanston Symphony, Wheaton Symphony, and is currently performing as principal horn with the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra.

Keri is active as a chamber musician and performs regularly with the Chicago Horn Consort, the Alloy Arts Ensemble, and the International Chamber Artists.

Along with performing, Keri enjoys teaching and was the Band Director at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Glenview, Illinois, from 2004 to 2006.

Simon was born in Switzerland and started playing cornet at the age of 8 with his local youth band. From 1995 until 1998 he was a member of Brass Band Berner Oberland, one of Switzerland's most famous brass bands.

In 1998 Simon moved to England to study trumpet and cornet at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. His main tutors were Roger Webster, John Dickinson, John Miller, Murray Greig, and John MacMurray. Simon graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music with credit in performance, and has also received a Diploma in Professional (Solo) Performance.

While in the United Kingdom, Simon has played with bands like Brighouse & Rastrick, Black Dyke, and was a member of the Williams Fairey Band for two years.

In the summer of 2003 Simon travelled to Japan as a member of the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra Academy. Later that year he moved to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to help to build up and structure the instrumental tuition scheme, and to work as an instrumental teacher at The British School at Al Khubairat.

Simon now makes his home in Chicago. He plays as substitute with various orchestras, and is working as a freelance trumpet player in and around Chicago.

Andrea was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1980. From 1998 until 2002 she studied trumpet with Dr. Keith Benjamin at the University of Missouri at Kansas City where she was a finalist in the UMKC Concerto Competitions in 1999 and 2000. She was also a finalist at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp Staff Concerto Competition in 2001, the Naftzger Young Artist Competition in Wichita, Kansas, in 2001, and at the WAMSO Young Artist Competition in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2000, 2001, and 2003.

After graduating from the University of Missouri at Kansas City she was accepted as a member and Co-Principal for the 2002-2003 season with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. There, she had the opportunity to work with many renowned conductors, such as Sir Andrew Davis of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's artistic director, Daniel Barenboim.

In the summer of 2003 Andrea travelled to Japan as a member of the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra Academy. The academy members were taught by the section leaders of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and conductors included Bernard Haitink and Edo De Waart.

After returning to Chicago Andrea was accepted as a graduate student at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and studied with Professor Barbara Butler and Professor Charles Geyer. Apart from being a member of the Alloy Arts Ensemble, she also plays second trumpet with the West Shore Symphony Orchestra in Michigan, and works as a freelance musician in and around Chicago.

Karin Bliznik, trumpet, is currently pursuing her Masters of Music degree at Northwestern University, where she is studying with Barbara Butler, Charles Geyer, and Christopher Martin. Originally from Brockon, Massachusettes, Ms. Bliznik completed her undergraduate studies at Boston University where she studied with Terry Everson and Thomas Rolfs. Ms. Bliznik recently won First Place in the Masters Division at the 2007 National Trumpet Competition in Washington, D.C. In addition, she was part of the Northwestern Trumpet Ensemble which also recieved First Place in the Ensemble Division that same weekend. Ms. Mliznik has spent her past two summers performing at both the Aspen and Eastern Music Festivals. Other orchestras in which she has performed inlcude the London Philharmonic and Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.

Chicago-area freelance musician and brass instructor, Chelsea French, received her Master of Music degree in trombone performance from Northwestern University in June of 2005. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from DePaul University. She has studied primarily with Michael Mulcahy, Mark Fisher, Charles Vernon, Randall Hawes and Vance Shoemaker.

Chelsea has played with Chicago's Music of the Baroque, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the South Dakota Symphony, the Brevard Music Center Orchestra, and many regional orchestras in the Chicago area. Chelsea has received local, national and international recognition by winning the Chicago-area Musicians' Club of Women solo competition, the International Trombone Association's Marstellar Solo Competition, the National Trombone Solo Competition held at the Eastern Trombone Workshop, and was an alternate competitor in the International Trombone Association's VanHaney Philharmonic Competition.

Chelsea was born and raised in rural South Dakota, where she began her musical studies on piano at the age of five. Her fascination with trombone began at age ten upon entering the public school band program in her hometown of Madison, South Dakota. She also studied voice throughout high school, but found her niche in music as a classical trombonist before entering college.

Arkadiusz Gorecki, born in Olsztyn, Poland, began his studies on the trombone at age 16 in classes conducted by Professor Roman Siwek at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, Poland. He completed his studies in 2000, obtaining a Master Degree in Trombone Performance. During time, he began to study at the Conservator Superieur de Paris, under the tutelage of trombone virtuoso Professor Jacques Mauger and in 2001 completed his degree obtaining the First Prize Unanimously in the Paris Conservatory trombone master solo class. He was also a member of a well known European choir, Collegium Canticum, with which he toured all over the Europe from 1985 to 1990.

He participated in many international trombone and brass master classes. He studied under various professors including Ardash Marderosian, Vern Kagarice, Michel Becquet, Alain Manfrin, Jean Raffard and Jay Friedman, and has been awarded many prizes in trombone and art competitions. The most notable of these awards are First Prize in the International Master Class Trombone Competition in Nice, France, in 1999; First Prize in the International Music Art Competition of Leopold Bellan in Paris in 2001; and First Prize Unanimously in the Paris Conservatory Trombone Competition in 2001. From 2000 to 2001, he received a stipend scholarship from the Ministry of Culture of the French and Polish Governments.

Arkadiusz has cooperated with several orchestras and concert groups in Europe, such as the Poland National Philharmonic Orchestra, Warsaw Brass. While with the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Warsaw, he was the Principal Trombonist from 1999 to 2000. He has made numerous recordings for Jazz and Popular Music, as well as performing as a soloist numerous times with organ, with piano and in musical groups in France, Germany, Belgium, Poland and other countries. As the Principal Trombonist in the World Tour Orchestra, he participated in an European Tour with famous Rock Group "YES".

Since August, 2002, he has been an assistant to Trombone Professor Elliot Chasanov at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At the same time, he has continued his studies toward a Doctor of Art in Performance. Since October, 2002, he has been a member of the Trombone section of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. In 2002, he formed The Civic Trombone Quartet. Since September, 2003, he began his studies at the Roosevelt University of Chicago under J. Friedman, who is a Principal Trombonist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, completing his studies with a Professional Diploma in Orchestral Studies. Since 2004, Arkadiusz Gorecki has played several times as an extra and substitute trombonist with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia da Camera, and other orchestras and chamber groups in the Chicago area. For the 2006-2007 season, Arkadiusz is starting a new project, CITE -- The Chicago International Trombone Ensemble.

Sean currently holds principal tuba positions with the Millar Brass Ensemble, Lake Forest Symphony, and Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra.

He was acting principal of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra during the 1999-2000 season. As a freelance musician, Sean has performed with the Chicago Philharmonic, Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Ars Viva, Chicago Brass Quintet, Chicago Sinfonietta, Northwest Indiana Symphony, and Orquesta Sinfonica UANL (Monterrey, Mexico), as well as many recording sessions. Sean also enjoys brass chamber music and currently plays with the Artemis Chamber Brass and Horizon Brass Quintet in addition to the Alloy Arts Ensemble.

Sean moved to Chicago to get his Master of Music in Tuba Performance from Northwestern University. He grew up in Pennsylvania and received his Bachelor of Music from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. His principal teachers have been Rex Martin, Neal Tidwell, Dr. Gary Bird, and Gene Pokorny.