Guest Artists

Michael Haberkorn was born in Chicago and studied piano in master classes with Rudolph Ganz at the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University and pipe organ briefly with Leo Sowerby at St. James Cathedral. He continued his studies as an undergraduate and later graduate Fellow with Soulima Stravinsky at the University of Illinois. While a student of Stravinsky, he was a prize winner in the Illinois Music teachers association Collegiate Artists Competition. He worked with John Browning at the Northwestern University/Ravinia Festival for two summers before entering the Juilliard School to study with Beveridge Webster. He completed his doctorate at Columbia University.

He has performed twice at Carnegie Recital Hall and half dozen times at Lincoln Center in both solo and camber music. He has also presented numerous solo programs at the Robert McCormick Museum in suburban Chicago and twice on NPR through WFMT - Chicago's Dame Myra Hess Recital Series.

Dr. Haberkorn is a professor of Music at Otterbein College and Music Coordinator for St. John's Episcopal Church in Worthington.

Gail Lehto Zugger is associate professor of Clarinet at the Capital University Conservatory of Music in Columbus, Ohio a position she has held since 1999. In addition to teaching clarinet, she directs the Clarinet Choir, coaches student wind chamber groups, teaches woodwind methods and performs with the the Capital Winds Faculty Wind Quintet.

An active soloist, recitalist and clinician, Dr. Zugger will appear with the Capital/Bexley Community Orchestra and with the Westerville Community Band in the spring of 2008 and has appeared as soloist with the Westerville (OH) Symphony Orchestra, Capital University Symphonic Winds, Capital University Wind Symphony and Columbus Youth Symphonic Band. She has performed in recital at Ohio University, Bowling Green State University, Miami University and at the 1998 International Clarinet Association conference. She also has given master classes throughout central Ohio and in Texas, Louisiana and Wisconsin. In February 2008, Dr. Zugger presented a clinic "Clarinet 101: Simple Steps for Improving your Clarinet Section" at the state MENC conferences in Minneapolis, MN, Peoria, IL and Cincinnati, OH.

Dr. Zugger is currently second clarinetist of the Ashland (OH) Symphony Orchestra and played with the Columbus, Roanoke (VA), Richmond (IN), Wintergreen (VA) and Lancaster (OH) symphony orchestras as well as the CAPA Broadway Show Series. She has worked with such noted popular artists as James Taylor, The Moody Blues, Joel Grey, Sherrye Lewis an the Three Irish Tenors. Dr. Zugger was recently selected to be included in Marquis' Who's Who in America 2005 and was awarded the prestigious "Graduate of Distinction" honor from her high school, Racine (WI) Horlick High School in 2005. She is a regular contributor to The Clarinet, the quarterly publication of the International Clarinet Association.

Gail holds a bachelor's degree in clarinet performance from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and master's degree and doctorate in performance from The Ohio State University. Her former teachers include James Pyne, Russell Dagon and Jack Snavely. Her hobbies include running, having finished 5 marathons and 15 half marathons, traveling and cooking.

William Baker is an Emeritus Professor of Music from The Ohio State University where he taught Oboe and Chamber Music for 26 years. He held the post of Principal Oboist with the Columbus Symphony for 16 years and was Principal Oboist and founding member of the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra for 10 years. After his tenure at Ohio State, Bill was Woodwind Coordinator and Oboe teacher for 15 years at Capital University.

In 2002, Bill was elected into the Columbus Senior Musicians Hall of Fame. He and his wife Vivian now reside in Newark and perform with the Prevaling Winds Quintent and the Newark Granville Symphony.

June of 2006 marked the 10th year of existence for The Alum Creek Singers, and what a journey it has been. The Columbus-based acoustical quartet has performed for countless events including weddings, festivals, business meetings, libraries, historical events, retirement communities, birthdays, church services and a variety of other social events.

The quartet consists of Kris and Jeff Chesser, Matt Strauss and Seth Lockard. Although gospel and bluegrass make up the group's core style, the Singers venture into country, popular, and other styles as well. Their instrumentation consists of string bass, guitar, mandolin and banjo, with a particular emphasis placed on strong four- part vocal harmonies.

The group has always been well received at any event in which it has been invited to perform. In the summer of 2006 the quartet was featured at the Art in the Park as well as the Westerville Fourth Friday entertainment for July. The latest CD of The Alum Creek Singers, titled "Farther Along", is currently available.

Dr. Eric Aho is the Founder and Director of The All-Star Brass Bands, an award winning group of bands made up of brass and percussion students from throughout central Ohio. He received his Bachelor of Music Education, Master of Art in Music, and Doctorate in Music Education degrees from The Ohio State University qualifying him as a thoroughly indoctrinated Buckeye.

Dr. Aho has extensive teaching experience as a band and orchestra director in the Gahanna's Jefferson Local Schools and the South-Western City Schools. His collegiate teaching career began at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, Mt. Vernon Nazarene College, Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and most recently at Kent State University where he was the Assistant Director of Bands, Director of Athletic Bands, and Assistant Professor of Music Education.

Dr. Aho is the Editor of The Bridge, the journal of the North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) and serves as a member of the NABBA Board of Directors. He performs as Principal Euphonium with the Brass Band of Columbus and is active as a free lance musician on trombone, euphonium, and tuba.

Dr. Aho is a frequent clinician and adjudicator of wind bands, brass bands, and honors bands throughout the Midwest, is an award winning author, and is in demand as a conductor and euphonium soloist. Dr. Aho was the 1998 recipient of the Music Award presented by the God and Country Committee of the Salvation Army.

Amy Chivington is Professor of Music and Coordinator of Music Education in the Department of Music at Otterbein College, Westerville, Ohio. She has degrees from Otterbein College and The Ohio State University. She is the founding Artistic Director of Kinderchor at Otterbein College, a children's choir program in residence at the College that includes four ensembles and has over 170 singers.

Dr. Chivington served on the Arts Standards Writing Team co-sponsored by the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Board of Regents, and is a licensed PRAXIS III evaluator for Ohio. In 2003, she received an Ovation Award from Vocal Net recognizing her achievements in training young singing voices. Her research interests include choral rehearsal strategies for young choirs and teacher mentoring. She is published in The Choral Journal, Music Educators Journal, and Triad. Dr. Chivington is a choral conductor, clinician and consultant internationally.

Kinderchor at Otterbein College is a children's choir program in residence at the College sponsored by the Department of Music. The six choirs of Kinderchor serve over 170 central Ohio youth, ages 6 through 16.

Kinderchor choirs have performed at conferences of the Music Educators National Conference, Ohio Music Education Association, the American Guild of Organists, American Choral Directors Association, and the Ohio Choral Directors Association. The choirs present concerts on the Otterbein campus and throughout Ohio. The Kinderchor Chamber Choir has collaborated with the Central Ohio Symphony Orchestra, Women in Music Columbus Orchestra, and the Westerville Symphony. The Chamber Choir celebrated the 25th anniversary of ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, Ohio, singing in the Bernstein "Mass" in May, 2004. Each summer Kinderchor hosts the annual "Kinderchor Children's Choir Institute" at the College, welcoming children and music directors for session in choral literature, vocal pedagogy, conducting, and rehearsal strategies for young choirs. Kinderchor has traveled internationally to Austria, Czechoslovakia, England, Wales, and Italy. Summer, 2003, the Chamber Choir sang at St. Peters in Rome. July, 2006, Kinderchor members travel to Hawaii for the "Pacific Rim Children's Choir Festival." For more information about the choirs, visit our web site Kinderchorohio.org.

Dr. Michael Cox is a world-class saxophonist highly skilled in combining the sensibilities of an improvising jazz and commercial musician the aesthetics of first-rate classical training. For the past fifteen years Dr. Cox has made numerous appearances each year throughout the Midwest and Southwest as a performer and clinician and currently serves on the Woodwinds Resource Team for the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE).

Dr. Cox is Professor of Saxophone in the Capital University Conservatory of Music in Columbus, Ohio where he also teaches improvisation, jazz styles, and coaches small jazz and chamber ensembles. Michael has studied with renowned saxophonists David Liebman and Joe Lovano, has contributed articles to the Saxophone Journal and Saxophone Symposium, and transcribed a book of Jim Snidero saxophone solos for pbulication by Advance Music (Rottenburg, Germany).

In Ohio Michael performs with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, Columbus Symphony and Pro Musica Symphony Orchestra and records with numerous small groups including Brasileira, the Andy Woodson Band, the High Street Stompers and Paul Brown’s Science Gravy Orchestra. Nationally touring groups with whom he has appeared include the Count Basie Orchestra, Top Brass, Don Henley and others. His musical travels have taken him to Germany, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Brazil and Bali Indonesia.

In 1996 Dr. Cox was declared by Jamey Aebersold, Jerry Coker, and Denis DiBlasio as the Open Division winner of the First Annual Evansville International Jazz Saxophone Competition and he has received awards or grants from IAJE, Downbeat magazine, the Gerhold Foundation, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 2000 Dr. Cox was presented with a Distinguished Alumni Award from Cameron University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Performance in 1983. His 1999 recording Abstractions, Dedications and Red Dirt (CoJazz.com), featuring drummer Matt Wilson and bassist Dennis Irwin, marked Dr. Cox's jazz recording debut as a leader.

Dr. Cox earned a Master of Music degree in Performance in 1986 from Wichita State University, where also served as an adjunct faculty member. In 1996 Dr. Cox earned a Doctor of Arts degree in Saxophone Performance and Pedagogy and Jazz Pedagogy from the University of Northern Colorado, where he also was adjunct faculty member and mentored with IAJE Hall of Fame Educator Gene Aitken.

Elizabeth Schleicher is thrilled to be singing with the Westerville Concert Band for the first time. She is a native of Columbus and most recently appeared in Opera Columbus'; production of The Student Prince. She has also appeared on-stage in "Three Penny Opera" (Lucy), "1776" (Abigail Adams), and "How to Succeed" (Miss Jones). She has also sung at North Community Lutheran Church, St. Catharine's Church, and Church of the Master.

Mary Knapke lives in the Miami Valley and has sung with Hauer Swing Band, the Sidney, Piqua, and Greenville Community Bands. She also sings with the Frank Neville Orchestra and Swing Era (Sidney), AC Swing (Auglaize County), JR Price Big Band (Greenville) and performs with several jazz groups.

A native of Columbus and a graduate of The Ohio State University, Nicholas J. Perrini is well known as a hornist, teacher, composer and conductor. He spent 35 years in the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and 27 years as principal horn. During this time, he worked with virtually all of the great musical figures of our time. He was featured as soloist with the orchestra on several occasions, performing concerti by Richard Strauss, Vivaldi and Mozart, and he has appeared as a recitalist at the International Horn Society Workshop.

Many of his former students have performed with major symphony orchestras and many occupy important college teaching positions. Under his direction, the Capital University Horn Choir participated in the 1978 and 1979 International Heldenleben Horn Competitions in Cleveland. The Horn Choir also was invited to perform at the 1978 International Horn Society Workshop held at Michigan State University.

As a composer, his "3 Miniature Frescoes" for horn choir was performed at the 1978 International Horn Convention and subsequent performances took place in this country as well as in Brussels and Tel Aviv. His "Festival Fanfare" was recorded commercially by The Horn Club of Paris. As a conductor, he has directed the Capital University/Bexley Community Orchestra since 1979, and in December 1986, was chosen to conduct a benefit concert of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. He is a member and also serves as assistant conductor of the Lancaster Festival Orchestra. He studied conducting with the late Evan Whallon and Gary Sheldon.

More about Nicholas J. Perrinimay be found on his Capital University web page.

Thomas Battenberg is one of Central Ohio's most active and versatile performers. He plays principal trumpet in the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, performs as third/assistant principal trumpet in the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, leads his own jazz, Dixieland, and dance bands, is a composer and arranger, and is a frequent soloist in area churches. Battenberg released a CD titled Just a Closer Walk With Thee, recorded with pianist Ronald Jenkins. It is a collection of familiar hymns and gospel favorites. From 1987 to 1992 Battenberg was the Assistant Director of the OSU School of Music. He also founded the OSU Faculty Jazz Sextet and The High Street Stompers Faculty Dixieland Band. Battenberg holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from The Ohio State University (1963) and a Master of Music degree from Arizona State University (1965). Before beginning his teaching and performing career at OSU, Battenberg played in the Phoenix (1963-65) and Dallas Symphonies (1965-66). He is an active member of the International Trumpet Guild.

Katherine Borst Jones, Professor of Flute at The Ohio State University since 1985, is the principal of the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, and a member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and principal flutist of the New Sousa Band. She is an active freelance performer in the Columbus area, frequently performing with the Broadway Series and with Terry Waldo's Ragtime Orchestra. She previously was principal flutist with the American ChamberWinds, and performed with the American Wind Symphony, the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra, and the Mid-America, Lyric and American Chamber Winds woodwind quintets. Her teachers include Keith Brion, Robert Willoughby, Kyril Magg, Donald McGinnis, and Julius Baker. Her performances have been heard on the Music from Oberlin radio broadcast and on WOSU-FM. A frequent recitalist, she is also in demand as an adjudicator and clinician. She has recorded for CRI, d'Note and Summit recordings.