About Us

This event grew from an informal gathering of William Baker’s former students in 2010 into an all-day double reed festival encompassing masterclasses, workshops, exhibits and performances.

William P. Baker
William P. Baker joined The Ohio State University School of Music faculty in 1962 as the first full time oboe professor. He helped found the Ohio Wind Quintet, later to become the Lyric Wind Quintet, as association and tenure that lasted for 26 years. William Baker was born December 15, 1935 in El Dorado, Arkansas, a city noted at that time for its fine music programs. It was there that he began his life-long association with the oboe. It should be noted that at the present time, if you attend school grades one through twelve in the El Dorado system, the Murphy Oil Company with its world headquarters in El Dorado will fully fund your college tuition at any institution you wish to attend! Baker’s higher education was at Southeastern Louisiana University and graduate work at Louisiana State University, where he was honored to study the oboe with John Mack in New Orleans and with Walter Barznick at Southeastern. He continued his studies with John Mack when both moved to Ohio, Mack coming in 1964, invited by the great George Szell to be principal oboist in the Cleveland Orchestra. In 1973, Ohio State awarded William a grant to study baroque oboe in Vienna, Austria with Jurg Sheftlien.

Baker is most proud of his wonderful oboe students that went through his studio at Ohio State. Many are teaching at major institutions and performing in prestigious ensembles. They are prime members of the oboe community in the United States.Baker’s performing career is varied, beginning at age 17 as oboist with the Baton Rouge Symphony under Maestro Emil Cooper. Later posts include: the Fort Worth Symphony, the Texas Casa Manana Musicals, 16 years as principal oboist with the Columbus Symphony, principal oboist and founding member of the Columbus Pro Musica Orchestra for 10 years. He was privileged to perform during these times with such noted conductors as Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland and Howard Hanson (performing Hanson’s Serenade for Oboe, Strings and Harp with Hanson conducting). Other great ones include: Alexander Schnieder, Ansel Brusalov and the 1 year tenure with Evan Whallon in the Columbus Orchestra.

In addition to being a performer, William was conductor of the Columbus Women’s Symphony, the Upper Arlington Civic Symphony and for 15 years, the Land of Legend Philharmonic based in Newark, Ohio. The orchestra is now known as the Newark-Granville Symphony where William serves on its Board of Trustees.William has also served as secretary for two terms with the International Double Reed Society. Other organizations include membership in Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Phi Kappa Lambda.In 2002 William Baker was elected by his peers into the Columbus Senior Musician’s Hall of Fame. Other honors include a chapter highlighting the career of William in Bill Craig’s book, Tall Pines of Union County Arkansas.Upon his retirement from The Ohio State University, William Baker was proclaimed “one of Ohio’s finest citizens” by the Ohio State House of Representatives.After retirement from The Ohio State University, William was asked by Capital University of Columbus to become an Adjunct Professor of oboe and head its Woodwind Department and perform with the Faculty Quintet. This tenure lasted 15 years.
Bill and his wife, Vivian, have six wonderful children and live in Columbus, Ohio!

 

Lora Lynn Snow
In February 1987, Lora Lynn Snow conceived of forming a professional orchestra in Gallia County, Ohio, and basing its performances in the Ariel Theatre. She spearheaded the restoration of the historic opera house, which had been abandoned, and was the moving force behind the creation of The Ohio Valley Symphony. She later expanded her efforts to helping establish the After School String Project, a string instruction program, the Ohio Valley Youth Orchestra, the Ariel Dancers, and the Ariel Players, a community theatre troupe—all of whom called the historic Morris & Dorothy Haskins Ariel Theatre in the Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre, home. Lora is principal oboist for The Ohio Valley Symphony, a post she also holds with the Huntington (W.Va.) Symphony. She plays in The Ohio Valley Symphony Woodwind Quintet. She is also a member of the West Virginia Symphony in Charleston  and she performs with the Kingsbury Woodwind Quintet at Marshall University. Lora earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Ohio State University.

Before moving to Gallia County in 1980, she taught woodwinds and was Assistant Director of the Concert Band at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, and she performed with the Arkansas Symphony and at several Little Rock recording studios. She was a founding member of the Little Rock Chamber Orchestra. In Gallia County, she taught music in the Gallia County Local Schools and at the University of Rio Grande. She is an active recitalist, clinician and consultant. She has been published in the country and abroad. In 2005, Snow was awarded the “Arts and Outstanding Leadership Heritage Award” from the Ohio’s Hill Country Heritage Area Association for her twenty years of volunteer work for the Ariel Theatre.

P. Bailey Sorton
P. Bailey Sorton received a Bachelor of Music degree, magna cum laude, from Appalachian State University with a double major in Oboe Performance and Music Education. At ASU, she was a Presser Scholar, was listed in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges and was inducted into numerous honor societies, including Pi Kappa Lambda, the music honor society. She earned a Master of Music Education degree from James Madison University. Bailey was a member of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra for 39 years and has performed with the Winds of Wintergreen, Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, WindWorks, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, BalletMet, Opera Columbus, Opera Roanoke, Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra, Winston-Salem Symphony and the Western Piedmont Symphony. She teaches at Mount Vernon Nazarene University and Kenyon College , Midwest Oboe Camp and Oxford Oboes. She has also taught at Wake Forest University, Cannon Music Camp, Roanoke Youth Symphony Summer Institute of Music, Wintergreen Summer Music Festival and Eastern Music Festival and master classes at universities such as The Ohio State University.