2012 Performers/Presenters

Dwight Parry

Dwight Parry is in his fifth season as the principal oboist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.  In 2006-2007, he held the same position with the San Diego Symphony and before that was a fellow in the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas.  He has performed as guest principal oboist with the New York Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony, the Los Angeles Opera, and the Deutsche Symphonie of Berlin.  Originally from Southern California, he found his passion for music studying piano, voice, and jazz saxophone, but it was not until his sophomore year of high school that he began playing the oboe.  Dwight received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California with Allan Vogel and his Masters degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music with John Mack.

In addition to his love for orchestral playing, Dwight enjoys performing as a soloist, both with orchestra and in recital.  Concerto appearances have included the works of Mozart, Strauss, Haydn, Bach, Albinoni, Barber, Marcello and Vaughn-Williams.  He is currently a member of the ground-breaking, Cincinnati-based chamber group Concert:Nova and regularly performs the music of Bach at St. Thomas Episcopal in Terrace Park.  Dwight has taught at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and is  currently faculty at Northern Kentucky University and maintains a private teaching studio.

OBOHIO

OBOHIO, The Double Reed Consort, was founded in January 1990 by Robert Sorton. The basic quartet of oboe, oboe d’amore, English horn and bassoon performs a wide variety of repertoire from the Renaissance to modern times, from solo pieces to works incorporating additional musicians. The ensemble frequently performs compositions using bass (baryton) oboe, musette oboe or contra-bassoon. In addition to recitals, OBOHIO presents clinics and master classes at universities, public schools and conferences. OBOHIO has performed at several International Double Reed Society conventions (1990 Baton Rouge, LA; 1991 Towson, MA; 1992 Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany; 1995 Rotterdam, the Netherlands); for the Music in the Museum Series of the Canadian Museum of Nature in cooperation with the Embassy of the United States of American in Ottawa, Canada; for the NOW Festival at Capital University, Columbus, Ohio; the Short North Chamber Series; the OctOBOEfest at the University of Iowa; the 1992 Midwest International Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago; the 1996 North American Sartre Society; and 1998 National College Wind and Percussion Instructors national conference. In 2003, OBOHIO performed for the Joint Chiefs of Staff Holiday Party in Washington, DC. In 2010, OBOHIO taught and performed at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival in Fairbanks, Alaska. OBOHIO has recorded Seasons Reedings, a collection of Christmas music on the Coronet Label.

Michele Fiala

Michele Fiala has performed throughout the United States, Italy, England, Germany, France and Canada. Her CD of contemporary oboe music entitled The Light Wraps You (MSR Classics) has received international critical acclaim. Carla Rees in MusicWeb International spoke of “Fiala’s expressive oboe playing,” and wrote that “The oboe sound is rich and warm…the playing is excellent, and the musical ideas are communicated well.”

Jeanne Belfy, in The Double Reed, called the CD “a classy affair from start to finish” and said, “…the interpretations are elegant…Fiala’s tone is light, mellow and flexible.” Michele also appears on Naxos, Centaur Records and Equilibrium. She has performed in the Saarberger Serenaden Festival (Germany), the St-Martin-in-the-Fields Concert Series (England), the Banff Summer Music Festival, Lancaster Festival Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, and Phoenix Symphony, and with Lee Ann Rimes, Roberta Flack, Trey Anastasio, and Barry Williams. She has given guest recitals at the Conservatories of Novara and Udine, Italy, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, University of Memphis, Arizona State University, Miami University, University of South Florida and Utah State University.

Fiala is Assistant Professor of Oboe and Music Theory at Ohio University and previously held a similar position at Western Kentucky University. She holds DMA and MM degrees from Arizona State University, where she studied with Martin Schuring. She has studied additionally with Robert Atherholt, Mark Ostoich, Alex Klein, and Richard Killmer. When not performing or teaching, she runs marathons, with a personal record of 3:20.

 Matthew Morris

Currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Bassoon at Ohio University, Matthew Morris holds Degrees from Florida State University, Baylor University and East Carolina University respectively and has held teaching positions at The University of Virginia, Valdosta State University and Baylor University.

His Principle teachers are Jon Pederson; Principle Bassoon, The North Carolina Symphony, Brian Kershner; Baylor University, and William Winstead; Florida State University.

Dr. Morris has appeared in numerous festivals, concert series, radio and television broadcasts, studio and commercial recordings, Chamber music series and orchestral performances in the United States and abroad, including appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Bolshoi Theater, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., and three IDRS world premieres.

He has presented Master Classes, conducted workshops, and served as an adjudicator on the junior high, senior high and college levels.

Robert Sorton

Robert Sorton is Professor of Oboe at The Ohio State University, where he founded OBOHIO, The Double Reed Consort. He teaches applied oboe, coaches small/chamber ensembles and teaches a graduate woodwind literature course.

After graduating from the North Carolina School of the Arts, he earned both his Bachelor and Master’s degrees, summa cum laude, from the Cleveland Institute of Music. For fourteen years, he was Assistant Principal Oboe of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra following his position with the Miami Philharmonic. He has also performed with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Columbus Symphony and Charlotte Symphony. He was Principal Oboe of the Eastern Music Festival for seven years and the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra for nine years.

With OBOHIO and the Winds of Wintergreen, he has taught and performed extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, South Africa and, most recently, at the Fairbanks (Alaska) Summer Arts Festival. He is internationally acclaimed for his reed making. Mr. Sorton was awarded the OSU School of Music Distinguished Teaching Award. Professor Sorton has been listed in Who’s Who in the Midwest and Who’s Who in Entertainment. He is a member of the International Double Reed Society and Pi Kappa Lambda, the music honor society. He has recorded with London Decca Records, Delos, Artisie 4 (Grammy winner) and Coronet Records.

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.

Karen Pierson

Karen Pierson is the Associate Professor of bassoon at The Ohio State University.  Ms. Pierson accepted this position in 2007 upon completing a thirteen-year tenure with the Houston Symphony Orchestra.

Karen was hired as the second bassoonist with the Houston Symphony in 1994.  During this period, Ms. Pierson made several orchestral recordings and toured Japan, Europe and the domestic United States.  She has performed with the Grand Tetons Summer Music Festival, Chautauqua opera orchestra, Chicago Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Columbus Symphony and the Austin Symphony.  Karen has also appeared as soloist with the Omaha Symphony, Academy of the West Orchestra, Skokie Symphony and with university ensembles at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) conference.

Bassoon pedagogy is of great interest to Ms. Pierson.  Her teaching posts have included The University of Nebraska at Omaha, The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Houston, All-State Division at the Interlochen National Music Camp, Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Midwest Bassoon camp and the Texas Music Festival.

Karen began her professional career in 1989 as the principal bassoonist with the Omaha Symphony after completing that summer as a Tanglewood fellow.  She won the second place prize in the Fernand Gillet International Double Reed Competition in 1994 and has subsequently performed at the conference several times.

Ms. Pierson received a Master’s degree in bassoon performance with Norman Herzberg at the University of Southern California and a Bachelor’s degree in performance with Hugh Cooper at the University of Michigan.

Mark Biggam, Composer

The compositions of Dr. Mark Biggam have been recognized in various venues in the United States and Europe. He has received awards from ASCAP and Cleveland Foundation. Being an oboist, many of Dr. Biggam’s compositions feature oboe and have been performed by noteworthy oboists, double reed groups and organizations like John Mack, OBOHIO and at IDRS Conferences. Other venues and organizations like Rembrandt Chamber Players, Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, University of North Carolina School of the Arts have preformed premieres of his works. He has been recognized as a composer of choral music, and has won awards and commissions from various organizations like the Moravian Music Foundation and Ohio Boy Choir.He has published arrangements of J.S. Bach’s music for the prestigious Barenreiter-Verlag.

He has also taught music theory, music technology, composition and music appreciation, as well as private applied instruction on oboe and English Horn.

Carlos Coelho

 

As the President and Chief Craftsman of Carlos Oboe, Carlos Coelho has unique Oboe expertise and is an accomplished Oboist in his own right. Mr. Coelho is one of only two craftsmen in the United States trained in the F. Lorée Oboe factory in France. As a master in his field, he has repaired and restored countless Oboes and English Horns for a wide range of professional and student Oboists and music educators.

The Oboe has a clear and powerful voice, and since 1992 Carlos Coelho Woodwinds has helped professional and student Oboists keep the voice of their personal instruments operating at peak performance. Carlos Coelho Woodwinds serves customers from around the world. As one of F. Lorée’s largest dealers in the world, Carlos maintains a full range of New Instruments which arrive directly from France all year round, so you will always find the perfect Oboe for you!

Born in Brazil, Carlos E. Coelho studied Oboe in the United States at the Manhattan School of Music; SUNY Purchase (State Univ. of New York); Temple University (Philadelphia); and CUNY (City Univ. of New York), where he is a candidate for the Doctorate in Oboe Performance degree.