2015 Performers & Presenters

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.

Dr. Richard Kravchak

Dr. Richard Kravchak has been heard as an oboe soloist, chamber and orchestral musician around the world, performing concerts throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. He has appeared as a soloist with ensembles as diverse as The Dubuque Symphony, The University of Hawaii Wind Ensemble, The Carson Symphony, Banda Espinia de Portugal and the Orquesta Symphonica de El Salvador. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald has written “Kravchak’s playing revealed a real beauty of tone, not monolithic, but always changing in color and intensity. He makes even the most difficult lines seem almost effortless.” The Florida Flambeau raves “Kravchak made a good case for his virtuosity.” Dr. Kravchak has been invited to present solo performances at conferences and festivals including The International Double Reed Society, The North American Saxophone Alliance, Festival Forfest, the International Clarinet Society, and many others. Kravchak holds performance degrees from the Eastman School of Music, the Juilliard School, and Florida State University. Richard Kravchak served as Professor of Music at California State University, Dominguez Hills, where he was the Chairman of the Music Department. His duties also included directing the Music Education program and serving as a studio woodwind instructor. He is now the founding Director of the School of Music and Theatre at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.

Concurrent to his appointment at CSUDH, Dr. Kravchak served on the conducting faculty of the Valley Youth Orchestras, as well as serving an elementary music instructor for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Dr. Kravchak’s teaching has been widely recognized by his colleagues. Dr. Kravchak was the first California teacher to receive National Board Certification in music education. He has also received a Platinum Apple Award from the United Teachers of Los Angeles, a Los Angeles County Teacher of the Year award from the Los Angeles County Office of Education, and has been a finalist for a Bravo Award, granted by the Music Center of Los Angeles. Dr. Kravchak received the Dunsay award from the Music Center, as the Bravo Award Finalist who “did the most with the fewest resources”.

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.

Kay D. Lawson

Kay Lawson teaches bassoon and music education at Marshall University, is a member of the Kingsbury Woodwind Quintet, and performs with the Huntington Symphony.  She frequently performs chamber music, including invitations to appear on the programs of the International Double Reed Society.  Lawson is bassoonist for the Maelzel Woodwind Quintet and Mannheim Rocket Orchestra (Richmond, VA), ensembles devoted to historically-informed performances of classical era music.  She plays a Bűehner-Keller Classical model bassoon made by Leslie Ross.
At Marshall, Lawson has taught music education at the undergraduate and undergraduate level, courses on film and music in the Honors College, and in the Arts and History Seminar for the Society of Yeager Scholars.  Her research interests include the history of women musicians, interdisciplinary curriculum, and teaching & learning.
Prior to living in Huntington, she performed with orchestras in North Dakota, North Carolina, and Michigan.  In addition, Lawson has taught at Minot State University (ND), Brevard College NC), and Western Carolina University NC) and in public schools in Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, and North Dakota.
Lawson earned the Bachelor of Music degree from the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York/Potsdam, the Master of Music degree in music education and a Master of Music degree in bassoon performance from Michigan State University.  She received her Orff-Schȕlwerk Certification from the University of Kentucky.
he Kingsbury Wind Quintet and Huntington Symphony. Prior to coming to Huntington, Lawson taught at Minot State University (ND), Western Carolina University (NC), Brevard College (NC) and in public schools in Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, and North Dakota. In addition, she is an active free-lance bassoonist performing chamber and orchestral music. Her most recent project has focused on playing historically informed music on her Bűehner-Keller Classical model bassoon. She can be contacted at Lawsonk@marshall.edu.

Wendell Dobbs

Flutist Wendell Dobbs served as professor of flute at Marshall University for 28 years. As the John Deaver Drinko Fellow, he founded the John Marshall Fife and Drum Corps. He performs in a variety of ensembles large and small on modern flute as well as differing historical flutes. A former member of “Pershing’s Own” the United States Army Band, Dobbs has also recorded several CDs. He was privileged to study several years in France with the esteemed Michel Debost and Alain Marion.

 

 

 

 

 

Andrea Ridilla

Andrea Ridilla is Professor of Oboe at Miami University. A graduate of The Juilliard School and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, she has recorded several CDs, both solo and chamber music. Fanfare Magazine writes of her CD, L’Amore Italiano, the lyrical oboe in opera and cinema, “Ridilla plays with exceptional control and a beautiful tone.” The American Record Guide calls Ridilla’s playing “…heartfelt and expressive.” She was recently guest artist at the 2015 Wind Fest at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. A regular contributor to the journals of the British Double Reed Society and the International Double Reed Society, she is also co-designer of the Ridilla Oboe Reedmaking Gouging Machine manufactured by Reeds ‘n Stuff in Germany, which is US Patented.

 

 

 

Glenn Harman, M.D.

Glenn Harman is a retired medical oncologist/hematologist whose medical career included 13 years in the U.S. Air Force, two years at the University of Iowa, and the last 12 years at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. He also has had a long career in music. He has performed extensively as a solo pianist, as a duo-pianist, and as an accompanist throughout North America, and also in Hungary and the Philippines. He also performs regularly on oboe and English horn in community bands and orchestras and in chamber groups. Since 2001, he has been Chairman of the International Double Reed Society’s Reading Group Committee, which runs sight-reading groups at the annual meeting of that society. After retiring in 2011, he spent most of 2012 and 2013 hiking the Appalachian Trail with his dog, Gertie. He currently lives in Enon, Ohio, with his partner of many years, Chris Nilo.