Emmy Ulmer has been a percussion teacher and coach in the Greater Seattle area for over 20 years, primarily working with students in the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras and various schools. She has played timpani and percussion with numerous orchestras from Skagit Valley to Tacoma, and even one year in Vienna, Austria. Emmy is a graduate of the UW School of Music, and of Roosevelt High School, where currently she is the Principal Percussionist/Timpanist of the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, a group made up of members of the Seattle Symphony, community professionals, and college and high school students. For the past 12 years she has also operated the English Captions for Seattle Opera.

Dr. Miho Takekawa is a percussionist, educator, and cultural ambassador whose career spans performance, teaching, and international collaboration. Originally from Tokyo and now based in the Seattle area, she serves as Professor of Percussion at Pacific Lutheran University, where she leads the percussion studio and directs the university's percussion ensembles. She also previously served as Interim Professor of Percussion at the University of Washington School of Music.

Dr. Takekawa began studying piano at the age of three before discovering percussion at thirteen. She graduated from Tokyo's prestigious Kunitachi College of Music and went on to earn both Master's and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Percussion Performance from the University of Washington, where she received the prestigious Boeing Scholarship among other honors.

An exceptionally versatile performer, Dr. Takekawa is active across a wide range of musical traditions, from classical contemporary music to Mexican banda, Colombian music, steel pan, and West African drumming. She performs with ensembles including Diego Coy Música Colombiana and Pan Duo, is a founding member of the Miho & Diego Duo, and has appeared in concerts throughout the United States, Mexico, Chile, Bolivia, and Japan.

Equally passionate about education and community engagement, Dr. Takekawa has dedicated much of her career to fostering cultural exchange between Japan and the United States through youth ensembles, educational tours, and collaborative performances. She has led or coordinated exchanges involving the University of Washington Husky Marching Band, the University of Washington Wind Ensemble, Musica Grato Himi (Japan), Graham-Kapowsin High School Band, the Left Coast Brass Quintet, and renowned Seattle percussionist Tom Collier.

Her commitment to service extends beyond the concert stage. Dr. Takekawa serves on the board of Steel Magic Orchestra Northwest, has been a consultant for the Washington State Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society, and has been a guest speaker for the University of Washington Percussion Lab. She is also a co-founder of Smile for Japan, a Seattle-based fundraising initiative established in response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and has contributed to additional benefit projects supporting disaster relief efforts in Washington State.

Her artistic and educational contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including a Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship and grants from King County 4Culture.

Audrey Stangland is a top-call trombonist in the greater Seattle area. As daughter of two band directors, she was immersed in music from a very early age and played an array of different instruments before finding her voice through the trombone. She was heavily influenced by the duets of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, as well as Louis Prima and his band.

Audrey studied bass trombone at Central Washington University, and held positions in CWU Jazz 1 as both bass and lead trombonist. She is currently gigging, recording and teaching all around the Pacific Northwest. She teaches private lessons, gives clinics to local middle school and high school jazz bands, runs the Femme Ellington Big Band at Seattle JazzED as well as leading a music class for babies and toddlers.

Audrey is currently busy playing trombone with a variety of groups such as Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, Orquesta Nueva Era, The Pazific, the Alex Dugdale Big Band, Banda Vagos. She is also gaining attention as a wonderful singer as she leads her own jazz trio, and her R&B group “Audrey and the Stangs.”

Born in Florida, raised in Washington (West Coast, Best Coast), Jenny Young found her deep love of trombone during her undergraduate degree after many years of study in other musical areas. An avid soloist, Jenny has given performances across the U.S. and internationally. Her playing has been described as "emotional," "gripping," and "impassioned." She currently has two personal commissions, five live premieres, one U.S. premiere, and will continue to bring new music to the scene that expresses and inspires activism for social and environmental causes. Jenny also enjoys bringing a fresh new perspective to the classics.

In 2020, Jenny was honored to receive the Interdisciplinary Student Projects in Artistry or Research Grant from Northern Illinois University to commission a multi-media work for brass quintet and video addressing current events and issues. This work premiered on April 25, 2021 and is part of a larger project called The Re-Sensitization Project which is currently in progress. 

Her inspiration and motivation come from a desire to make a positive difference in the world around her. Jenny is a proud artist for Earth Creative.​

Merging her musical passions and experiences with technology, Jenny enjoys capturing performances of fellow artists. Jenny serves as the Head of Recording for Seattle-based non-profit, Common Tone Arts. CTA is an organization devoted to bold art creation and education. Jenny freelances in local studios, working with both audio and video, and is the Production Manager for First Free Methodist Church -- a prolific and burgeoning Seattle event space and concert hall. Jenny is honored to support and encourage students as the Head of Music Production at Seattle Pacific University. 

​Jenny received her Performer's Certificate from Northern Illinois University, her Master's in Music from the University of Southern Mississippi, and her Baccalaureate degree with a dual emphasis in Trombone Performance and Music Technology from Seattle Pacific University. Her primary instructors have been Dr. Andrew Glendening, Dr. Ben McIlwain, Dr. David Krosschell, and Dr. Danny Helseth.

Jenny Ziefel is a clarinet and saxophone teacher and performer. She is an active musician in many genres in the Seattle area and has served as a clinician in schools, jazz festivals, and classical festivals, in addition to coaching with Bellevue Youth Symphony and many other organizations.

She has performed with the Bellevue Philharmonic (now known as the Lake Washington Symphony Orchestra), Tacoma City Ballet, Symphony Tacoma, Cascade Symphony, Bellevue Symphony and Opera, Greeley Philharmonic, and many other Seattle-area ensembles.

Her interest in chamber music has included performances with the Spiritus Wind Quintet, Blackwood and Silver (clarinet trio), and the Seattle Bass Clarinet Project (mostly with the Setzer/Ziefel Duo). The project has commissioned and premiered four new works for bass clarinet duet and is actively working to promote the bass clarinet as a solo and chamber instrument to the public.

She has played tenor saxophone with the Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra since 2007 and is an active improviser and collaborator in the Seattle New Music scene. Her private studio consists of a wide range of students, from beginners to advanced classical and jazz performers.

She holds a DMA from the University of Washington (clarinet—William McColl), an MM from the University of Northern Colorado (clarinet—Thomas Masse), and a BMus from Lawrence University (Single Reed Performance—Steven Jordheim).

Filipino-American flutist, Dr. Rachel Reyes (she/her), performs in a variety of engagements as a soloist, chamber collaborator, large ensemble musician, and educator. She is dedicated to highlighting works by living composers and underrepresented communities. Her award winning dissertation research on flute music by Filipino composers and the development of Western music in the Philippines will be presented at the 2026 National Flute Association convention in Portland, OR. Currently, she performs with the Lake Washington Symphony Orchestra and Seattle Modern Orchestra. Reyes has collaborated with Sandbox Percussion, Washington-based woodwind quintet Winds5, and the Phinney Ridge Steel Band. Alongside performing, Dr. Reyes is deeply passionate about teaching and has a private studio in Lynnwood, WA. She works as the Assistant Conductor for the Bellevue Youth Symphony (BYSO) Flute Orchestra and Flute Choir and as the Flute Coach for the BYSO Overture Orchestra. Rachel also is a Chamber Music Coach at the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Conservatory of Music.

Her musical successes include winning the 2024 University of Washington Concerto Competition, 2023 National Flute Association Masterclass Competition, 2022 Arizona Flute Society Graduate/Professional Competition, and 2022 Sewanee Summer Music Festival Jacqueline Avent Concerto Competition. Rachel has spent summers at the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, Sewanee Summer Music Festival, Brevard Music Institute, and ARIA International Summer Music Academy.

As a soloist, Dr. Reyes has been featured with the University of Washington Symphony Orchestra, University of Washington Wind Ensemble, and the Sewanee Festival Orchestra. Rachel has premiered works with the Seattle Modern Orchestra, the University of Washington Modern Music Ensemble, and in various performances throughout Washington, Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia, and New York. Reyes has performed with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Modern Orchestra, Lake Washington Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, Octava Symphony Orchestra, and Northwest Symphony Orchestra.

Additionally, she has performed and taught internationally in the Philippines and China. Recently, she led a public masterclass at the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Music. In 2019, she was invited to perform and teach masterclasses as principal of the University of Washington Wind Ensemble on their performance tour of China in Beijing, Chengdu, and Xi’an.

Reyes earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Washington (UW) where she served as a Teaching Assistant. At the UW, she performed with the Symphony Orchestra and Modern Music Ensemble. She received a Bachelor’s in Orchestral Instruments - Flute Performance from the University of Washington and a Master’s in Flute Performance from Arizona State University. She has studied with Professor Donna Shin, Dr. Elizabeth Buck, Dr. Zart Dombourian-Eby, Jeffery Barker, and Iris Ingram.

Outside of music, Rachel enjoys cozy days with her dog Pochacco, exploring new restaurants with friends, and catching up on her much too long To Be Read list!

Bridget Long is an active freelance performer, oboe instructor, and professional reedmaker in the greater Seattle area. She maintains a private oboe studio in Kirkland, serves on the oboe and piano faculty at Music Works Northwest, and operates an independent oboe reed business serving students and performers throughout the Pacific Northwest. Passionate about cultivating artistry in young musicians, Bridget also enjoys adjudicating for solo and ensemble festivals at the regional and state levels. Bridget has performed with numerous ensembles throughout the region, including Symphony Tacoma, Olympia Symphony, NOCCO, Sound Ensemble, Bellevue Symphony, and has also appeared at the Opera Maya Festival and Ohio Light Opera.

In addition to performing and teaching, Bridget is a cofounder of PRSM, an audiovisual production company and art collective. She is particularly interested in collaborative and interdisciplinary performance projects.

Bridget holds degrees in Oboe Performance from the Boston Conservatory and the University of Washington School of Music.

Jennifer Glenn Shoval has performed throughout the United States and internationally in Austria, China, and Mexico. Based in Seattle, she is principal violist of the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Bellevue Symphony, and Bellevue Opera.

An active freelance musician, Jenn has performed with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, North Corner Chamber Orchestra (NOCCO), Tacoma City Ballet, Federal Way Symphony, and Auburn Symphony. A dedicated chamber musician, she appears with Puget Sound Concert Opera and was violist of the Bella Sala Quartet.

Outside the classical world, she has performed with artists including Rod Stewart, Smokey Robinson, Linda Ronstadt, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mannheim Steamroller, and The Walkmen, and has recorded for film and video game soundtracks.

Jenn also serves as viola coach for the Cascade Youth, Junior, and Camerata Symphonies.

She received her Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of the Pacific and her Master of Music in Performance from the University of Arizona, and pursued additional studies in Vienna, Austria. Her principal teachers include Joyce Ramee, Dr. Michael Allard, Hong-Mei Xiao, and Gertrude Rossbacher, former violist of the Berlin Philharmonic.

TESSA BRINCKMAN - BIO

Interdisciplinary flutist/composer Tessa Brinckman has been praised for her “chameleon-like gifts” and “virtuoso elegance” (Gramophone), and as "an adroit creator of sound worlds” (Fanfare). Originally from Aotearoa/New Zealand, she has premiered hundreds of new works (commissioning over forty), with prominent classical music creators across the globe. In New York since 2022, she builds work that honors synesthesia, dialect, innate meter and collaboration. Tessa is co-director of the bi-coastal duo, Caballito Negro, with percussionist Terry Longshore, commissioning ground-breaking flute and percussion works, including composers Juri Seo and Baljinder Sekhon. She directs WildLine, a new, interdisciplinary chamber group based in northern Manhattan. Her collaborative videos have won 22 film festival awards for music scoring, animation and experimental film.

Numerous recent projects include her critically acclaimed album Take Wing, Roll Back (New Focus Recordings), AEON (Rattle Records, New Zealand), commissions from flutists Lisa Bost and Lisa Cella, performances at Baltimore's Livewire Festival, Princeton Sound Kitchen, and headlining with Mexico's Duo Duplum at Festival Cervantino and New Music Forum (Mexico City). www.tessabrinckman.com

Kate Jackson’s first job was as a trumpet player in the Royal Canadian Navy. She now lives in Walla Walla, WA, where she performs regularly with the Walla Walla Symphony and other ensembles in the area. She is a founding member of the Blue Mountain Brass quintet.

Violinist Ruby Ro is an active orchestral performer in the San Francisco Bay Area, appearing with ensembles including the San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Silent Film Festival, I Cantori di Carmel, Berkeley Symphony, Marin Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Stockton Symphony, Livermore Opera, and Bach Millennium Opera production.

Her performance experience includes collaborations with DJ Kygo at the Chase Center, the Hip-Hop Orchestra Experience, the Video Game Orchestra at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), Stewart Copeland at SFJAZZ, a Led Zeppelin tribute production at the Curran Theater, and Green Day at Super Bowl LX.

A full-scholarship graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Ruby earned her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance, where she studied with Simon James. This fall, she will begin her Master of Music studies at SFCM under Simon James and Chen Zhao also on a full scholarship. 

She has participated in multiple seasons of the University of Michigan’s Center Stage Strings and has performed in masterclasses for distinguished artists including Danielle Belen, Jinjoo Cho, Nathan Cole, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Paul Kantor, and Robert McDuffie.

JENNIFER NELSON received her undergraduate degree in Music Performance from USC as a student of Mitchell Lurie, and continued her clarinet studies at Temple University where she was a student of Anthony Gigliotti. Jennifer plays Principal Clarinet with Pacific Northwest Ballet and Auburn Symphony Orchestras. She also has a very active freelance career, including playing Broadway-style shows at the Fifth Avenue and Paramount Theaters, occasional extra with Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera orchestras, and records for various television and motion picture scores. Jennifer is an Affiliate Artist in Clarinet at the University of Puget Sound, and maintains a very busy private teaching studio in her home in north Seattle. Ms. Nelson has also traveled throughout the United States with the national touring companies of Phantom of the Opera and New York City Opera. In addition to her stateside concerts, orchestral and recital performances have taken her to Mexico, Japan, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, Honduras, Sweden, and India.

Mary Monaghan is currently a doctoral candidate in horn performance with a minor in ethnomusicology, and a University Fellow at the University of Arizona. There, she studies horn with Johanna Lundy. She completed her bachelors of music in performance with Lanette Lopez Compton at Oklahoma State University and her masters of music in performance with Dr. Rachel Hockenberry at Illinois State University. She is currently the fourth horn of the Sierra Vista Symphony in Sierra Vista, AZ, the fourth horn of the Tucson Pops Orchestra, and freelances in southern Arizona. In addition to performing, Monaghan teaches horn, trumpet, trombone, and euphonium lessons. She teaches students of all ability levels, from ages 8 to 88.

As an ethnomusicologist, Monaghan’s background is in ecomusicology, Latin American music, and applied research. For her doctoral research, she focuses on musical accessibility through culturally responsive teaching and integrating culturally specific music. After serving as a graduate instructor of Film and Television History for a year at the University of Arizona, Monaghan served as sabbatical replacement for the spring of 2026 semester at Illinois State University, as the Instructional Assistant Professor of Horn. There, she taught horn lessons, technique classes, studio class, horn choir, and played with the faculty brass quintet.

Hayley Monk is a freelance oboist currently based in the Tacoma area. She has performed in a variety of ensembles throughout the states of Washington and Louisiana including the Mid-Columbia Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra. She is also passionate about showcasing works composed by members of underrepresented groups. In 2024, she performed a collaborative recital entitled “Moments from Women” at the International Double Reed Society Conference in Flagstaff, Arizona to highlight lesser known compositions from women.

She received a Bachelor of Music from Central Washington University and a Master of Music degree in Oboe Performance from Louisiana State University. She will be returning to Louisiana State University to pursue her Doctor of Musical Arts in Oboe Performance in the fall.

Suzanne Feinstein is an active French‑hornist based in the Seattle area with a Bachelor of Music from the State University of West Georgia and a Master of Music from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since relocating to Seattle, Suzanne has performed with regional orchestras and chamber ensembles — including the Symphony Tacoma, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, North Corner Chamber Orchestra, Federal Way Symphony, Village Theatre, and in ballet, opera, and musical theater productions throughout the region. Suzanne serves on the faculty of Music Works Northwest alongside a diverse faculty of professional musicians. She contributes to community music education in the Puget Sound area, coaching and mentoring students of all ages and backgrounds.

Julia McConnachie (she/her) is a master's student on Horn at the Jacobs School of Music studying with Denise Tryon. Originally from Shoreline, Washington, Julia earned her Bachelor of Music in Horn Performance from Central Washington University, where she studied with Dr. Jeffrey Snedeker. During her time there, she was a part of both the Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra, including for the Wind Ensemble’s performance at the 2024 World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles conference. She was also a member of the CWU Horn Ensemble. Julia is working towards a career as an orchestral musician, and has enjoyed getting to work with many orchestras, including the Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra and Yakima Symphony Orchestra. Julia is a two-time winner of the Northwest Horn Society’s University Solo Competition, and the 2025 Central Washington University Concerto Competition winner. She can be heard as a soloist on the recording of the world premiere of Catherine Likhuta’s Bad Neighbours for two horn soloists and symphony orchestra. Outside of the practice room, Julia can be found enjoying long walks, embroidering, and/or thinking about Gustav Mahler.

Born and raised on O’ahu, Hawai’i, Taylor DeCastro is a versatile violinist whose artistry spans period performance and experimental music. Now based in Seattle, she is currently finishing her Master of Music at the University of Washington, where she serves as a graduate teaching assistant.

Her orchestral experience includes recent appointments as Concertmaster of Philharmonia Northwest and Assistant PrincipalSecond Violin of the Olympia Symphony Orchestra. With Philharmonia Northwest, Ms. DeCastro has performed on Classical KING's Northwest Focus Live. She also performs with Philharmonie Austin (TX), a period-instrument ensemble, and appears on their recordings released by Navona Records. Past engagements include performances with Emerald City Music, the Auburn Symphony Orchestra, Yakima Symphony Orchestra, Bellevue Symphony Orchestra, and Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra (WI). In 2024, she was named a finalist in the Musicians Club of Women Competition in Chicago, IL, and has performed across the United States, Canada, and France.

Equally at home in early music and the avant‑garde, she has recently appeared as a soloist in J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 with the Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra. Fascinated by intersections of the past and present, Ms. DeCastro also specializes in new music, previously collaborating with renowned composers inti figgis-vizueta and Michael Gordon. Reflecting her dual interests, Ms. DeCastro has served as the teaching assistant of both the Baroque and the Modern Music Ensembles at the University of Washington.

An advocate for equity and accessibility in music, Ms. DeCastro is continuously striving to create inclusive learning environments and diverse programming. She currently teaches violin and viola at the Epiphany Music Academy and coaches chamber groups and sectionals at UW. As a woman of color, Ms. DeCastro is passionate about bringing the works of underrepresented composers to life. Her performance for the Black Composers Project at the University of Washington has been featured on Minnesota Public Radio. Ms. DeCastro earned her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, summa cum laude, where she also minored in Studio Art. Her primary teachers include Rachel Lee Priday, Samantha George, and Colin Belisle.

Thea Weinbeck is a violinist currently based out of Seattle, Washington, and Amherst, Massachusetts. Thea has given solo performances across the United States and Southern France. Born in Burien, she has given many performances in the Seattle area, notably, a performance on Northwest Focus Live on Classical King 98.1. Thea was a finalist in the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition where she performed Korngold’s Violin Concerto. In Amherst, Thea served as Concertmaster and Principal Second Violin with the University of Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, Thea has participated in the Zodiac Chamber Music Festival and Lawrence Chamber Music Festival. She is driven by collaboration and exploring as many musical areas as she can. This included involvement with Appleton’s Mile of Music Festival, collaborating with singer Julie Williams; additionally, she participates in jazz combos in addition to being heavily involved in chamber and orchestral studies.

Currently at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Thea is pursuing a Master of Music in Performance, where she is involved in the Graduate String Quartet Program. She received her Bachelor of Music from Lawrence University in 2025, where she studied Violin Performance and minored in Art History and String Pedagogy. Her education has  focused on performing and teaching, including studies in viola, cello, and double bass. Her teachers include Elizabeth Chang, Wen-Lei Gu, Judith Beatie, and April Swansiger.

As a conductor, violinist, composer, pedagogue, philosopher, and musicologist, Dr. Christopher T. F. Hanson enjoys working across a number of disciplines to promote the transformative power of the arts. Dr. Hanson holds three master's degrees from Texas State University, in music history, music theory, and music composition. They also earned a PhD in Education from Texas State University, with a focus on educational research in teacher professional agency. While completing their doctorate, they earned a certificate of professional ethics from the Texas State Philosophy program.

Dr. Hanson has served as music faculty for schools in central Texas and Seattle. They have developed and facilitated a number of courses that explore creativity, imagination, and interdisciplinary pedagogy in grade school as well as higher education. Their research focuses on the transformative power of the arts, student and teacher agency, and the significance of diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and belonging (DEIAB) in education. As a queer scholar, Dr. Hanson uses research platforms to challenge and “queer” professional spaces of teaching and learning, particularly within and through the arts.

Dr. Hanson works with a growing number of diverse organizations to expand and amplify their work in education and the arts. They are frequently requested as a guest conductor and clinician. They are a principal explicator for the Seattle Symphony, offering a number of pre-concert lectures throughout the season, which highlight the significance of historical and cultural context to the experience of listeners and performers. They serve as the artistic director of the annual Wintergrass Festival Orchestra and the conductor for the advanced orchestra of the Japan Seattle Suzuki Institute. They are the artistic director for the Rainbow City Orchestra, a nonprofit community music organization that serves and supports the LGBTQIA+ community in greater Seattle through the study and performance of contemporary and historically marginalized composers.

 Their compositions have enjoyed a number of premieres across the country, and address a wide range of personal and political issues.

Dr. Natasha Kubit is a passionate violinist, educator, and advocate for community engagement through music based in the Seattle area. She has performed with ensembles including the Cleveland Opera Theater, Jackson Symphony Orchestra, Lansing Symphony Orchestra, Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, and Northbrook Symphony Orchestra. As a performer, Dr. Kubit has appeared at renowned venues including Carnegie Hall and the Severance Music Center, while remaining deeply committed to bringing music into local community spaces. Dr. Kubit began studying violin at the age of three through the Suzuki method and is now a registered Suzuki violin teacher. Dedicated to accessible music education, she has taught with the Cleveland Say Yes to Education program, Sphinx Organization’s Overture program in Flint, Michigan, and currently serves on the faculty of Key to Change in South King County. 

Dr. Kubit recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in Violin Performance at Michigan State University. She earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Violin Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she also completed a Master’s degree in Suzuki Pedagogy. Outside of music, she enjoys hiking and exploring the Pacific Northwest.