Jaren Atherholt is currently Assistant Professor of Oboe at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She previously served as principal oboist of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra from 2007–2018. A native of Alaska, Atherholt has performed as guest principal oboist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Detroit Symphony, as well as guest associate principal oboist with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Atherholt spent four summers at the Marlboro Music Festival and currently performs each summer with the Grand Teton Music Festival. She has served on the faculty of John Mack Oboe Camp, Interlochen Oboe Institute, the Wintergreen Music Academy and the Vianden International Music School.

California native Stephanie Patterson is the Associate Professor of Bassoon at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She formerly taught at the Schwob School of Music and was Principal Bassoon of the Columbus Symphony (GA), and Acting Principal Bassoon with the Atlanta Opera. She has commissioned many new works as a member of the Enid Trio and the Off Broadway Trio. She is the Education Coordinator for the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Bassoon Symposium, working to increase access to quality bassoon experiences for all. She has performed around the world, including the Belfast Sonorities Festival, the Lucerne Academy, and Pro Musica in Juiz da Fora, Brazil. Her book, "An Introduction to Contemporary Music for Bassoon and 64 Etudes" is available through Trevco Varner Music.

Melody Choplin Hoover is a 1991 graduate of Red Wing Technical College and also holds a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Oboe. She has worked in the past as a technician and shop foreman for Pearson Music Company and Duncan Music Company. She is well known throughout North Carolina as a highly skilled technician in both woodwinds and brasses. Hoover was the first repair specialist and instructor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and held that position for over a decade. While she was there, she developed a comprehensive repair curriculum for band and orchestra directors. Her classes and clinics on instrument repair are designed to help music directors deal with day to day repair problems as well as maintenance, troubleshooting, and how to work with repair technicians.

She also worked with students as apprentices, and help launch their careers in the field of repair. In 2013, she published a book on repair called “Stuff Band Directors Need to Know” which is used as a text book as well as a resource for music educators. Hoover has been a Regional Director, and served on the Executive Board and President of NAPBIRT (National Association of Band Instrument Repair Technicians) of which she is a long time member and clinician. Currently, Hoover owns and operates her own repair shop, Carolina Wind and Brass Repair in Clemmons, NC. She is an active performer in the community, playing with several groups and continues to study, improve, and add to her skill set of repair. She lives with her husband and a rescue mutt or two.

Dr. Jessica Kunttu (she/her) is a highly sought after performer and educator based in Raleigh, NC, who performs regularly with the NC Symphony, Richmond Symphony and Charlotte Symphony, among others. Her education includes degrees from Stony Brook University, UNC-Chapel Hill and UNCSA.

Dr. Kunttu teaches bassoon at both the UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University, and maintains a large private studio. Her approach to teaching involves creating a safe space for students to learn, grow, and make mistakes, but also helping students understand how to transfer skills learned in music to all areas of life. 

In her rare moments of free time, Dr. Kunttu enjoys knitting, sewing, house renovation projects and spending time with her husband and dog.

Originally from Detroit, Michigan, oboist Anna Lampidis enjoys a diverse career as an orchestral player, chamber musician, soloist, clinician and mentor. Known for her beautiful tone and expressiveness, her playing has been described as “impeccable”, “outstanding” and “breathtaking” in concert reviews by Classical Voice North Carolina. Dr. Lampidis serves as Principal Oboe of the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle and Salisbury Symphony Orchestra and holds the position of oboe and English horn with the Greensboro Symphony. Her degrees include a D.M.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an M.M. from Yale University. Her B.M. degree is from the University of Miami. 

Dr. Lampidis serves as a member of the music faculty at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Wake Forest University, East Carolina University and Greensboro College. She is a member of the Carolina Wind Quintet and is a founding member of Elektra Winds. She currently resides in Greensboro, North Carolina and remains a sought after private teacher, clinician and free-lance oboist.

Bassoonist Kassandra Ormsby is passionate about community outreach and is an active performer and teacher. Kassandra is continuing to advocate and create opportunities for music to be accessible to the community. Several initiatives she created include The Higday Instrument Petting Zoo, organized several concerts with internationally renowned and Grammy nominated performers, and most recently founded the organization Music Ancestry. Many musicians use their “musical family tree” as an important source of information and pride in their history. MusicAncestry.com strives to fulfill its vision to create a knowledge database of music pedagogical lineage available to the entire online music community for free.

She is currently attending the University of North Carolina-Greensboro for her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Bassoon Performance as a graduate teaching assistant for bassoon and the coordinator for the UNCG Private Lessons Program.  Additionally, she has had experience performing with professional orchestras such as the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, and Missouri Symphony Orchestra, as well as various internationally touring chamber ensembles and solo performances in Mexico, Italy, Canada, and Brazil.  She teaches private lessons to students of all ages.  Her mentors include  Dr. Michael J. Burns, Dr. Leigh Muñoz, Dr.  Stephanie Patterson, Dr. Ronald Wirt, and Raymond Patricio III.

Kassandra Ormsby is a graduate from the University of Missouri with a Master’s Degree in Bassoon Performance in which she was the graduate assistant of the Community Outreach Program, and received graduate certificates in Music Entrepreneurship and Nonprofit Management. She is also a graduate of the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education.

Oboist Sarah Parker is an active performer in Wilmington and surrounding areas. She regularly performs with the Wilmington Symphony, the Long Bay Symphony, the Wilmington Symphonic Winds, and the Tallis Chamber Orchestra. In addition to her busy performing schedule, Sarah enjoys teaching her private studio of oboists, both young and old. Sarah has enjoyed getting to know oboists worldwide as she has made reeds for them through her online oboe reed shop, Sarah Parker Oboe Reeds. Sarah enjoys reading and refinishing vintage furniture in addition to spending time with her husband Robert and their daughter Charlotte.