MEET OUR COMPETITION JURY
James Welch, piano
HEAD OF THE COMPETITION JURY & PIANO DIVISION
Known for his performances on three continents, JAMES WELCH maintains an active career as a piano soloist, chamber musician, conductor and instructor of piano at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia School of Music. He was a prize winner in many piano competitions including the John Pierce Langs and the Bradshaw and Buono International. He has performed solo and lecturer recitals for the SUNY at Buffalo; the SUNY at Fredonia; Morgan State University; East Carolina University; Jamestown Community College; all throughout the Portland, OR area; Lucca, Italy; and festivals throughout southern France. His chamber music performances have been heard on the stages of the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park with the Southwest String Quartet and a premiere performance with saxophonist Grant Larson of Philip Wharton’s Prohibition; the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society in Ontario with the Antero Winds; the Sydney Music Conservatorium in Sydney, Australia with soprano, Lianna Valente on the premiere performance of Dr. Timothy Brown’s Dreams Kept, Dreams Deferred; the many stages of the SUNY at Fredonia with various artists and repertoire including John Corigliano’s Mr. Tambourine Man and Lukas Foss’s Time Cycle; The Bop Stop in Cleveland, OH with The META Trio; stages along Italy’s Adriatic Coast with the Postacchini String Quartet; and his Carnegie Hall Debut in New York with violinist, Kaden Culp. His performances have been praised for his creative artistry by composers Lee Hoiby, John Corigliano, Eric Ewazen, Ian Clarke and Jason Robert Brown; to name a few. He has worked under the batons of Glen Cortese, Joann Falletta, William Weinert, Hugh Floyd, Joel Revzen, and Hans Schellevis. Additionally, he has played in workshops for William Eddins, Thomas Sauer, Renee Fleming, Giuseppe Sabatini, Victoria Clark, and Karen Akers. You can hear some of James’s performances with Jacob Swanson on their premiere recording titled, Invisible Cities.
James is also an active conductor and director of musical theatre. Recent credits include: Sweet Charity, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; Ordinary Days (the Buffalo, NY premiere performance); The Last 5 Years (in performance for the composer, Jason Robert Brown); Spring Awakening; Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; Godspell (2012 version); Little Shop of Horrors; Little Women; Once Upon a Mattress; Annie Get Your Gun; The Pirates of Penzance; and John & Jen; with theatre companies Sierra Repertory Theatre in Sonora, CA; University of Fredonia in Fredonia, NY; East Carolina University; O’Connell & Company, and New Buffalo Productions. Concert highlights include: A Tribute to Linda Ronstadt with headliner Yesnia McNett; a revue of Jason Robert Brown’s music (with Jason Robert Brown), and a Broadway revue concert featuring singer/actor Keith Buterbaugh on the Chautauqua Institute’s Amphitheater concert series. Other musical and operatic credits include: The Pirates of Penzance, Pippin, Kiss Me Kate, The Sound of Music, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Urinetown, Chicago, Anything Goes, Don Giovanni, Suor Angelica, Così fan tutte, La Cenerentola, The Abduction of Figaro and Carmen.
In recent years, James has arranged many workshops and benefit concerts to help support education, performance, and fundraisers. Highlights include: Workshops for singers and actors with Judy Kuhn (Disney’s Pocahontas); Tony Award winning musical director, Brian Usifer; an alumni piano recital to support endowments for the SUNY at Fredonia School of Music; and a church benefit concert which raised over $5,000 to build a self-sustaining medical clinic in LeCayes, Hatti.
James also has over 20 years of experience as a singer, conductor, educator, and administrator. Currently he is the pianist for the Western New York Chamber Orchestra; and a collaborative pianist for the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, CO. In previous years, he worked for the New York State Summer School of the Arts (NYSSSA) Choral Program; the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp; the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus; Director of many church music programs including choral, handbell, contemporary, orchestral, and instrumental chamber ensembles; and served as the board President for the Akron Community Band of Akron, NY.James received his MM in Piano Performance from East Carolina University, and his BM in Piano Performance and Performer’s Certificate from the SUNY at Fredonia; with additional studies in piano from Music at Ambialet (now Music at Chateau D’AIX) in France; and operatic coaching and conducting at the Accademia Europea Dell’ Opera (AEDO) program in Lucca, Italy. His primary piano instructors have included, Robert Jordan, Dr. Paul Tardif, Paul Roberts, Brian Preston, and Mark Westcott. Additionally, James has studied conducting with Dr. Daniel Bara and Simone Luti; voice from Beverly Panten; and stringed instruments from Holly Meides.
“Music is an artistic cornerstone that brings together math, history and art/imagery. It can be appreciated by many, but never be perfected. While performing, a musician must be able to simultaneously count beats, subdivide beats into duplets, triplets, quarters, quintuplets and beyond all within a steady pulse. Music highlights many cultures, many of our world’s biggest historical events, and continues to inspire stories, movies, dance, and social gatherings. Every student begins their musical training at different skill levels and varying abilities, and within any standard or curriculum there will always be varying results from one musician to the next. Some key ingredients to strong musical training include supportive instructors, supportive family, a disciplined practice routine, and much exposure to other musical artists. This combination will aid to produce endless musical possibilities. I am thrilled to be working with the Progressive Musicians team where I continue with the privilege of educating, encouraging, and rewarding musicians of all ages. ~ James Welch
Lisa Layman, soprano
CO-HEAD-VOICE DIVISION
Lisa Layman, is an accomplished operatic soprano, voice teacher and acting coach. Her work within the operatic realm spans nearly thirty years and counting. Her operatic repertoire included the works of Puccini, Verdi, Bellini, Mozart, Bizet, Donizetti and others. At ease on both the operatic stage and the concert and oratorio stage, she has sung at Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center @ Avery Fisher Hall in New York City, and at the Holder’s International Music Festival in Barbados , West Indies. Her work as an administrator includes the assistant management of the Danny Kaye Playhouse Box Office @ Hunter College, NYC, and management of a private HIV friendly dental practice in New York City. During that time, Lisa became keenly aware of how the arts and wellness could and should be more intertwined by way of service for the larger communities involved. As support from her administrative life created space for her passion, the two grew into an extraordinary opportunity when she later became the Ryan White Program Coordinator for NOVA Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine, Fort Lauderdale, FL. She supervised management of a fourteen chair, HIV/AIDS Dental Clinic funded solely from the Ryan White Fund of HRSA. This unique and powerful experience ultimately led Lisa back to teaching and the arts, where she has proudly taught voice at SUNY Fredonia for five years, and has served as Executive Director of the Western New York Chamber Orchestra for two seasons. Lisa currently resides in Erie, PA. With her husband of 30 years, tenor, Brent Weber.
Brent Weber, tenor
CO-HEAD-VOICE DIVISION
Tenor Brent Weber has performed many leading roles throughout the US and Canada, which include the Duke in Rigoletto, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Rodolfo in La Bohème & Luisa Miller, Don Carlo in Don Carlo with the opera companies of St. Louis, Miami, Memphis, Syracuse, Holders Festival in Barbados, New York, Chicago and New Jersey. Featured solo accomplishments in oratorio include, Bach's Magnificat and Mozart's Mass in C at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Rosssini's Stabat Mater at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. and several duet recitals with his wife Lisa Layman. His Broadway credits include the "Encores, Great American Musicals" premiere production of Fiorello, with additional productions of Call Me Madame, and Lady in the Dark at City Center in New York, and for three years, he performed the role of Piangi in The Phantom of the Opera in Vancouver and Toronto, Canada.
Currently, he is the Coordinator of Voice at Mary Pappert School of Music, Duquesne University, where he teaches Voice and Acting for Singers. He conducted and produced the world premiere opera, The Selfish Giant with the Erie Opera Theatre where he has also conducted, La Bohème, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Elixir of Love and Gala Concerts.
Weber can also be found teaching voice at Grove City College and Fredonia State University, where he was the stage director for the productions of Don Giovani, The Merry Widow, Music Man, and most recently Little Women by Mark Adamo for WNYCO, (Western New York Chamber Orchestra) and the Hillman Opera at Fredonia. He has also taught at Edinboro University and Point Park University.
Areas of Expertise: Vocal techniques for opera, Broadway, and pop-rock styles. Stage direction for opera and Broadway/acting for singers Opera History, Diction.
Ashley Dyer, violin/viola
CO-HEAD OF THE STRING/GUITAR DIVISION
Ashley Dyer is a violinist who enjoys a multifaceted career as a performing artist and educator. She may frequently be seen with the Toledo, Columbus (OH), Jackson (MI), Flint, Michigan Opera Theatre, and Lansing Symphonies, where she has often served as Principal 2nd Violin. Since 2013, Ashley has served as Concertmaster of the pit orchestra for productions with the world-renowned University of Michigan Department of Musical Theatre.
Ashley has recently performed with such varied artists as Itzhak Perlman, Andrea Bocelli, Renée Fleming, Audra McDonald, Rachel Barton Pine, Rod Stewart, and Belle and Sebastian.
Formerly the Concertmaster of the Dearborn Symphony (MI), Ashley has also performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the National Repertory Orchestra (CO), the Lake Tahoe Music Festival Orchestra (CA), and as soloist with the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra (NC) and the Detroit Camerata. A native of Virginia Beach, VA, she has served as Assistant Concertmaster and Principal Second Violin of Symphonicity- the Symphony Orchestra of Virginia Beach.
Ashley performed with the Lake Tahoe Music Festival for five summers, serving as soloist and Concertmaster of the Academy Orchestra in 2015. Since 2013, she has performed as Assistant Concertmaster of the Hollywood Concert Orchestra (HCO), with whom she has toured the US, China, and Japan. Notable HCO tour performances include Beijing's National Centre of Performing Arts and Sapporo's Suntory Hall.
A dedicated and enthusiastic teacher, Ashley currently maintains a private violin studio in Columbus, OH, where she teaches with Suzuki Music Columbus. Ashley is a registered teacher with the Suzuki Association of the Americas and completed long-term training for Violin Books 1-10 with Joanne Bath in Greenville, NC. In recent years, she has participated in teaching workshops with Almita Vamos and Simon Fischer. Ashley has served as a violin sectional leader, chamber music coach, and music theory teacher for Ann Arbor Huron and Pioneer High School's camps at Interlochen Arts Academy. She has worked extensively with the Ann Arbor Schools orchestras and has served as a chamber music coach for the Hampton Roads Chamber Players in Norfolk, VA.
In 2017- 2019, Ashley was a Next Generation Alumni Artist for the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival's Summer Chamber Music Institute (SCMI) at East Carolina University, where she coached young chamber ensembles and performed alongside world-class chamber musicians.
In the summer of 2020, Ashley will serve on faculty of the Suzuki Music Columbus Summer Institute.
Ashley completed a Masters in Violin Performance from the University of Michigan, studying with Yehonatan Berick. As a member of the University Symphony Orchestra, she performed at New York's Carnegie Hall. Ashley received a Bachelors in Violin Performance from East Carolina University under the tutelage of Ara Gregorian, where she served as Concertmaster of the East Carolina University Symphony. In addition, Ashley has studied at the University of North Carolina School for the Arts, Killington Music Festival in Vermont, and le Domaine Forget in Quebec, CA.
Ashley currently resides in Columbus, OH with her husband, clarinetist Mark Kleine.
Randy Ward, cello
Randy Ward, M.M. George Mason University, B.M. East Carolina University
Mr. Ward was recently named the 2020 George Mason University College for Visual and Performing Arts Presidential Scholar and was awarded a full scholarship and research assistantship to pursue the Ph.D. Music Education.
Mr. Ward currently serves as Music Director of Washington Metropolitan Concert Orchestra. He is past orchestra director at Springfield Estates, Garfield, and Bucknell Elementary Schools in Fairfax County Public Schools. Ward has served on the faculty of Levine School of Music, GMU Potomac Arts Academy, and Opus Community Music School. He has also taught at summer programs including East Carolina Summer Chamber Music Institute, North Carolina Suzuki Institute, Levine Summer Music Camp, and Vienna Summer Strings. Mr. Ward has been a guest clinician with Arlington Philharmonic Crescendo Chamber Music Program, Washington Metropolitan Youth Orchestra, Pitt County Schools (NC), Alexandria City Schools (VA), and Loudon County Schools (VA), and has served as adjudicator for Maryland Senior All-State Orchestra, Northern Virginia Music Teachers' Association, and at Progressive Musicians Online Festival Competition.
In December 2017, Mr. Ward gave the U.S. premiere of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Sussex Folk Tunes for Cello and Orchestra with Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic. He has appeared as solo cellist with Stevie Wonder, Barry Manilow, East Carolina Symphony, Hartsville Civic Chorale, Greenville Choral Society, and at Kennedy Center Millenium Stage. He has also performed with ECU Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival Next Gen Series, Cellospeak 16 Cellos Ensemble, Alexandria Symphony, Long Bay Symphony, Fayetteville Symphony, and American Festival Pops Orchestra.
Mr. Ward has held fellowships at Mannes Beethoven Institute (NYC), School for Strings (NYC), Portland String Quartet Workshop (ME), Garth Newel Music Center (VA), and Summertrios Festival (NY). He has participated in master classes with Timothy Eddy, Colin Carr, Paul Katz, Amit Peled, James Ehnes, Jeremy Denk, and members of the Cleveland, Brentano, Borromeo, Daedalus, Cassatt, and Cooperstown String Quartets.
Megan McDevitt, bass
Dr. Megan McDevitt’s commitment to bringing music education to populations who need it has led her to spend the last 9 years working for El Sistema-inspired programs both as double bass instructor and in a managerial role. She became the Associate Director of Buffalo String Works in the spring of 2018 and founded the bass program, which she teaches, in the fall of that year. Megan has worked extensively as an orchestral musician, having performed regularly with the bass sections of the San Francisco Bay Area, Ann Arbor area, and with the BPO in Buffalo. Her dual passions of new music and teaching moved her to complete a DMA from the University of Michigan under Diana Gannett, to commission solo works, and to compose with electronics. As half of the bass duo Shade & Light (with Betsy Soukup), she strives to create performances that are transformative for audiences as well as themselves. Megan’s interests extend to the research of gender in the field of music (particularly in the realm of bassists), and she has lectured on this topic at the International Society of Bassists convention in Ithaca and at the Great Lakes Regional College Music Society Conference in Ohio.
Devon Kelly, guitar
CO-HEAD OF THE STRING/GUITAR DIVISION
A native of Buffalo, NY, guitarist Devon Kelly received his Bachelor of Music in guitar performance from SUNY Fredonia where he studied with James Piorkowski and his Masters Degree in guitar performance from the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Mark Delpriora.
As a guitar teacher, Mr. Kelly has taught privately for over ten years. Additionally, he held a faculty position at the Arete Academy of Music in New Jersey from 2016-2020. As a performer, Mr. Kelly has performed as part of the Bach Festival at the University of Oregon. He has held multiple solo recitals in Fredonia NY, and New York City over the past four years. Mr. Kelly has also performed in various chamber groups and has worked with the non-profit group Internal Creations.
Nicole Murray, flute
Nicole Murray is a multi-faceted flutist dedicated to exploring musicality through collaboration, innovation, and education. She has been a faculty member and Academy member with the Orchestra North Summer Program in British Columbia and was also featured as an alumni guest artist at Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, Colorado. Nicole has played with several orchestras throughout the northeast United States including the Southern Tier Symphony, Catskill Symphony and the New England Philharmonic. She is also the co-founder and Director of Marketing and Development of Liminal Space Ensemble, a new music artist collective dedicated to the performance and commission of new works as well as community engagement. Her workshop, "Grant-Writing for Diverse Programming" is being featured in the National Flute Association summer series this July and she is a contributing writer for the Institute of Composer Diversity Magazine. Nicole holds an artist diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she studied under SF Symphony principal flutist, Tim Day, an MM in flute performance from Ithaca College, and a BM in flute performance from SUNY Fredonia.
Sarah Hamilton, oboe
Dr. Sarah Hamilton is Professor of Oboe at the State University of New York at Fredonia, where she is chair of Performance and a longtime member of the touring Fredonia Woodwind Quintet. She is principal oboe with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra and solo English Horn with the Erie Philharmonic. She has also performed regularly with Bach and Beyond, the Chautauqua Symphony and the Buffalo Philharmonic. Sarah has appeared as a soloist most recently with the Orchard Park Symphony (on bass oboe), the Erie Philharmonic, the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, the Fredonia College Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, and at conventions of the International Double Reed Society. She began her professional career as 2nd oboe and English horn with the Windsor (Ontario) Symphony.
Sarah has given many presentations on making the oboe more accessible in public school programs at New York State, Erie County, Chautauqua County, and Ontario, Canada music teacher association conferences.
Her method book, Oboe Tuning Duets has recently been published by Mountainpeak Music, and she is co-author of the oboe chapter of Teaching Woodwinds, an online woodwind method book published by Mountainpeak Music in 2014. More of her information and resources for helping the younger oboe player are available at OboeHelp.com.
Jeremy Reynolds, clarinet
Head of the Woodwind Division
Dr. Jeremy Reynolds is currently on faculty at the University of Denver Lamont School of Music and performs as Associate Principal Clarinet of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. He has performed on six continents making his Carnegie Hall Debut in 2015 and has concertized for Clarimania (Poland), ClariBogota (Colombia), Australian Clarinet and Saxophone Festival, One Month Festival (South Korea), International Alliance for Women in Music, Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium, International Double Reed Society and the National Flute Association. He has also performed at the Cultural Festival of Portugal’s World Exposition with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Tucson Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, Des Moines Metro Opera, Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra, New World Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, and the Aspen Music Festival. Reynolds has won awards at the Coleman and Carmel National Chamber Music Competitions additionally collaborating with Itzhak Perlman, Don Weilerstein, Paul Katz, Ronald Leonard, Stefan Milenkovich, and Merry Peckham. As an passionate educator, Reynolds has been invited to teach in some of the world’s most renowned music conservatories including the Grieg Academy of Music, Norwegian Academy of Music, Versailles Conservatory of Music, Mahler Private University, Seoul National University, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya in Spain as well as Soochow University and Tainan University of the Arts in Taiwan. Reynolds is a Buffet Group Performing Artist and Lomax Classic Mouthpiece Performing Artist. His teachers include Yehuda Gilad, Richie Hawley, Bil Jackson, Monica Kaenzig, Michele Zukovsky and Michael Galvan.
Jacob Swanson, saxophone
Hailed as a “soloist with impeccable taste,” and praised by audiences and composers for his "gorgeous, lyrical tone, spectacular technique, and heartfelt musicality ..." for presenting "the soprano saxophone at the height of its beauty," Jacob Swanson has performed throughout North America and Europe on concert series, television, and radio.
Swanson performs regularly as member of the Decho Ensemble, which he co-founded in 2011 with long-time collaborator Sarah Marchitelli. Their repertoire includes established works for saxophone, transcriptions, and new works written expressly for their ensemble. In addition to their all-saxophone programming, the Decho Ensemble has collaborated with vocalists, instrumentalists, dancers, poets, composers, and orchestras presenting highly varied programs. In August 2016 Swanson participated in a residency as member of the Decho Ensemble as guest of the NyMusikks Komponistgruppe in Oslo, Norway. With Decho he completed residencies at Mercyhurst University and University of Idaho at Moscow in 2019 and in early 2020 a residency at San Jose State University as a soloist. Swanson also performs as member of the Megalopolis Saxophone Orchestra and the Resonance Saxophone Orchestra.
Swanson's debut album, Invisible Cities, featured works for soprano saxophone and piano (James Welch) and was met with critical acclaim for "remind[ing] us what a beautiful instrument the soprano saxophone is ... [performing with] handsome tone, flawless technique, and great musical sensibilities."-ClevelandClassical His second album, wired., featured music for soprano saxophone and electronic medium - nearly all composer/performer collaborations. Swanson has additionally recorded with Andrew Cote as part of his debut album, Ulterior Motives. His 2020 solo digital recital "music for saxophone alone" was shot in the Historic Gowanda Hollywood Theater and met with positive reception from critics, composers, and an international audience.
Swanson performs on American Buescher saxophones ca. 1930's, is a LefreQue artist, and is a Vandoren Artist Clinician.