Eric Anderson
Bob Burks
Will Casada
Kristen Holritz
Gordon James
Dr. Cahill Smith
Lee University’s Faculty Wind Quintet will perform Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Squires Recital Hall, located in Lee’s Humanities Center.
Members of the wind quintet include Lee music faculty Eric Anderson, bassoon; Bob Burks, oboe; Will Casada, clarinet; Kristen Holritz, flute; and Gordon James, French horn. Dr. Cahill Smith will be featured on piano.
The concert will feature music from Heitor Villa-Lobos’ “Bachianas Brasilerias No. 6,” Gyögy Ligeti’s “Sechs Bagatellen für Bläserquintett,” and Ludwig Thuille’s “Sexten in Bb Major Op. 6.”
Mr. Anderson has been principal bassoonist of the CSO (Chattanooga Symphony and Opera) Orchestra and bassoonist of the CSO Wind Quintet since 1996. He has performed with the Florida Orchestra, the Virginia Symphony, the Bergen (Norway) Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Hampshire Music Festival. Mr. Anderson attended the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he received a Bachelor of Music degree, and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University for post graduate work, where he studied with Benjamin Kamins.
Mr. Burks joined the CSO as principal oboe in 1981. He has performed numerous times with the Atlanta Symphony, at numerous music festivals, and has toured Europe twice. Burks has taught oboe for Cadek Conservatory at University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, University of the South, Bryan College, Covenant College, and Southern Adventist University. In addition to oboe, he also plays ukulele, piano, clarinet, saxophone, trombone, and violin. Mr. Burks studied at the St. Louis Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music before performing with the Columbus Symphony and the Honolulu Symphony
In addition to teaching clarinet at Lee, Dr. Casada directs the music program at Lookout Mountain School. He performs regularly with orchestras throughout the southeast, including the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra Augusta, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, and the North Georgia Symphony Orchestra. He can also be heard on the Naxos label with the University of Georgia Wind Ensemble. Dr. Casada earned his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Georgia, his Master of Music from the University of South Carolina, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Tennessee.
Ms. Holritz, principal flute of the CSO, made her solo debut with the United States Air Force Band in 2005 as winner of the Colonel George S. Howard Young Artist Competition. She has also appeared with the University of North Carolina School of the Arts Symphony Orchestra and the University of Georgia Symphony Orchestra. She is a winner of the Atlanta Flute Club Young Artist Competition and a third prize recipient in the MidSouth Flute Festival Young Artist Competition.
Mr. James, principal horn of the CSO, has been playing and teaching horn for over 30 years. A member of the CSO since 1987, Mr. James is also the principal horn of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra. Prior to that, he played 4th horn in the Fort Worth Symphony. He has performed with the Alabama Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, and the Baltimore Symphony. Mr. James is currently an adjunct horn instructor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Southern Adventist University, and Covenant College.
Mr. Smith performs as a soloist and chamber musician in the U.S., including three programs at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, as well as venues in China, Ukraine, England, and Ireland. He recently signed to the Yamaha Artist Roster as a classical pianist. While pursuing his doctorate at Eastman School of Music, he received the Douglas Lowry award for excellence in performance, won the Eastman Concerto Competition, and was awarded the Prize for Excellence in Teaching as a graduate assistant. Smith serves as an assistant professor of piano at Lee.
This event is free, non-ticketed, and open to the public. For more information, call the School of Music at 614-8240.