Clareidoscope 2026: State Chair Recital
State Chair Recital
Saturday March 21, 2026
Concerto No. 2 in E-flat Major, op. 74 (1811)
Carl Maria von Weber (1786 – 1826)
I. Allegro
David Cook, clarinet
Illinois State Chair
Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra
Dr. Silas Huff, conductor
Sandbars and Eddies, for Bass Clarinet and prerecorded sound (2025)
Beth Wiemann
Beth Wiemann, bass clarinet
Maine State Chair
Three Sketches for Clarinet Quartet, Op. 44/2 (1992)
Augustin Kubicek (1918 – 2009)
I.
II.
John Kurokawa, clarinet
Sarah Nowlin, clarinet
Janice Minor, clarinet
Anthony Costa, clarinet
Pennsylvania State Chair
Link (2025)
Michel van der Aa (b. 1970)
Movement V
Tiffany Pan, oboe
Joshua Gardner, clarinet
Arizona State Chair
Patrick Murphy, saxophone
Stefanie Gardner, bass clarinet
Joseph Kluesener, bassoon
RE:NU (2021)
James Stephenson (b. 1969)
treat
engage
Julianne Doyle, clarinet
New York State Chair
Lauren Becker, horn
Timothy Sullivan, percussion
Rob Sanderl, percussion
Concertpiece for Two Clarinets and Piano (2015)
Michele Mangani (b. 1966)
Joshua Mietz, clarinet
Wyoming State Chair
Daniel Foster, clarinet
Paula Flynn, piano
Performer Biographies
Lauren Becker is Associate Professor of Horn at the Crane School of Music at the State University of
New York at Potsdam. She has performed with the Rochester Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, Buffalo
Philharmonic, Albany Symphony, Symphoria, Kuala Lumpur International Festival Orchestra, and North
Country Chamber Players. Dr. Becker frequently performs as member of the Potsdam Brass Quintet and
has presented at many conferences including the International Brass Festival, Northeast Regional Tuba
and Euphonium Conference, Erie County Music Educators Association Western New York Conference
Day, NAfME Eastern Division Conference, and NYSSMA Winter Conference. Prior to her appointment at
Crane, Dr. Becker taught at Nazareth College, the University of Rochester, and the Eastman Community
Music School. She has also been a horn instructor and chamber music coach at Kendall Betts Horn Camp,
Crane Youth Music, the New York Summer Music Festival, and the Summer Youth Music School at the
University of New Hampshire. Dr. Becker holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and Performer’s
Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, where she was awarded the 2013 Teaching Assistant Prize
for excellence in collegiate teaching. She received a Master of Music degree from Eastman in Horn
Performance and Literature and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of New
Hampshire.
David Cook is Associate Professor of Clarinet and Chair of Instrumental Performance Studies at Millikin
University, Principal Clarinet of the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, and clarinetist for the Appian
Duo and the Greyline Duo. Past appearances include the International Clarinet Association’s
ClarinetFest® as a featured headlining soloist, the College Music Society National Conference, the
NACWPI Conference, and the Midwest Clinic. David’s book Clarinet Conditioning: Warm-Ups and
Perspectives, featuring contributions from clarinetists including members of the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, is
published by Conway Publications. He is also the founder and director of Academic Musician Career
Consulting, a service offering guidance and coaching for musicians working in higher education or on the
academic job market. David is a Buffet Crampon USA Performing Artist, a D’Addario Artist, and a
member of the Silverstein PRO Team. davidcookclarinet.com
Julianne Kirk Doyle is Professor of Clarinet and Admissions Coordinator at the Crane School of Music
at SUNY Potsdam. Dr. Doyle served as Director of the Crane Youth Music Camp from 2008-2023 and as
ICA Pedagogy Coordinator from 2022-2024. She currently serves on the ICA Pedagogy Committee and as
New York State Chair. She performs regularly with the Aria Reed Trio, Potsdam Woodwind Quintet,
Potsdam Reed Quintet and as Principal Clarinet with the Orchestra of Northern New York and Northern
Symphonic Winds. Dr. Doyle has published articles on alleviation and prevention of the soft palate air
leak and regularly assists students and professionals in minimizing soft palate problems. She holds DMA
and MM degrees in Performance and Literature and an Arts Leadership Certificate from the Eastman
School of Music and a BM from the University of Oklahoma. Her primary teachers included Jon Manasse,
David Etheridge and Bradford Behn. Dr. Doyle is honored to be an artist with Backun Musical Services
and DANSR/Vandoren. www.jkdoyle.org
Paula Flynn, Instructor of Piano at Casper College, holds a MM in Piano Pedagogy/Performance from
the University of Denver, a BS in Music from Valley City State University, and an AFA in Music Education
from Casper College. She collaborates locally with faculty, students, and ensembles; adjudicates festivals
across the US, and actively maintains a private studio of 20 students in Glenrock, WY called Way Out
West Music Academy. Paula had an eight year collaboration with Wyoming’s Ambassadors of Music, the
Casper Children’s Chorale. With that association she had the distinct honor of playing Carnegie Hall while
debuting a piece for Chicago composer Lee Kesselman. She has had the privilege of performing with Dr.
Joshua Mietz at the International Clarinet Festival in Knoxville, TN and again in Westminster, CO. She
has also performed Mozart’s Sonata for two-pianos in D Major, K448 with Dr. Stephanie Cheng; and
traveled to Europe in 2009 with the Wyoming Music Ambassadors. She is currently the Immediate
Past-President of the Wyoming Music Teachers Association, an organization that recently awarded her
the Music Teacher of the Year Award 2024.
Dan Foster started playing the clarinet at age 10 and quickly fell in love with music. Dan’s hard work and
dedication began paying off when in High School he won multiple concerto competitions. He earned
opportunities to perform internationally, touring with orchestras and bands throughout the U.S., Europe,
Australia, and New Zealand. His most notable venues include Carnegie Hall in New York City and the
Sydney Opera House. He also earned a music scholarship at the University of Northern Colorado, where
he studied with Bil Jackson. During his time at UNC, Dan received many accolades including being the
first undergraduate to win the prestigious Angie Southard Award. He was also a finalist in the U.S. Air
Force Academy Band audition in 2014. In 2019, Dan performed Rossini’s introduction theme and
variation concerto with the Fremont Symphony Orchestra and in 2021 he performed Artie Shaw’s clarinet
concerto with the orchestra. Besides playing music, Dan has a passion for teaching. This led him to
Colorado State University, earning his B.A. in Music Education. Dan is in his 10th year of teaching and is
currently the middle school band director at Riverton Middle school. He also holds a M.S. in Special
Education from Western Governors University. Dan enjoys calling Fremont County home, living in
Riverton with his wife and two children.
Dr. Joshua Gardner is Associate Professor of Clarinet and Director of the Performance Physiology
Research Laboratory at Arizona State University, where he has served on the faculty since 2011. Widely
respected as both a performer and pedagogue, he is known for integrating high-level artistry with
innovative research and teaching. An active clarinetist and chamber musician, Gardner performs
throughout the United States and internationally with ensembles including Paradise Winds and Égide
Duo, and has appeared as a soloist with numerous ensembles. His work has been featured on
Performance Today and presented at major international conferences. Gardner’s research focuses on
biomechanics, performance physiology, and woodwind pedagogy, employing technologies such as
ultrasound imaging and force sensors to study wind performance. A first-prize winner of the International
Clarinet Association Research Competition, he regularly presents engaging lecture-demonstrations that
bridge science and musical practice. He is a Henri Selmer Paris/Conn-Selmer Performing Artist and
Silverstein Pro Team Artist.
Dr. Stefanie Harger Gardner is an acclaimed clarinetist, educator, and advocate for new music and
inclusivity in the arts. She serves as Music Program Director at Glendale Community College, where she
leads Team Lo-Blow, the world’s largest active low clarinet choir, and is a former member of the clarinet
faculty at Northern Arizona University. Recognized among 100 Famous Female Clarinetists Throughout
History, Gardner maintains an active international career performing with Arizona Opera, the Phoenix
Symphony, AZ MusicFest, Paradise Winds, and the award-winning Égide Duo, which commissions
socially engaged new works. She has collaborated across genres with artists ranging from Danny Elfman
and “Weird Al” Yankovic to Reba McEntire and The Who, and has commissioned or premiered more than
100 works for clarinet and bass clarinet. A leader in the clarinet community, she founded the ICA Low
Clarinet Festival and ICA New Music Weekend and most recently chaired the ICA Diversity, Equity,
Inclusion, and Access Committee. She is a Henri Selmer Paris/Conn-Selmer, Silverstein, and Gleichweit
Performing Artist.
A versatile performer, educator and concert curator, Joseph Kluesener maintains a diverse
career. Kluesener is Second Bassoonist and Faculty at Wintergreen Summer Music Festival
(VA), and has performed with the United States Air Force, The Phoenix Symphony, Cincinnati
Symphony Orchestra and Kentucky Symphony. Kluesener is heard on American Public Media’s
Performance Today with Paradise Winds. Abroad, Kluesener has performed at Aveiro
International Music Festival (Portugal) and was Artist/Faculty at Saarburg Serenaden
(Germany); nationally, in conferences of the International Viola Society, North American
Saxophone Alliance, International Clarinet Association and the International Double Reed
Society. From 2014-2017, Kluesener was appointed Artistic Director of Fountain Hills Chamber
Players (Fountain Hills, AZ) and curated events with the grassroots alt-classical movement,
Classical Revolution PHX from 2010 to 2014. Adjunct Faculty in the Maricopa Community
College District, Kluesener also maintains a private studio. Kluesener received Doctor of Musical
Arts and Master of Music degrees from Arizona State University, and two Bachelors of Music
cum laude from University of Cincinnati.
Joshua R. Mietz, DMA is an Instructor at Casper College in Casper, Wyoming. He teaches Applied
Clarinet and Saxophone, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, College Band, and the History of American
Popular Music. He also serves as the Executive Director of Casper College’s annual Kinser Jazz Festival
and performs with the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra. He is an avid arranger of music, and his works are
currently available through Alea Publishing and Potenza Music.
Patrick Murphy (saxophone) is currently the Theater Manager at the ground-breaking
Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ. Previously, he served on the faculty of the Crane
School of Music, State University of New York, College at Potsdam. He completed his doctorate
from Arizona State University in 2013, and holds degrees from The University of Michigan, and
the Crane School of Music. He has studied saxophone with Timothy McAllister, Donald Sinta,
and Eric Lau and composition with David Heinick. He has performed throughout North and
South America with tours spanning Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, Arizona, Ecuador and Peru.
He was the last saxophonist to perform with the New World Symphony in The Lincoln Theater,
and the first saxophonist to perform in the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center. Most
recently, he performed with the Chicago Symphony in their presentation of Charlie Chaplin’s
City Lights.
Tiffany Pan (oboe) performs with many groups in Arizona including the Phoenix Symphony, Tucson
Symphony, West Valley Symphony, Musica Nova Orchestra, Phoenix Theater, Phoenix Boys Choir, and
Cactus Chamber Musicians. She has performed in conferences for the International Double Reed Society,
International Clarinet Association, and North American Saxophone Alliance. An enthusiastic teacher, Pan
maintains a studio of private students and coaches youth ensembles in the valley. Pan is oboe specialist at
Hannah’s Oboes where she helps manage the business. She and Hannah bring inventory to International
Double Reed Society conferences and discuss instrument developments with manufacturers from around
the world. A Native of Taiwan, Tiffany Pan received her Master’s degree from Arizona State University
and Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has studied with Martin
Schuring, John Dee, Ting-Hung Liu, and Peggy Lee.
Prestige Clarinet Quartet consists of clarinetists John Kurokawa (OH), Sarah Nowlin (MI), Janice
Minor (ILL) and Anthony Costa (PA). Founded in 1995 at the University of Cincinnati
College-Conservatory of Music, this group of four versatile clarinetists is armed with a wide array of
exciting repertoire performing recitals and conducting master classes throughout the United States. Each
of the quartet’s members is active as an orchestral player, solo recitalist, chamber musician, clinician, and
music educator.
Rob Sanderl is a native of upstate New York and is a percussion performer, educator, composer, and
pedagogue in the United States. Currently Sanderl is Associate Professor of Music at Radford University
in Radford Virginia, where he is director of the award winning Radford University Percussion Ensemble.
The RU Percussion Ensemble has won competitions, performed at numerous PAS Days of Percussion in
various states, as well as performed in Europe and most recently at the Kennedy Center. Sanderl earned
his bachelors of Music Education with a Performers Certificate from the Crane School of Music, and his
MM and DMA from The Eastman School of Music along with the coveted Performers Certificate. He has
performed with a wide variety of groups including The Roanoke Symphony, Alarm Will Sound, Jazz
Contingent, and the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps to name a few, displaying his versatility as a
performer and percussionist. Sanderl has performed throughout the United States and in Europe,
including as a featured soloist at the 2008 International Percussion Ensemble Week in Croatia. As a
composer he has published works for solo and ensemble percussion, and has contributed articles to
Teaching Music Magazine and Percussive Notes. He has also presented clinics at The Midwest
Conference, and the Nafme National Conference, as well as numerous other state conferences and
universities throughout the country.
Tim Sullivan is an active composer, theorist, and percussionist. He holds a Ph.D. in Music Theory and
Composition from the University of Michigan, where he studied composition with Bright Sheng, William
Bolcom, Betsy Jolas, and Karen Tanaka, and various aspects of music theory and compositional systems
with Andrew Mead. His compositions have been performed by ensembles and soloists throughout the
U.S., including the Colorado Symphony, Moravian Philharmonic, ALEA III, Nicholas Deyoe, Eliot
Gattegno, Marian Lee, Reiko Manabe, and Lorraine Yaros Sullivan. He has presented his research at
several major conferences including the Society for Music Theory, “Gérard Grisey, the spectral moment
and its legacy,” and “Emigration, Integration and Creative Productivity: Alfred Schnittke in Hamburg,
1990-1998.” Publications include an article in /Perspectives of New Music/ and a forthcoming paper in a
German/English monograph on Alfred Schnittke. Also an accomplished jazz drummer prior to his time in
Potsdam, he performed and recorded as a member of the Boulder Creative Music Ensemble, and was a
member of trumpeter Ron Miles’s band for several years.”
Beth Wiemann was raised in Burlington, VT, studied composition and clarinet at Oberlin College and
received her PhD in composition from Princeton University. Her works have been performed nationally
and internationally by the ensembles Continuum, Transient Canvas, Earplay, Guerilla Opera, and others.
Her compositions have won awards from the Orvis Foundation, Copland House, the Colorado New Music
Festival, New York Treble Singers, and regional arts councils. She teaches clarinet, composition and music
theory at the University of Maine. Recordings of Wiemann’s music include Why Performers Wear Black,
on Albany Records in 2004, and works on the New Focus Recordings, Navona, Ravello, Capstone, innova
and Americus record labels. A recording of her chamber opera I Give You My Home for Guerilla Opera
was released on Parma in 2023, and also made into a film released by Guerilla. Her compositions are
available from American Composers Edition in New York.
When: 03/21/2026 | 12:30 pm
Featuring: Beth Wiemann, Joshua Meitz, David Cook, Joshua Gardner, Anthony Costa, Julianne Doyle
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