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Shepherd’s Department of Music to host Reed Day on Feb. 16

By Staff | Feb 8, 2013

The Shepherd University Department of Music will host its first Reed Day on Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Frank Center. This free, one-day seminar is open to high school reed players (grades 9-12), college students and instrumental music teachers and directors who have an interest in reed instruments. The seminar is free, but registration is required.

Reed Day will be devoted exclusively to working with performance techniques, the audition process, how to choose the best repertoire for the player and purchasing new and used instruments. The event will also include the opportunity to meet and speak with Robert DiLutis, associate professor of clarinet at the University of Maryland School of Music and maker of the Reed Machine. Guest performers will include the Army Band Clarinet Quartet, and reed and mouthpiece vendors will be on hand through out the day.

The event will be led by clarinetist David Drosinos, applied professor of clarinet at Shepherd; saxophonist Jeremy Koch, applied professor of saxophone at Shepherd; oboist Gregory Shook, applied professor of oboe at Shepherd; and bassoonist Richard Polonchak, applied professor of bassoon at Shepherd.

Drosinos graduated from the Peabody Conservatory of Music and studied clarinet with Loren Kitt, principal clarinetist with the National Symphony Orchestra. He won the Sidney Jensen Memorial Award for outstanding clarinet performance and has been a guest artist at the Greek Embassy in Washington, D.C. and the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Drosinos was the principal clarinetist and soloist with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra on their its tour to Russia and a featured soloist with the Concert Artists of Baltimore. He has performed in Greece, Ireland, Moscow, Finland, the Bahamas and throughout the United States.

Koch is an active saxophonist, chamber musician and teacher based in the Washington, D.C., area. He has been a member of the United States Air Force Academy Band since 1998, where he has been the featured concert soloist on national tours and performed with artists such as Tony Bennett, Wynonna Judd and Kool and the Gang. As a freelance saxophonist, Koch performs with the United States Air Force Saxophone Quartet, Atlantic Reed Consort, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Prince William Symphony Orchestra, Serapis Ensemble, D.C. Syndicate and Great Noise Ensemble.

Shook has performed extensively in the tri-state and D.C. areas, performing with the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington Opera, Washington Bach Consort, Harrisburg Symphony and in pit orchestras at the National and Warner theaters. In addition to his numerous performances as a solo and chamber music recitalist, Shook is co-founder and music director for Hagerstown Choral Arts, an auditioned choral group of 100 singers. He is a frequent workshop clinician and guest conductor in the area.

Polonchak was the former principal bassoonist of the United States Marine Band and White House Orchestra. His articles have appeared in “The Instrumentalist,” “Woodwind World,” “The School Musician,” “The Double Reed” and “Bandworld Magazine.” Polonchak is the author of “Primary Handbook for Bassoon,” the bassoon audio and text for Embou-sure, published by Western International Band Clinic. He is a contributing author to the “Woodwind Players Cookbook.”

For more information, or a brochure and registration form, contact Kari Edge at 304-876-5555 or kedge@shepherd.edu.