Meet the Chamber Coaching Artists

Can Balcik-Moretti, Violin

Turkish-Uruguayan violinist Can Balcik-Moretti is an avid solo, chamber, and orchestral musician as well as a passionate teacher. He currently serves as violin and viola faculty at William Jewell College and Teaching Artist and String Quartet Coach at Harmony Project KC. During his early education, he served as principal second of the Dogus Cocuk Symphony and the Turkish National Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, touring all over Turkey and numerous countries in Europe. He was also actively involved in the chamber music residency program, through which he worked with leading quartets such as Brentano, the JACK, Ying, Lark, and many others. He served as the first violinist of the Terra Quartet, performing a wide range of works spanning from Baroque to new music. Together with its members, Can performed throughout the Midwest and premiered multiple compositions at the new music festival in Michigan. He has performed orchestral and chamber works in venues such as Beethovenfest in Bonn, Bozar in Brussels, Hagia Irene in Istanbul, and Enescu Festival in Bucharest. As a solo performer, Can has made live appearances in Turkish, Belgian, and Kansas City Radios, performing solo Bach and Turkish compositions.

Can completed his undergraduate studies at Dokuz Eylul University Conservatory under Jerrold Rubenstein and Joshua Epstein. He then moved to the U.S. to pursue a Master's Degree in violin performance at the University of Iowa, where he was awarded the Henry and Parker Pelzer Fellowship Award and served as concertmaster for the University Symphony. Can is currently working on his Doctoral Degree at UMKC, under the tutelage of Prof. Joseph Genualdi. During his time there, he performed for world class musicians such as Michael Stern and Ralph Evans, and had the opportunity to work with composer Aaron J. Kernis. He was also awarded the Concertmaster Assistantship for three years, serving as the concertmaster of the UMKC Symphony, Chamber, and Opera Orchestras.

In addition to his active performing and teaching career, Can has been working on many passion projects. In recent years, he has been experimenting with the performance practices of the Baroque Era and performed J. S. Bach's Solo Sonatas and Partitas in numerous events with a Baroque violin and bow. Can is currently in the process of recording new compositions by Chinese-American contemporary composers. He is also writing a method book of violin exercises which he has been testing among his teaching studio of more than thirty students.

Trilla Ray Carter, Cello

Trilla Ray-Carter is the founder and director of the Kansas City Baroque Consortium, and an active performer throughout the greater Kansas City region as both a modern cellist and a period baroque specialist. She has performed and taught throughout Europe and has participated in summer festivals in Italy, Germany, and the former Yugoslavia. She holds degrees from Lawrence University Conservatory in Appleton, Wisconsin, with graduate studies at California State University, and the UMKC Conservatory. Before returning to the midwest in 1993, she was active in Los Angeles as a studio recording musician, and served as principal cellist for several regional orchestras.

Locally, she has served as principal cellist of the Liberty Symphony, the Lawrence Chamber Orchestra, the Philharmonia of Greater Kansas City, and substitute section cellist for the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra. A teacher at heart, she has served on the collegiate teaching level at Cottey College, KCK Community College and William Jewell College. She has nurtured a teaching studio for all level students for over 30 years, and is sought after for developing and supporting each student’s confidence, discipline and love for music-making.

In 2007 and 2008, she pursued her love of period baroque style through participation in the International Baroque Institute at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA, where she worked with leading baroque specialists Phoebe Carrai, Elizabeth Blumentstock, Jed Wentz and Gonzalo Ruiz. Chosen to participate in Artist Inc. KC, an artist entrepreneurial training program, Trilla earned a Peer Recognition Award for her project development and design for establishing KC Baroque as a non-profit performing arts organization. Established in 2009, and formed as a non-profit in 2016, KC Baroque is celebrating its 15th year as Kansas City’s only professional period ensemble.

As the founding director, Trilla designs, guides and performs with the ensemble in presenting an acclaimed annual three-concert summer series. KC Baroque is also dedicated to serving the community through innovative educational outreach programs, free community concerts, a commissioning initiative - New Music for Old Instruments, and is sought after for collaborative projects and performances with area choruses, and soloists. Recent collaborations include performances with Te Deum Choir, Musica Vocale, the annual Messiah Sing Along (complete) at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, the newly established Messiah Sing-Along at Village Church on Antioch, and appearances on the annual Bachathon presented by the KC chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and Pembroke Hill School’s annual Messiah. Members of KC Baroque appear regularly on local concert series including the Charlotte House Series, Brown Bag Series for Westport Center for the Arts, Village 2nd Friday Series, Ruel Joyce Recital Series, St. Joseph Symphony Chamber Series, and the Mt. Zion Chamber Music Series.

Nicholas Dold, Piano

American pianist Nicholas Dold has enjoyed an active career performing across the United States as both a solo and collaborative musician. He has been a featured artist for Minnesota Public Radio's "Performance Today", Indiana Public Radio, the Duxbury Music Festival, the Orchestral Institute of Napa Valley, Chamber Music Silicon Valley, the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Opera San Jose, the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle, and the University of Alaska - Fairbanks.

Equally committed as an educator, Nicholas is recognized as a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM) by the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). He has regularly adjudicated and presented at both the state and local levels, most recently for the Music Teachers Association of California (MTAC), California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT), the Washington State Music Teachers Association (WSMTA), and the Kansas Music Teachers Association (KMTA).

Nicholas was appointed to the faculty at William Jewell College in 2022 and prior to that, served on the faculty at Santa Clara University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

He received his graduate and undergraduate degrees at Indiana University, where he studied piano performance with Reiko Shigeoka-Neriki, chamber music with Yael Weiss, and collaborative piano with Chih-Yi Chen.

For more information, visit www.nicholasdold.com

Elizabeth Grace, Piano

Elizabeth Mueller Grace, NCTM, enjoys a multi-faceted career as performer, teacher, clinician and adjudicator. An award-winning pianist, her performances have been praised for their “depth of sound, intelligent interpretation and fluid technique.” Omaha World Herald

As a collaborative pianist, Ms. Grace has been featured on the Chamber Music Tulsa Series, Upper Midwest Flute Association Conference in Minneapolis, and the Ruel Joyce Recital Series in Kansas City. She has also performed at the University of Texas/Austin, Drake University, Gustavus College and the Lawrence (WI) Conservatory, often with Barbara Leibundguth (flute) and Sally Dorer (cello) as the Capriole Trio. She has served as Keyboardist in the Houston Symphony, Topeka Symphony and as Principal Keyboardist in the Omaha Symphony. For fifteen years, she was a member of the performing artist faculty of Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, Colorado and served as the Center’s Music Director for eight years.

Ms. Grace is an MTNA nationally certified teacher and was selected as a Steinway and Sons Top Teacher in 2016 and 2021. She is also the winner of the 2014 Kansas Outstanding Teacher of the Year and has taught at Rice University, Houston, Texas and Creighton University, Omaha NE. Through the  Golandsky Institute in New York City, Ms. Grace was awarded the Master Level of Certification for teaching the Taubman Approach and is renowned for teaching the principles of injury prevention and recovery.

Ms. Grace graduated summa cum laude with a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music (M.Mus.) and Nebraska Wesleyan University (B. Mus.).  She was the first recipient of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society Fellowship Award given for advanced musical study.

For more information on Elizabeth Grace, please visit www.bethgrace.com.

Stacy Lendt, French Horn

Stacy Lendt is a leader in the Kansas City music community, with several years of experience leading community-based music organizations and teaching both within school districts and as a private teacher. With over two decades of experience in providing private lessons, Stacy has become a respected figure in music education.

Her expertise encompasses collaborations with students at various music camps, acting as a clinician/adjudicator for local and state-wide music festivals, and dedicating over nine years as a band director for middle school and high school students. In 2013, Stacy co-founded the Kansas City Horn Club. As the president of the Horn Club, she orchestrates opportunities for horn players of all ages and backgrounds to come together, sharing their passion for the horn and music through performances and educational programs.

Stacy holds a Bachelor of Music Education Degree from Northwest Missouri State University and a Master of Music Education Degree from the University of Kansas, where she studied horn under the guidance of Professor Dr. Paul Stevens.

Stacy’s musical journey extends to her current roles, performing with the Olathe Civic Band, Overland Park Orchestra, Lenexa Orchestra, and the De Soto Brass Band. She also performs throughout the Kansas City area and beyond with her husband (fellow horn player and composer), Gavin Lendt. She also serves on the Olathe Civic Band Board and the Band of Angels Emerging Leader Board.

These diverse experiences have played a pivotal role in shaping Stacy’s teaching style and solidifying her music education philosophy. For her, it’s paramount that students not only achieve their goals but also enjoy the process of learning about music.

Destiny Ann Mermagen, Violin

Praised by the Kansas City Star for her “out of this world playing and welcoming and friendly demeanor,” pioneering Musician and American Violinist Destiny Ann Mermagen is the first-ever artist, alongside pianist Heather Adelsberger, to record and release the complete works of Bouquet Américain by Henri Vieuxtemps — A collection of witty and virtuosic pieces based on familiar folk melodies, written in the classical music tradition with a charming nod to American Fiddling. These works are featured on her 2018 world premiere album, Classical Cowgirl ~ Bach to Barn Burners™.

As the winner of international competitions and performance awards, Destiny Ann has appeared as violin soloist and chamber musician in many prestigious venues across the United States, in Russia, Prague, and elsewhere in Europe. Regional performance concert halls include Kennedy Center stages, Strathmore Hall, and New York City's Carnegie Hall. A native of Rapid City, South Dakota, Destiny Ann performed regularly with the Black Hills Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. During the summer of 2002, Destiny Ann was selected on full-scholarship to participate in the National Symphony Orchestra's Summer Music Institute. In, 2003, she was a featured soloist at the American String Teachers Association Convention in Columbus, Ohio. Throughout the last two decades, Destiny Ann has been involved in various musical and educational productions around the world, including those with the National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Virginia Chamber Orchestra, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Peabody Conservatory, University of Maryland School of Music, and The Catholic University of America.

As a chamber musician, Destiny Ann worked in conjunction with DreamWorks Studios and Paramount Pictures for a promotional event for Joe Wright's movie, "The Soloist." She is also featured in the PBS Documentary Partisan Pictures film, Defiant Requiem: Voices of Resistance, both in the 2006 performance in Terezín, Czech Republic, and the chamber music soundtrack recorded in 2012. In 2011, Destiny Ann was a featured soloist at the 65th Annual International Midwest Clinic in Chicago, IL, with the ASTA Grand Champion winners Rapid City Central Chamber Orchestra. She was also a featured guest performer at the 2013 IDRS Conference in Los Angeles, CA, where she performed Paganini's Duos for Bassoon and Violin.

Destiny Ann especially loves playing chamber music with her husband, 'cellist Michael Mermagen. Most recently, they were featured in a performance of Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the St. Louis Church Concert Series. As concertmaster and soloist for the orchestra, Destiny Ann has had the pleasure of collaborating with soprano soloist Jessica Rivera in works for violin, voice, and orchestra, and was also the featured soloist in Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

In 2015, Destiny Ann received the Live Positive award, given for acts of kindness. She donated the $10,000 cash prize to Washington, D.C.'s Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where she volunteered her time giving musical performances. As a current resident of Prairie Village, KS, Destiny Ann now volunteers at the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Missouri.

During her time in Washington, D.C., Destiny Ann received her Master of Music Degree on full-scholarship with distinguished violinists & Professors Jody Gatwood & Luis Haza. Her studies also included working with the esteemed Elisabeth Adkins, Associate Concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra & Linda Schroeder of the National Symphony Orchestra. Other notable teachers include Espen Lilleslåtten, who served as concertmaster for 15 years of the Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester, as well as summer studies at the Aspen Music Festival with renowned teachers Paul Kantor and Sylvia Rosenberg.

As a passionate proponent and grateful product of early music education, Destiny Ann began playing violin in elementary school under the direction of Coral White. She continued her studies in high school with Bruce and Carol Knowles. Thankful for the teachers and mentors who have guided her throughout life and in music, Destiny Ann similarly strives to ensure that her students have a positive and enriching musical experience. She has taught and given masterclasses for schools all across the United States, and also served as Faculty Violin Instructor for the string program of the Coastal Youth Symphony of Georgia. In 2018, Destiny Ann was a founding member of Village Players—now known as Prairie Classical—a chamber ensemble that endeavors to provide world-class performance opportunities for youth and adults alike. She also holds a yearly Violin Camp with Destiny that features notable violinists such as Hilary Hahn & Gil Shaham.

In recognition of her spirited cowgirl roots and in a successful performance that can only be described as a barn-burner, Destiny Ann was quoted in the Washington Post as "endearingly coltish." Fittingly so, she currently plays with her favorite "Horseshoe" bow made by distinguished bowmaker Donald M. Cohen of Alexandria, VA, and an over 300-year-old violin from Italy.

Destiny is Announcer-Producer of Evening Classical for Kansas Public Radio and can be heard Monday - Thursday from 7 - 9 pm CDT.

Michael Mermagen, Cello

Cellist Michael Mermagen (M.M. The Juilliard School, B.M. The Peabody Conservatory of Music) is Professor of Cello at UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. For over 25 years, he has served as Artist Faculty and Chamber Symphony Principal Cellist of the Aspen Music Festival and School. He was formerly Associate Professor of Cello and Chamber Music, Head of the Instrumental Division, and Adviser in Orchestral Instruments for the Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees at the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at The Catholic University of America.

Michael made his debut at the age of sixteen with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra after receiving its Young Soloist’s Award. Michael began his studies at Peabody Preparatory where he studied with Paula Skolnick-Childress and Mihaly Virizlay. Principal teachers in college were Stephen Kates at Peabody Conservatory, and Zara Nelsova at The Juilliard School. As The Juilliard School’s concerto competition winner, he performed with Juilliard Orchestra under Otto-Werner Mueller in Alice Tully Hall. He was soloist with National Orchestra of New York, where he held the prestigious Emanuel Feuermann principal cello chair and performed in Violoncello Society of New York Master Classes lead by Yo-Yo Ma, Janos Starker, and Bernard Greenhouse.

Michael toured regularly with The Aspen Ensemble. He also toured with American Chamber Players from 1997 to 2003 and from 1987 to 1995 with Arista Piano Trio (named Chamber Music America’s Artists to Watch). He collaborated with the San Francisco Ballet and was featured as the cello soloist for the New York premiere of two works by the renowned choreographer Mark Morris. He joined violinist Jody Gatwood and pianist Marilyn Neeley in Rome Trio, a resident ensemble of The Catholic University of America. Michael is currently performing around the country with the Aspen String Trio, formerly the ensemble in residence at the University of Baltimore.

As an artist-faculty member at the Aspen Music Festival and School, Michael has held the prestigious position of principal cellist of the Aspen Chamber Symphony for over twenty-five seasons. He has performed chamber music in Aspen with such artists as Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Jeremy Denk, Vladimer Feltzman, Lynn Harrell, Robert McDuffie, Susanne Mentzer, Anton Nel, Nadja Salerno- Sonnenberg, Gil Shaham, The Takács Quartet, and the Weilerstein family. He has also collaborated with many distinguished conductors, including Comissiona, Conlon, Levine, Maazel, Marriner, McGegan, Robertson, Skrowaczewski, and Zinman.

For over twenty-five years, Michael has toured and given recitals, concerto performances, master classes and chamber music performances around the world. He has participated in Grand Canyon Music Festival, Prince Albert Music Festival in Kauai, and Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport, Maine. He has been heard on WQXR’s Concerts Plus, WNYC’s Around New York, and regularly on NPR’s Performance Today. Michael performed live with Musica Sacra on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor and performed as a substitute cellist in New York Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Orchestra of Saint Lukes, 92nd Street Y Orchestra, Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York, American Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and Long Island Philharmonic.

Michael recorded and performed the Patrick Zimmerli Piano Trios for Arabesque label, after a celebrated debut of the same pieces at Seattle Chamber Music Society. Upcoming commercial releases include the Music of Martinu for Naxos label with the Aspen String Trio. Recent appearances include the performance of Brahms Double Concerto with violinist Livia Sohn and Stockton Symphony, again with violinist David Perry and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Beethoven Triple Concerto with Elisabeth Adkins and Edward Newman and the Maryland and Fairfax Symphonies, and Vivaldi Concertos with conductor Nicholas McGegan.

Michael enjoys performing chamber music with his wife, Violinist Destiny Ann Mermagen, the first-ever artist to record the complete set of Henri Vieuxtemps’ virtuosic Bouquet Américain. He performs on a Nicolo Gagliano cello, Naples, 1774.

Joon Park, Trumpet

Originally from Toronto, Canada, Dr. Joon Park (he/him) is a performer and educator currently based out of Kansas City, Missouri. He performs regularly as a substitute musician with the Kansas City Symphony, the Kansas City Ballet, the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, and has performed with the New World Symphony, Orchestra Iowa, and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas. Additionally, Joon is a member of the world-renowned Brass Band of Battle Creek and won the 2022 North American Brass Band Association Championship with the Fountain City Brass Band. 

Joon is adjunct instructor of high brass at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. In addition to his role at Benedictine College, Joon is a marching band assistant at Blue Valley Northwest High School and gives clinics, masterclasses, and maintains a large private studio in the Blue Valley (Overland Park, KS) school district.

On a national level, Joon has led a variety of clinics, masterclasses, and workshops. Recently, Joon was on faculty at the Alpine Brass and Percussion Academy, the Brass Band of Battle Creek’s Summer Youth Camps, the California Central Coast Orchestra & Jazz Academy, and presented masterclasses for the Monterey Jazz Festival’s Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. Previously, Joon was a Teaching Artist with Youth Orchestra Salinas, an El Sistema USA member organization that provides tuition-free musical training for at-risk and underserved youth in Salinas, CA.

While at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, Joon was a member of Volker Brass. Volker Brass performed recitals, outreach concerts, and gave masterclasses in Kansas City and across the Midwest. In 2020, they were semi-finalists at the Coltman Competition and national finalists at the 2019 Music Teachers National Association Chamber Winds Competition. They were also semi-finalists and recipients of the American Brass Quintet Prize at the 2019 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.  

Joon holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory, a Master of Music from Michigan State University, and a Bachelor of Music from McGill University. He has studied with Dr. Keith Benjamin, Justin Emerich, Paul Merkelo, Christopher Smith, and Andrew Dunn. 

Joon is proud to be an S.E. Shires performing artist.

Ellen Sommer, Piano

Pianist Ellen R. Sommer is an internationally acclaimed collaborative pianist, chamber musician, and coach. Her reputation for excellence has led to extensive engagements throughout the United States, Canada, Central and South Americas, Europe and Asia. Recent successes include a chamber recital performance at the Montgomery Arts House for Music and Architecture in Malibu, California, with Maria Newman, Scott Hosfeld and instrumentalists from the Metropolitan Opera orchestra; and a series of concerts and master classes in San Jose, Costa Rica at the Universidad de Costa Rica, and Casa de la musica in Quito, Ecuador.

Ellen can be heard on numerous professional recordings, including five under the auspices of Potenza Music, Parma, Naxos, and Albany Records. Most recently Sommer and flutist, Daniel Velasco recorded an album of Ecuadorean flute and piano commissioned works for Naxos. The album was released August 2022. Additionally Ellen is the featured pianist in an album of compositions by German composer, Ingrid Stölzel for Parma Records.

Ellen is a founding member of Allegresse, a fresh and inspiring trio for flute, oboe and piano. Recipients of the National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpieces: Chamber Music Grant, the trio’s performances have taken them throughout North America, Central and South America, Europe and Asia. Allegresse is currently completing a third CD recording and most recently premiered two commissioned pieces by Ingrid Stölzel for the trio and soprano.

Ellen has a distinguished career as recital pianist for artists such as Pierre Gennison, Demondrae Thurman, Alex Klein, Carol Jantsch, Misa Mead, and Joyce Castle. Ellen collaborated with choral conductor, Simon Carrington of the King’s Singers from 1998-2004.

Ellen serves as a pianist for regional, national and international conferences, competitions and festivals including MTNA, NATS, IDRS, and ICA; as well as concert series and radio broadcasts such as the Dame Myra Hess recital series in Chicago, IL. Ellen is a frequent performer in the live radio broadcast studio at Kansas Public Radio. Additionally, Ellen coaches and collaborates at several summer camps and institutes, including the Omaha Conservatory of Music Institute, Brian Lewis Young Artist Program, Sound Encounters Suzuki Strings Camp, Midwestern Music Camp and Interlochen Arts summer camps.

Currently Sommer serves as an Associate Professor of the Practice at the University of Kansas School of Music, teaching collaborative piano. She performs regularly with faculty, visiting artists, and students. From 1994-2003 Sommer taught at Missouri Western State University, both as piano and voice faculty. In addition, Sommer serves as pianist/coach for the William Jewell College Vocal Artist Diploma program.

In 2016 Ellen was named one of three Distinguished Alumni from Missouri Western State University in Saint Joseph, MO.

Ivy Lu Wang, Piano

Ivy Lu Wang is a versatile pianist and educator, specializing in healthy piano performance techniques. In collaboration with Chinese medical students, she created a grant-funded program named “How Pianists Coexist with Tenosynovitis” recognized as an honored program at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music. She was invited to write a front-page article in “Music Weekly” one of the most popular music publications in China.  She is a lecturer in high demand for workshops, pedagogical workshops, and masterclasses around the world. She is the founder of the International Piano Professionals Association(IPPA) and the Conero International Piano Festival.

She currently serves as an adjunct piano professor at Ottawa University and as anassistant professor of practice in piano pedagogy at the University of Kansas. She studied with Dr. Scott McBride Smith at the University of Kansas and graduated with honors for her doctoral dissertation, “Applying the Rotation Principle to Avoid Injury in Piano Practice.”

In her performance career, Wang has earned multiple competition prizes, including the first prize in the 2011 Zhong-sin International Music Competition in Singapore, where she was invited to perform at the award ceremony with the jury. In June 2011, she won the first prize in the Second Deutschland and China Gemeinsam Competition in Sichuan Province. Wang has graced stages in China, Canada, Singapore, Italy, Israel, and the US. Since 2017, she has been invited every year to perform at the Chinese New Year Concert in Kansas City. In 2021, Wang received invitations from CCTV (China Central Television) and KCCA (Kansas City Chinese Association) to perform for the “24-Hour Global Virtual Concert.”

Austin Way, Bassoon

Dr. Austin Way serves as the Professor of Bassoon at the University of Missouri and Washburn University, in addition to performing with the Missouri Quintet, Missouri Symphony, and Kansas City Chamber Orchestra as well as frequent guest performances with the Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Lyric Opera, and Kansas City Ballet. Prior to this he performed as the Second Bassoonist of the Orquesta Sinfónica Sinaloa de las Artes during its 2015 to 2016 season and served as Acting Principal Bassoonist for the 2016 to 2017 season, where he had the opportunity to tour with the orchestra throughout Mexico, including a performance in December of 2016 in Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the orchestra.

Dr. Way has taken part in collaborations with many composers and can be heard performing as the Principal Bassoonist on a recorded collection of concertos for soloists with wind ensemble by Leonardo Balada, recorded for the Naxos Label as well as performing on both bassoon and contrabassoon on an upcoming recording of Paul Moravec’s operatic adaptation of The Shining with the Kansas City Lyric Opera.

Additionally, Dr. Way has performed with a variety of ensembles across the country, including two presentations with chamber ensembles at the 2010 and 2022 International Double Reed Society conferences. 

 From 2012 to 2015, Dr. Way held the bassoon and contrabassoon fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival and School, and now spends his summers serving as Associate Principal Bassoonist for the Missouri Symphony. 

As a chamber musician, Dr. Way performed with Pittsburgh’s Incidental Chamber Players during its inaugural season of 2014 to 2015, as well as collaborating with musicians across to country and performs with Washburn’s Bluestem Faculty Woodwind Quintet, the Meadowlark Faculty Woodwind Trio, and the Missouri Quintet with the faculty of the University of Missouri. 

Involved in the community as well, Dr. Way has maintained a focus on community outreach, including his partnership with Musicians With A Mission during his time in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Through this organization he was able to team up with colleagues and take programs of solo and chamber music to retirement homes and senior groups around the city, as well as performing selections of music from around the world for the University of Pittsburgh’s Nationality Rooms, a festival to celebrate the cultures of the world. 

Dr. Way holds degrees from the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory as well as Carnegie Mellon University. His primary teachers include Marita Abner, Per Hannevold, and Nancy Goeres.

Dana Woolard, Cello

Dana Woolard-Hughlett is the Adjunct Professor of Cello, Chamber Music Coordinator, and String Methods Instructor at William Jewell College. She has also been on the faculty of Graceland University and Illinois Wesleyan University Summer Cello Camp. She studied with Nina Gordon and Carter Enyeart at the UMKC Conservatory for her BA in Music and Master of Music in Cello Performance. She also earned K-12 Instrumental Music Certification from Missouri Western University. Additional teachers include Takorori Atsumi of Arizona State University, Martin Storey of London Symphony, and Paul Olefsky at University of Texas at Austin. Dana has participated in the Sunflower Music Festival, Penn’s Woods Music Festival, Mid America Chamber Festival, and Sessioni Senese per la Musica e L’Arte, Siena, Italy where she performed in a quartet with faculty of the Chigiana Festival.

She co-founded the Lamy Trio, former faculty ensemble at William Jewell College, and the Metropolitan Ensemble, a Kansas City flute trio. As an orchestral musician, she is currently the Principal Cellist of the Liberty Symphony Orchestra. She performed the Saint Saens Concerto with LSO in 2018. She has served as principal cellist of the St. Joseph Symphony, substituted as principal in the Topeka Symphony and played with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and Kinnor Philharmonic Orchestra. She has performed Lyric Opera productions and at the Inspiration Point Opera Festival. 

Dana enjoys playing many genres of music and she performs regularly at the KC Repertory Theatre, Starlight Summer Theater, and MTH Theater. She has played with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, Hershey Park Pops Symphony Orchestra, Rod Stewart, Michael Buble, Peter Gabriel, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Lindsey Stirling, Evanescence, Frankie Valli, The Eagles and other pop artists. 

As an educator, she teaches privately and has adjudicated and coached for the Missouri All District and All State Orchestra Festivals, various solo and ensemble and large group festivals, KC Youth Symphony, and the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra. She is the 2023 Cello Clinician for Missouri All-State Festival. Her students regularly participate in All District and All State and attend universities such UMKC Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, Oberlin and William Jewell Colllege. In 2018, she received the Missouri American String Teacher Association Collegiate Teacher of the Year Award.

Ashley White, Clarinet

Ashley White is one of the most sought-after private clarinet teachers throughout the greater Kansas City area. With a consistently full studio and more on a waitlist, she considers it a good thing that students want to continue their clarinet studies even after they graduate high school!

Ashley earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign studying with David Harris and performed with the legendary Marching Illini as well the Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra. Upon graduation from UI, Ashley completed a Master of Music in Clarinet Performance from the University of Kansas, where she held the coveted Hamilton Clarinet Scholarship, under the tutelage of famed pedagogue Dr. Larry Maxey. She performed in London with the Marching Illini and was a distinguished guest in China where she held a clarinet masterclass at the Beijing Conservatory and performed with the University of Kansas Wind Ensemble. She also performed as a soloist with the University of Kansas Wind Ensemble, alongside her professor, Larry Maxey, as well as performed the Weber Concerto No. 2 with the KU Symphony Orchestra.

After winning numerous competitions, including placing third at the 2005-2006 National MTNA Competition, and auditioning for professional ensembles, Ashley’s passion shifted to her students, as she enjoyed witnessing these young musicians burgeoning and finding their own voices in their music- making. They not only consistently rate among the best clarinet players in the state of Kansas and Missouri, they are also leaders in their own music programs at school who go on to attend some of the best colleges and universities locally and nationally.

Ashley’s students can be found all over the country teaching music in elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as in professional ensembles. A major focus for her in her private lesson teaching is continuing the collaborative nature they receive at school in larger ensembles by providing exciting opportunities in small clarinet quartets and ensembles.