FACULTY

Dave Scott

Trumpet Instructor, Boulder Branch

David Scott is the newly retired trumpet professor at McNeese State University, Lake Charles LA and has held the Alexander Endowed Professorship in Music.  He also served on the faculties of the University of Idaho and Kentucky State University. He received his education at DePauw University, University of Washington, University of Louisville, and the University of Texas. His teachers include Leon Rapier, Raymond Crisara, Robert Grocock and Roger Voisin. Mr. Scott’s biography is included in the German publication Trumpeter-Pocketbook, by Friedel Keim and Trumpet Greats: A Biographical Dictionary by David Hickman, et al.

Dave Scott has performed as a recitalist/clinician throughout the United States and with such orchestras as the Spokane Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Kentucky Bach Society, Midland-Odessa Symphony Orchestra (principal), Palm Beach Opera Orchestra (principal), Lake Charles Symphony Orchestra (principal), Acadiana Symphony (occasional principal), Symphony of Southeast Texas (occasional principal), and the Rapides Symphony Orchestra (principal). He was also an artist at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival for thirteen years and the Lutheran Summer Music Academy. Scott has soloed with the Lake Charles Symphony, Rapides Symphony Orchestra, Temple Symphony Orchestra, Temple, TX, Walnut Creek, CA Concert Band, and the Midland Odessa Symphony Orchestra.

A founding member of the renowned chamber ensemble PASTICHE, he led the group to record the highly acclaimed CDs Pastiche (Innova) and Collage (Centaur).  A review of his playing states “Scott played with energy and refinement and displayed excellent command of the instrument”.  Scott also is a Voting Member of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammy Awards).

Donald Williams

JAS & JMP Faculty

A long-time resident of Colorado, Williams is a founding member of the Apollo Chamber Brass, a non-profit group dedicated to educational outreach and the continuing advancement of chamber music, and he is currently second/associate principal trumpet in the Wyoming Symphony. Recently, he performed as a guest artist at Sul Ross State University in Apline, TX and has presented master classes there and at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA. In 1999 Williams was a featured soloist with the University of Northern Colorado Symphonic Band, and he regularly performs with orchestras throughout Colorado, Cheyenne and New Mexico. An active private instructor and clinician, he has been teaching in the Loveland, Boulder and Denver areas for over a decade. He currently maintains a large private studio and lives in Littleton with his wife, son, and daughter.

Dianne Betkowski

RRMA Faculty

Dianne Betkowski is an avid performer, teacher, chamber musician and composer who has lived in Denver since 2001.  She has performed, toured and/or recorded with the Saint Louis Symphony, the Utah Symphony, the Honolulu Symphony and the Colorado Symphony, among others.  Her compositions have been performed by such orchestras as the National Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, and the Houston Symphony.  Besides being active musically, she has home-schooled two of her three children, loves to cook and garden, read, swim and travel.

Max Wolpert

RRMA Faculty, Boulder

Fiddler, composer, and storyteller Max Wolpert conjures up monsters and myth where the traditional, classical, and theatrical meet. Drawing from tradition both musical and mythological, Max makes music inspired by stories from around the world.  Whether built upon the verve and bounce of an Irish jig, the endearing asymmetry of a Welsh pipe tune, or the drive of a Virginian breakdown, Max’s pieces are crafted with taut detail and a flair for the dramatic honed over years as a pit musician, conductor, and orchestrator for theatrical productions. Max’s first viola concerto, Giants, wields the unsung hero of the orchestra to call up singing harps, dancing stormclouds, and a fiendishly ticking clock inexorably counting down to the end of the world. His two string quartets, Myths and Song of Four, serve as pedagogical tools to introduce the classical musician to traditional forms and improvisation, and in performance bring forth an Irish war goddess, two enchanted ravens, a young girl with dreams of piracy, and a ferociously contrapuntal chase through a twisting labyrinth. Max is dedicated to music education and a passionate advocate for new music.  He teaches privately and at workshops throughout New England and the Midwest, and serves on the faculty for the Rocky Ridge Music Center.  Max encourages his students and collaborators to explore stories and traditions that spark the imagination, and to bring forth the outlandish, the macabre, and the magic inherent in music. For more information, please visit www.maxwolpertmusic.com.

Carol Rankin

RRMA Faculty

Carol Rankin studied at the Mannes College of Music and received her Master of Music degree with distinction, and Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory of Music. As winner of the Frank Huntington Beebe Award for Musicians, she received a grant for one year’s study at the Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary. Carol also studied Dalcroze Eurhythmics at the Longy School and is currently pursuing teacher certification at the Dalcroze School of the Rockies in Denver. She has been on faculty of the South Shore Conservatory of Music, the Washington Conservatory of Music, and the College of William and Mary, as well as, a chamber music coach for the Denver Young Artists Orchestra. Carol maintains a private studio in Denver.

www.carolrankinmusic.org

Margaret Patterson

RRMA Faculty, Boulder

Margie Patterson has over 25 years teaching experience at all levels. She received her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Colorado, Boulder where she studied with Dr. David Korevaar. A prizewinner in the Simone Belsky Competition, she is in demand as a soloist and collaborative pianist. Many of her former students are pursuing careers in music as well as enjoying music as an avocation.

SoYoung Lee

Executive Director, APS Faculty, RRMA Faculty

SoYoung Lee, Executive/Music Director at Rocky Ridge Music Center, received her Doctorate in Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has held director positions at Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory Adult Education & Preparatory Department, Millikin University Preparatory Division, and the Boulder Arts Academy & Boulder Ballet. A strong believer in the concept of artist as entrepreneur, she cofounded two organizations: Colorado-based AirTurn, a company dedicated to empowering musicians through technology; and Notes at 9,000 at Winter Park, a multi-genre music competition that launches emerging musicians by providing concert opportunities, funding, and mentoring. She is passionate about building community through the arts, and serves currently as a trustee on the board of Boulder County Arts Alliance and as a member of the Estes Arts Presents Task Force.

An award-winning pianist and a Regents scholar, SoYoung is a recipient of the Ernő Dohnányi Piano Prize and the Gwendolyn Koldofsky Accompanying Fellowship at University of Southern California. She recently released a CD, In This World, with flutist Claudia Anderson. Equally at home as a teacher, she served on the music faculty at Millikin University and State University of New York, Fredonia, and was a visiting Piano Pedagogy faculty at the University of Colorado, Boulder. SoYoung enjoys her multi-faceted career as a performing artist, administrator, teacher, producer, and arts advocate.

Susan Olenwine

Piano Faculty

Susan Olenwine earned both Bachelor and Master Degrees in performance at Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Constance Keene and Artur Balsam.  She had additional studies in accompanying with Samuel Sanders at the Juilliard School, and coached with Bruce Simonds and Ward Davenny at the Yale School of Music, and with Eli Haimowitz in Reno.  She also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of New Haven.

In Connecticut, Ms. Olenwine was well known in the Greater New Haven area as a recitalist and accompanist.  In 2001 she traveled with the Yale Alumni Chorus to Russia, England, and Wales and was the featured soloist with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra in Tchaikovsky Hall, and with London’s Royal Philharmonic in St. Paul’s Cathedral.  She also concretized in Austria and Denmark appearing as soloist there with the United States Air Forces Band, Glenn Miller’s legacy.  She was the pianist of the Bridgeport Symphony and Orchestra New England, and performed concerti with regional symphonies. She briefly relocated to Reno, NV where she was the rehearsal pianist for Nevada Opera as well as several choral ensembles and soloists.  At UNR she served as a coach and pianist for voice students and the university’s opera program.

On the administrative side of music, Ms. Olenwine was the Director of Administrative Affairs at the School of Music at Yale University for thirteen years. While there she served on the university-wide committee to create and establish a single computer platform for use throughout all Yale colleges and departments. She also held posts as the Promotion Manager for Connecticut Public Radio, Manager of the Yale Symphony, and Assistant Manager of Orchestra New England. In Reno she was the Director of Development for the Reno Philharmonic and Reno Chamber Orchestras. A move to Boulder prompted her to return to academia where she was accepted into the DMA program with a concentration in Collaborative Piano.  She abbreviated that goal, and earned an MMus in 2009 in Collaborative Piano.  Since then she has been active as a freelance pianist, staff pianist at Metro State University and CU, and has been deeply engaged with CU, the Boulder Philharmonic, Boulder Chorale, and Colorado Music Festival, primarily assisting with development and fundraising efforts.  She has been on the Advisory Board at CU since 2010.

Tamara Goldstein

APS Faculty (Session 1 only), RRMA Faculty, Denver

Pianist Tamara Goldstein enjoys a varied career as chamber musician, educator and recitalist. From a musical family, she received her early training at the PreCollege Divisions of the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School before earning performance degrees at Indiana University (BM), The Juilliard School (MM), and the University of Colorado at Boulder (DMA). Since 1999, she has been on the collaborative piano staff of the Aspen Music Festival and School, assisting renowned string faculty and coaching and accompanying gifted students.

Tamara has travelled with recital partners for performance and teaching engagements on five continents and has served as a presenter and performer at numerous international conferences. Currently adjunct faculty of the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver, she is a frequent performer on visiting artists concert series, as well as in faculty and student recitals. She performs regularly with Highlands Square Ensemble and with piano duet partner, Mutsumi Moteki. Tamara currently participates in the Colorado Symphony Orchestra’s educational outreach program, Very Young Composers, and is a guest teaching artist at Denver School of the Arts and El Sistema Colorado.

Tamara has performed as concerto soloist with many local orchestras over the years and served as pianist with Central City Opera, the Colorado Symphony & Chorus, Colorado Children’s Chorale, Colorado Opera Troupe, the Colorado Chamber Players, and on concert series throughout the region. Tamara founded and served as Artistic Director of “Piano Celebration,” an annual interdisciplinary symposium in downtown Denver that ran for twelve years while an Associate Professor of Piano. She has served on several boards of music teachers’ organizations and community orchestras.

For additional information: www.tamaragoldstein.com

Alex Vittal

Alexander Vittal earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance from Arizona State University and Master of Music degree in Viola Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado–Boulder.  Alex has diverse musical tastes, performing orchestral music as a member of the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra, traditional Argentine tango music with Orquesta Típica Natural Tango, Baroque music on period instruments with the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, and a wide variety of musical styles with Sphere Ensemble, for whom he is also Executive Director and Arranger.  Also dedicated to social justice through music education, Alex spent 7 years working with under-resourced elementary and middle school students as a Teaching Artist with El Sistema Colorado, and continues in an advisory and volunteer role.  Alex also works as a private and group viola and violin instructor at Dana V. Music in Louisville, CO and is excited to join the team of dedicated teachers at Rocky Ridge Music Academy – Denver. 

Benjamin de Kock

YAS Faculty, RRMA Faculty, Denver

Dr. Benjamin received his Bachelor and Masters degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the instruction of professor Albert Laszlo, and his Doctorate at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He first came to Colorado in 2002 to attend the Aspen Music Festival and School. After attending the AMFS for several years he decided to move to Colorado in order to pursue his doctorate.

Currently, Dr. Benjamin plays with several orchestras and chamber groups across the United States. He is principal bass of the San Juan Symphony in Durango Co, principal bass with the Colorado Bach Ensemble, assistant principal of the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra, a guest musician with the Charleston Symphony in South Carolina, assistant 3rd chair with the Greeley Symphony, a section member of the Boulder Philharmonic, and a regular sub the Colorado Symphony. In addition to his busy performing schedule he is also works for El Sistema Colorado (ESC)  as a Secondary Strings Teaching Artist, Guest Artist Coordinator, and Arts Community Liaison.

Dianne Betkowski

RRMA Faculty

Dianne Betkowski is an avid performer, teacher, chamber musician and composer who has lived in Denver since 2001.  She has performed, toured and/or recorded with the Saint Louis Symphony, the Utah Symphony, the Honolulu Symphony and the Colorado Symphony, among others.  Her compositions have been performed by such orchestras as the National Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, and the Houston Symphony.  Besides being active musically, she has home-schooled two of her three children, loves to cook and garden, read, swim and travel.

Erik Peterson

Violinist Erik Peterson enjoys sharing great music with a broad audience. With the Mendelssohn Trio and Ivy Street Ensemble he performs throughout Colorado, the United States, and Europe to reach thousands. In his role as Artistic Director of Chintimini Chamber Music Festival and Front Range Chamber Players Erik is able to reach large audiences with diverse and innovative programming.

Collaborations to create new works and showcasing living composers are passions for Erik. Working with diverse composers such as Kenji Bunch, Maria Grenfell, Obo Addy, David Crumb, Jacob Avshalomov, and David Mullikin have brought new and invigorating works into the world. Continually striving to bring chamber music to a wide range of communities with his ensembles, Erik collaborates with schools, retirement homes, and other organizations to engage students and adults in the art of chamber music performance. Performances are often heard on Colorado Public Radio, and Oregon Public Radio and National Public Radio.

Erik maintains a private home teaching studio and has taught for Colorado State University, Rocky Ridge Music Center, Denver Young Artists Orchestra, Denver School of the Arts, and is frequently engaged to give university master classes. He enjoys working with all of his talented students and many succeed in local and national competitions, attend prestigious summer festivals, and are accepted to renowned collegiate music schools.

To further pursue his passion for teaching and chamber music Erik changed course and moved away from orchestral playing. A violinist for 28 years with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Erik also served as Concertmaster of Great Falls Symphony, Up Close and Musical, and Opera Steamboat.

Erik has performed in the great concert halls of Europe as Principal Second Violinist of The American Sinfonietta on several international tours. In the summer of 2019 he will return to Europe for performances with the Mendelssohn Trio.

Helen McDermott

Viola/Violin Instructor

One evening in fifth grade, Helen McDermott went to an instrument fair at her public school, determined to choose a clarinet. But the music director was so convincing in his efforts to secure a viola student that she walked out with a viola, and thus began her path in music. Helen went on to earn a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory and a Master of Music from Yale University where she studied with Rafael Hillyer. She continued her studies with Bernard Zaslov at Northern Illinois University and Karen Tuttle at the Banff Centre. Helen played with the Puerto Rico and Oakland Symphony Orchestras, and while in the Bay Area was also principal violist with the Berkeley Symphony and the Bay Area Women’s Philharmonic. Currently a member the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, she has trained in the Suzuki and O’Connor methods and teaches violin and viola. Helen has taught strings to young musicians in Haiti for the past three summers. She is a founding member of the Highlands Square Ensemble, and loves performing and coaching chamber music. In her spare time, she likes backpacking and traveling with family and friends.

Katarina Pliego

RRMA Faculty, Boulder

Katarina Pliego is currently pursuing a doctorate in cello performance at the University of Northern Colorado, studying with Gal Faganel. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree with honours from Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge (UK) where her teacher was Caroline Bosanquet, and a Master of Music degree in cello performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (UK) where she studied with Rudi de Groote.

Katarina has participated in master classes with Peter Stumpf, Alexander Buzlov, Natalia Gutman, Karine Georgian, David Grigorian, Heidi Litchauer and members of the Brodsky Quartet. She has commissioned and premiered many new works for the cello, including Kevin Flanagan’s Cello Suite, Julio d’Escrivan’s La Prueba, Tim Miles’ Threnos and Crt Sojar Voglar’s Hard Rock Cello Party.

In 2015 she won the Rocky Mountain Concerto Competition and in 2014 the prestigious Southward Award. In 2012 she received a distinction for her final master’s recital and in 2010 a scholarship to study at the RCS. In 2011 she was the Jeunesses Musicales recipient and toured Slovenia with pianist Nafis Umerkulova. In 2006 and 2012 she received third prize at Competition for Young Slovenian Cellists and in 2010 a second prize at the BBC SSO Concerto Competition. In 2009 she received a scholarship for the Stamford International Chamber Music Festival (UK) and in 2011 for the Wagner Orchestra in Bayreuth (Germany). As a soloist she has performed with Anglia Ruskin University Orchestra, K239 Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of Music School Žalec and Nottingham Youth Orchestra.

Since her studies at UNC, she has been the principal cellist in the symphony orchestra and opera. She is also a regular sub for Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra and Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra. In 2013 she performed for the members of the White House at the Kennedy Center in Washington and in 2012 performed at Cadogan Hall in London for the members of the British Royal Family. She was assistant principal cellist in the Cambridge University Symphony Orchestra in 2008 and a principal cellist in Orion and London Arte Chamber Orchestra in 2012 and 2013. Katarina has performed with Ilya Gringolts, Tom Poster, Guy Johnston, Julian Lloyd Weber, and more.

From August 2013 to April 2014 she toured the world as principal cellist in the Shen Yun Performing Arts, including performances at Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Renee and Henry Segerstrom Hall in Los Angeles, and Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.

Katie Burns

Cello Instructor

Katie enjoys bringing cello music to a wide range of settings and venues. As an accomplished orchestral cellist, Katie serves as Principal Cellist of the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra and has played for various musicals, ballets, operas, film recordings, and season concerts since 2003. Katie’s true passion as a cellist lies in performing chamber music.  She currently collaborates with guitarist Russ Callison in their duo Solazur, formed in 2016 out of a shared desire to offer captivating and intimate performances of cello and guitar music. As a young cellist, Katie studied with pedagogue Sally Gross at the Western Springs School for Talent Education, who served as a major influence for her to pursue Suzuki training. Katie received her Master of Music in Suzuki Cello Pedagogy at the University of Denver in 2016 and currently runs an active private studio in Denver. Katie hopes to bring quality cello instruction and music education to as many young people as possible, regardless of socioeconomic status.

Keith Barnhart

RRMA Faculty, Boulder

“Keith is a perfect example of what we want in the field: brilliant, hard-working, patient, kind and charismatic.” ~Zachary Carretin, Artistic Director of the Boulder Bach Festival

Keith Barnhart is an energetic performer and teacher living in Boulder, Colorado. Adept on multiple instruments, he can be seen and heard performing regularly with the Boulder Bach Festival and the Ursa early music consort. He is also the founding member of the Fog City Guitar Duo with guitarist Patrick Smith, currently working on their first commercial recording including the music of Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Hans Werner Henze. Keith has performed in concerts coast to coast in the United States including Montana, South Dakota, Colorado, California, Ohio, Florida, and Oregon. March of 2009 marked Keith’s first international performance, dazzling a crowd in Kokonoe Japan.

Keith received a Bachelor of Music in 2006 from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver with a double emphasis in classical guitar performance and commercial music technology. He studied under Ricardo Iznaola and Jonathan Leathwood for four years and received a senior classical guitar “Recital of Distinction” as well as the prestigious Ricardo Iznaola scholarship. He received his Masters of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2015 with an emphasis in Historical Performance. While there he studied with Marc Teicholz, David Tanenbaum and Richard Savino. Currently, Keith is pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Colorado Boulder under the tutelage of Nicolò Spera. Keith has also studied with other notable guitarists including Christopher Parkening, The Bejing Guitar Duo, Lorenzo Micheli, Matteo Mela and Sergio Assad.

Keith has taught since 2006. He has experience teaching students from beginner to advanced both privately as well as in a group setting. He has taught on a variety of instruments in addition to classical guitar including steel string guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, ukulele, percussion, and piano. Additionally, Keith is working towards a certification as a Suzuki guitar instructor and as a Music Practitioner through the Music for Healing and Transition Program.

Max Legrand

RRMA Faculty, Denver

Max is a Colorado native, an experienced guitar instructor, and the creator of HappyBanjoDude… the most popular YouTube channel for banjo tutorials. He began his musical journey at age 13 learning the acoustic guitar stylings of Dave Matthews and John Mayer, and then quickly progressed to the virtuosic playing of Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. After being admitted to the Berklee College of Music, he decided to take a different path and moved to Austin, Texas to pursue his longtime dream of being a rock guitarist. He was then hired to work at Strum Music School (currently Lonestar School of Music) and over the course of five years taught thousands of lessons to students ranging in ages from five to sixty. During this time he casually bought a banjo on Craigslist because of his long-time love of banjo maestro Béla Fleck. Dissatisfied with the lack of modern banjo transcriptions available on the internet, he started transcribing popular banjo songs and shooting video lessons to accompany them. This was the beginning of HappyBanjoDude, which now has over 42,000 YouTube subscribers and 6 million total channel views. In addition to maintaining his website, Max also moonlights as an ecstatic dance DJ and plays lead guitar for local singer-songwriter Lucas Wolf. He specializes in teaching all styles of guitar and banjo and has one goal for his students: to have as much fun as possible.

Max Wolpert

RRMA Faculty, Boulder

Fiddler, composer, and storyteller Max Wolpert conjures up monsters and myth where the traditional, classical, and theatrical meet. Drawing from tradition both musical and mythological, Max makes music inspired by stories from around the world.  Whether built upon the verve and bounce of an Irish jig, the endearing asymmetry of a Welsh pipe tune, or the drive of a Virginian breakdown, Max’s pieces are crafted with taut detail and a flair for the dramatic honed over years as a pit musician, conductor, and orchestrator for theatrical productions. Max’s first viola concerto, Giants, wields the unsung hero of the orchestra to call up singing harps, dancing stormclouds, and a fiendishly ticking clock inexorably counting down to the end of the world. His two string quartets, Myths and Song of Four, serve as pedagogical tools to introduce the classical musician to traditional forms and improvisation, and in performance bring forth an Irish war goddess, two enchanted ravens, a young girl with dreams of piracy, and a ferociously contrapuntal chase through a twisting labyrinth. Max is dedicated to music education and a passionate advocate for new music.  He teaches privately and at workshops throughout New England and the Midwest, and serves on the faculty for the Rocky Ridge Music Center.  Max encourages his students and collaborators to explore stories and traditions that spark the imagination, and to bring forth the outlandish, the macabre, and the magic inherent in music. For more information, please visit www.maxwolpertmusic.com.

Stacy Price

Guitar Instructor

Stacy has a Bachelor’s of Music in guitar and a Master’s Degree with a focus in youth and college development. She works with kids and adults of all ages and skill levels. She specializes in bringing students from beginners to intermediate players and beyond. Using interactive and relatable music lessons, Stacy gives her students a tangible experience guiding them into having fun as they learn. This provides her students with a sense of confidence as they grow in their abilities. Stacy is a singer/songwriter who enjoys writing from the heart, utilizing her rock, pop and acoustic music skills. With the release of her 2nd album ‘Paper and the Queen’, you can catch her on Apple, Spotify or where ever you stream your music.

Teague Bechtel

RRMA Faculty, Denver

Teague Bechtel, a guitarist, music educator, and composer from the Orlando, Florida area, received his Doctorate of Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado in 2018. Formerly the guitar instructor at Casper College in Wyoming he is a patient and enthusiastic educator. Through his doctoral research he has become one of the leading scholars on legendary jazz guitarist Grant Green with speaking engagements, published articles, and online lessons based on the language and improvisational approach of Green.

Now a resident of Denver, Teague recently released an album of all original jazz compositions entitled, “Back at the Roadhouse” (2018). The album has been reviewed in the L.A. Jazz Scene and featured on radio stations nationally including KUVO. The Teague Bechtel Trio performs regularly in the Northern Colorado region. He is also an in demand freelance artist working in multiple genres including, Jazz, Blues, Rock, and Pop.

Teague has performed with such jazz artists as Antonio Hart, Jon Faddis, Marty Morrell, Drew Zaremba, Kenyon Brenner, Jeff Rupert and saxophonist Jack Wilkins.

Find out more at www.teaguebechtel.com

Tim Cuffman

RRMA Faculty, Boulder & Denver

Timothy Cuffman has over a decade of violin and viola teaching experience with students of all ages and levels of experience. He is committed to the progress of his students as well as their enjoyment and appreciation of music. Cuffman has served as a teaching assistant at the University of Iowa, where he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Violin Performance and Pedagogy. Previously, he was a teaching assistant at Ohio University while completing masters degrees in Violin Performance and Upper String Pedagogy. Timothy has been on faculty at the Athens Community Music School. He has also presented on topics related to string playing and teaching at the American String Teacher Association 2017 National Conference in Pittsburgh and the American Viola Society 2018 National Conference at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. An active performer, Cuffman is currently Assistant Concertmaster of the Cheyenne Symphony and a member of the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the Colorado Symphony and Orchestra Iowa.

Jamie Wolf

Family Choir Conductor

Jamie Wolf serves as El Sistema Colorado’s Senior Teaching Artist, and has led the organization in its work using music as a tool for social change with under-served youth since 2013. She was recently selected to be one of 45 musicians worldwide that make up the 2020 cohort of the Global Leaders Program.  Jamie will participate in an innovative nine-month Executive Graduate Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship, Cultural Agency, Teaching Artistry, Civic Leadership, and Organizational Management as well as two international fieldwork experiences.

Since 2009, Jamie has taught choral and general music at a variety of public schools in the Denver area, worked as Assistant Director of the Transitions ensemble of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, and taught private voice and piano lessons. Prior to moving to Denver, Ms. Wolf worked at The Music Place, a community music school in San Jose, California, and at Partners in School Innovation, a non-profit organization dedicated to education reform.

​When Ms. Wolf is not teaching, she can be found spending time with her family, reading, and exploring the outdoors. Her musical life has also consisted of conducting the Highlands Church Choir, performing around the Denver area as a singer/songwriter, as well as singing with event bands and providing demo vocals for local songwriters.  Ms. Wolf graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in music education from Northwestern University. She is currently working on her Dalcroze studies and pursuing an Applied Credential from the Dalcroze School of the Rockies.

Brittany Bonner

Oboe/English Horn Instructor

Brittany Bonner is a freelance oboist based in Boulder, Colorado. She has performed with the Colorado Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Boulder Philharmonic, and Waco Symphony Orchestra. Bonner was featured as a soloist in 2016 with the Baylor Symphony Orchestra for winning the school of music’s Concerto Competition. Currently a master’s candidate at the University of Colorado Boulder, she performs with Pearl Street Winds, the resident graduate woodwind quintet. Prior to her endeavors in Colorado, Bonner graduated cum laude from Baylor University, where she was named the Presser Foundation Scholar, and had a full private teaching studio of young oboists in the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX area. Along with her passion for music, Bonner enjoys hiking and playing board games with friends.

Chris Potter

Flute Instructor

Dr. Christine Potter has performed in London, Paris, Mexico City, Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Washington D.C., and many other cities in the U.S. In March 2020, Chris will be a featured performer at the 2nd International Low Flutes Festival in Tokyo Japan. 2020 will be her 7th year directing a Low Flutes Choir at the James Galway Festival in Switzerland.

A passionate teacher, Chris has published many books to help her students learn basic skills and, have some fun music to play. Her students have been in the Boulder Youth Symphony, CU Honor Band, and performed at state, national and international events.

Daniel Nester

RRMA Faculty, Denver

Daniel Nester begun studying the bassoon at the age of 12 in Israel, where he finished his Bachelor of Music degree in the Tel Aviv University, under the guidance of Richard Paley, Mordechai Rechtman, and Gadi Ledderman. Daniel then studied with Judith Farmer at the University of Southern California for his Masters, there winning the 1st place award in the solo competition, and the 2nd place award in the outreach chamber competition. Upon graduation, Daniel won the position of Principal Bassoon with the Israel Chamber Orchestra where he played, recorded CD’s, and toured Europe and South America. Daniel moved to Boulder in 2014 to study for a Doctorate degree in Performance & Pedagogy at CU Boulder with Yoshiyuki Ishikawa. For the last two summers Daniel has been the Bassoon teacher and chamber music coach at the CU High-school Summer Academy, as well as the principal bassoon player of the Arapahoe Philharmonic orchestra. Daniel has won many awards and competitions, performed recitals and recorded for the radio both in the US and in Israel, has participated in prestigious summer festivals like the Aspen festival, and is a much sought after orchestral player in Israel, performing often with all professional orchestras there.

Katy Wherry

Flute Instructor

Kellan Toohey

RRMA Faculty, Boulder

Clarinetist Kellan Toohey is an avid performer whose varied career includes recitals and solo appearances, chamber music, teaching, and orchestral playing. He holds a DMA from the University of Colorado and his teachers include Daniel Silver, Bil Jackson, and Jon Manasse.

An active orchestral player, Mr. Toohey currently holds the positions of Principal clarinetist in the Boulder Chamber Orchestra and Associate Principal Clarinetist in the Fort Collins Symphony, Wyoming Symphony and Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra. He has performed across the US, Europe, and in Asia, and recently recorded his first solo cd, entitled Scenes from Home, premiere recordings of new music by Colorado composers.

Kellan has received numerous awards, including winning 2nd Prize in the International Clarinet Association’s Young Artist Competition (2013 Assisi, Italy), 1st Prize and audience choice award in the University of Colorado Ekstrand Graduate Performance competition, 1st Prize in the University of Northern Colorado Concerto competition and Angie Southard Performance Competition, and was also the winner of the Colorado College Summer Festival and Greeley Chamber Orchestra concerto competitions. In November 2016 he made his recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall in New York City.

In addition to his performing and teaching work, Kellan enjoys active involvement in his church, composing music, reading, hiking, and spending time outdoors.

Kimberly Brody

RRMA Faculty

Kim has lived in Boulder since 2001. She moved here from Chicago, where she played in numerous orchestras throughout the whole metro area. She taught at North Park University and Valparaiso University, as well as private students in her home. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, and continued her studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and in Cleveland with John Mack, principal oboist of the Cleveland Orchestra. She currently serves as Principal Oboe of the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra and 2nd Oboe of the Boulder Chamber Orchestra, as well as performing in a freelance capacity with various groups across the Front Range. In addition to her musical activities, Kim serves on the St. Olaf College Alumni Board, has a passion for health and nutrition on both the physical and spiritual level, and is an avid Colorado Rockies fan!

Michael Williams

Flute Instructor

Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for his “sweet but potent birdsong,” Denver native Michael Williams can be heard on stages across the Front Range. Michael was appointed as Second Flute/Piccolo with the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs in 2019 and performed as Acting Second Flute with the Colorado Symphony for the 2017-2018 season. Michael continues to perform with the Colorado Symphony as a frequent substitute as well as with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic and Boulder Philharmonic, including performances as guest principal. He has performed with the Lexington Philharmonic in Kentucky, Island City Opera and Opera Parallel in the Bay Area, and the Bloomington Chamber Singers in Indiana. Michael was an orchestral fellow with the National Orchestral Institute, a featured artist for three seasons with the Switchboard New Music Festival in San Francisco, and has performed with the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra. He is an active teacher in the Denver area and has an enthusiastic group of private students ranging in all ages and levels. He is co-director of the Mile High Flute Benders community flute choir, a Practicing Artist at his alma mater the Denver School of the Arts, and often performs with Englewood Arts Symphony Spotlight school presentations. While a graduate student at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music Michael was an Associate Instructor of Flute where he taught private flute lessons for non-majors and led group technique classes for undergraduate performance majors. He holds a Master of Music from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Michael studied with Thomas Robertello, Tim Day, Catherine Payne, Alexa Still, and Catherine Peterson.

In addition to his performance activities Michael is an experienced fundraiser and arts administrator. He has held positions with the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Conservatory, A Child’s Song and the Studio, Colorado Symphony, Denver Young Artists Orchestra, and the Colorado Ballet. Michael is currently serving as President of the Colorado Flute Association.

www.mwilliamsflute.com