The Bands Department at the Denver School of the Arts is proud to have the following musicians working with the students on a regular weekly basis. Thanks to the Bands Parent Group for subsidizing this ongoing effort.
Greg Harris - Middle School Music Theory, High School Music Theory – World Music, Middle and High School Percussion, Jazz Combo, Jazz Band.
Multi-Instrumentalist Greg Tanner Harris leads the “Greg Harris Vibe Quintet,” and is a member of Bluegrass legend Pete Wernick’s Flexigrass, hip-hop/jazz/soul group Future Jazz Project, 9th & Lincoln Orchestra, and SuperCollider. Among his extensive work as a studio musician, he has released 5 albums- Greg Harris Vibe Quintet “Open Space,” “Frames Live,” Prospector “Memory of Pilots” featuring trumpeter Ron Miles, and “World Citizen” with West African master xylophonist Aaron Bebe Sukura. The Greg Harris Vibe Quintet’s new album ‘Glass Gold’ was recently released on Dazzle Records.
He received an M.M. in Music Performance, Percussion at the University of Colorado, Boulder and a Music Education and Music Performance Bachelor of Arts degree from Fort Lewis College. Greg is a private instructor and freelance musician in the Denver/Boulder area and has performed nationally and internationally.
Josh Quinlan - High School Music Theory, Middle and High School Saxophones, Jazz Combo, Jazz Workshop Orchestra.
Joshua Quinlan is a professional jazz musician and music educator based out of the state of Colorado. He has shared the stage with many jazz great including Louis Bellson, Bob Brookmeyer, Fred Wesley, Natalie Cole, Claudio Roditi, Steve Wilson, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Greg Gisbert, Jim McNeeley, Brad Goode and others. Quinlan holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Colorado where he was a DownBeat Award recipient and received numerous grants for recording and international touring. Recent performance highlights include performances at the Peru Jazz Festival en Lima, Telluride Jazz Celebration, Vail Jazz Party and concerts with the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra. As well, he is the Co-Director of the Telluride Jazz Celebration All-Star Program, a Practicing Artist Clinician at the Denver School of the Arts, Director of the Dazzle Recording label and Director of Education for The Gift of Jazz. For more information please visit www.joshquinlan.com
Ryan Durfee – Music Theory, Special Accompanist.
Ryan has a degree in Piano Performance from Northwestern College, St. Paul, MN, and has been the Music Director at Bear Valley Church in Lakewood, CO since 2003. In 1999, he won the NWC Concerto/Aria competition by performing Liszt’s Piano Concerto #1. In addition to performing solo piano, he has been involved as a music director or accompanist in numerous broadway musicals and productions including Meet Me in St. Louis, Broadway’s Children (2008), You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Annie, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Godspell, The Pajama Game, and Broadway Comes to Denver. Ryan has had the opportunity to travel around the world directing vocal groups, choirs and music ensembles in Eastern Europe, Africa, and South America.
Catherine Peterson - Middle and High School Flutes.
Catherine Peterson is second/assistant principal flutist of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and was principal flutist with the Central City Opera. In 2011-2012 she will also be performing with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for part of the season. During the summers Cathy enjoys playing with the Strings Festival in Steamboat Springs, CO, and the Chintimini Chamber Music Festival in Oregon. Recently, Cathy was a semi-finalist for the New York Philharmonic, and has also played in the semifinals for the Heida Hermanns International Woodwind Competition, the 2003 Houston Symphony Ima Hogg National Young Artist Competition, and the 2000 Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York. She placed second in the 1999 National Flute Association Young Artists Competition in Atlanta. She received a Master of Music from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Her teachers include Jeff Zook, Leone Buyse, Tim Day, and Walfrid Kujala. As part of the Ivy Street Ensemble, you can hear Cathy in concert in Denver and on the Colorado Public Radio. To read more about Cathy and all her musical endeavors, go to her website www.catherinepeterson.com.
Abby Raymond – Middle and High School Clarinets
A native of upstate New York, clarinetist Abby Raymond is currently Acting Principal Clarinet of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and has held the position of Second/E-flat/Assistant Principal Clarinet with the CSO since 2001. She has a Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music and did graduate studies at Rice University and Boston University. Previously Abby was a member of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Santiago, Chile, and has also performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Pops Orchestra, Colorado Music Festival and Central City Opera. Abby has been a part of the Strings Music Festival, Loon Lake Live, and Chintimini Chamber Music Festivals, in addition to performing chamber music in the Denver area. Formerly the clarinet teacher at the University of Denver, Abby currently maintains a private teaching studio and teaches clarinet sectionals at the Denver School for the Arts.
Miriam Kapner - Middle and High School Double Reeds, Oboe, Middle and High School Woodwind Quintet Coach
Oboist Miriam Kapner’s playing has been described by the New York Times as “a sensitive exploration of the oboe's singing character and its technical armory”. She has performed with chamber music groups in many prestigious settings, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Jordan Hall, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival in Connecticut. As an orchestral musician, she has performed with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York City Opera, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, Boulder Philharmonic, Colorado Pro Musica, Fort Collins Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic, Glens Falls Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, Stamford Symphony, Bangor Symphony, Symphony Silicon Valley, Ballet San Jose, and the Monterey Symphony. Her musical endeavors have also taken her to Germany, Israel, and Hawai’i. Additionally, she served as Principal Oboe with the Sarasota Opera in Florida. She has served on the faculty of the Luzerne Music Center in the Adirondacks, and the Bronx House of Music in New York City. Ms. Kapner has been heard on NPR as part of Studio 360, discussing the art of oboe reed making.
She is a founding member of Stretto, a trio of oboe, guitar, and violin. She holds a Bachelor of Music from New England Conservatory, and a Master of Music from Manhattan School of Music. Her past teachers include Stephen Taylor, Laura Ahlbeck, and Matthew Sullivan. When she’s not whittling reeds or playing the oboe, she might be found hiking 14,000 foot mountains, attempting to garden, or taking landscape photographs with a film camera.
Anthony Zator – High School Trumpets
Internationally acclaimed composer/trumpeter Anthony Zator has continued to perform with ensembles such as the Arapahoe Philharmonic, the Aurora Symphony, and the Aurora Symphony Brass Quintet. In 2009 Anthony joined the horn section of House of Soul, a world-touring gospel band, and most recently has become a member of Soul School, an R&B/funk band that performs in and around Colorado. Other ensembles you can hear Anthony perform with include the Otone Brass Band, Balans, and Conjunto Colores.
Anthony also leads the ensemble AZQ, a modern jazz quartet who’s most recent accomplishment involves the highly praised recording “Birth of a Rose.” Released in 2010, this CD’s title composition was comissioned for Anthony to compose for jazz quartet and nine dancers by the Allegro Dance Company of Littleton and was premiered at the Denver Botanic Gardens in May of 2009. Other compositional arrangements of Anthony’s were performed by the Shadow Theatre in their production of Christmas of the Angels in 2009, as well as the Aurora Symphony in their 2009 Christmas concert.
After completing a Bachelors of Music in classical trumpet performance from DePaul University, Chicago, Anthony began teaching in the Aurora Public School system, and has continued to do so along with teaching at Denver School of the Arts and the More Than Music studio in Aurora. To learn more about Anthony, visit www.anthonyzator.com.
Stephen Dombrowski – High School Tubas
A native of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, Stephen Dombrowski is Principal Tubist of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in tuba from Boston University, where his teachers were Gary Ofenloch and Toby Hanks. Mr. Dombrowski continued his studies with Daniel Perantoni at Indiana University.
In addition to his performances with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Brass Quintet, Stephen has performed with the Central City Opera, Colorado Music Festival, Denver Municipal Band, and Friends of Chamber Music. He has also performed with the Summit Brass, Grand Teton Music Festival, Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, Lafayette, IN Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Civic Orchestra, and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.
Mr. Dombrowski has served on the faculty of the Rafael Mendez Brass Institute, Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Metropolitan State College of Denver, Colorado Christian University, and the Music at Maple Mount Festival. Stephen has also been a clinician for the University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado State University, the International Tuba-Euphonium Association, Lakewood, CO High School, and Denver School for the Arts.
Stephen can be heard on “A Summit Brass Night” with the Summit Brass, “Laude, the Music of Howard Hansen” with the Philharmonia A Vent, and on Colorado Public Radio’s live broadcasts of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Dombrowski currently resides in Littleton, CO, with his wife, Angela, and two children. Aside from tuba, Stephen enjoys woodworking, Red Sox baseball, and spending time with his family. Please visit him at www.stephendombrowski.com.
Teresa Carroll - Middle and High School French Horns