Biographies

JOHN LINDSEY, Concertmaster
Concertmaster of ONNY and SUNY Distinguished Professor of Violin Violinist John Lindsey holds the State University of New York's highest rank, the Distinguished Service Professorship, bestowed upon him in 2009. Previously, he was awarded the 1993 President's Award and the 2003 SUNY Chancellor's Award, both for Excellence in Teaching. In a teaching career that has spanned nearly 40 years, he taught in the Dallas (TX) Public Schools, Baylor University, The University of Kentucky, and The Crane School of Music, where he has been teaching since 1981. Mr. Lindsey is in great demand as a soloist, chamber musician, and Concertmaster. He is currently the Concertmaster of both the Orchestra of Northern New York and the Eleva (VT) Chamber Players. He is the first violinist of the Aurora String Quintet and is the violinist of the Potsdam Piano Quartet and Potsdam Baroque Ensemble. In the summer, John performs at the Woodstock (VT) Mozart Festival and the Interlochen Adult Chamber Music Camp in Michigan. He has been on the faculty of the Canna (Italy) Festival, the Stage de Musique in Marcillat, (France), the National Music Camp (MI), the Ameropa Chamber Music Festival in Prague, and the International Chamber Music Festival and Tour 2008 in Bulgaria. During the summer of 2011, he gave a violin recital and master classes at the Shenyang Conservatory in the People's Republic of China. Along with his wife Amornrat, he is the founder of the Thailand Chamber Music Festival, which takes place annually during the Winter Holidays.

ELAINE DEWAR, Principal Violin II
Born in 1961, Elaine Dewar grew up in British Columbia, starting piano lessons at five and violin lessons at ten. After earning a Bachelor of Music in 1985 and a Master of Music in 1990, she has enjoyed a career of professional playing and teaching. Symphonic engagements include the Orchestra of Northern New York, the Harrisburg Symphony and the Bronx Opera Orchestra. She has also performed with a variety of artists including Joni Mitchell, Johnny Mathis, Vic Damone, the Electric Light Orchestra, and Luciano Pavarotti. She has taught violin and piano lessons throughout Canada and the United States and is the current Music Director for the Backwater Orchestra based in Lake Placid.

HAROLD LEVIN, Principal Viola
Harold Levin has led a varied career as violist, conductor, composer and teacher. He holds a high school diploma from the Interlochen Arts Academy, BM from Ball State University, MM from the University of Cincinnati, and DMA from Rutgers University. After performing in the viola section of the Louisville Orchestra for four seasons, Dr. Levin began a career of college teaching and conducting that has involved positions at the University of Nebraska, University of Memphis, Western Illinois University, and Ball State University. An active performer, Dr. Levin has played viola with the orchestras of Cincinnati, Omaha, Memphis, Long Island, Orlando, and Jacksonville, and has performed and conducted at summer festivals in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Michigan, Colorado, and Vermont. He is currently a working musician in San Francisco, California.

JAMESON PLATTE, Principal Cello
Jameson Platte maintains an active career both as a performer and a teacher. He is currently a member of the critically acclaimed Axis Quintet, the Conservatory Quartet, Dou 92, principal cellist of the Glens Falls Symphony and assistant principal of the Allentown Symphony. Mr. Platte works extensively as a clinician, guest conductor and cello coach, performs as a soloist and maintains a large private studio. A frequent recitalist in New York City, he has been featured in Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Lincoln Center and the 92nd St. Y, among others. His recitals have been heard throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Mr. Platte is Artist/Faculty at New England Music Camp and has been a featured soloist with the Jacksonville Symphony, Allentown Symphony, Glens Falls Symphony and the Stokes Forest Festival Orchestra, among others. Mr. Platte's recordings of contemporary music may be heard under the Koch International and Seedmusic labels.

HARRY SCHENAWOLF, Principal Bass
Harry Schenawolf received his master's degree in Music Education from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his doctorate in double bass performance from the University of Colorado. For the past thirty years, he has performed and taught in the United States and in England. While a member of the Arkansas Symphony, he was on the faculty of the University of Arkansas. In more recent years, he has taught in public school, was Adjunct Professor at the University of Vermont and Middlebury College, and a member of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his current teaching load, Harry coaches the bass section of the Vermont Youth Orchestra, plays with the Vermont Jazz Ensemble, and has a private bass studio. Harry has been a member of the Orchestra of Northern New York since 1991.

JILL RUBIO, Co-Principal Flute
Jill Rubio received her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Flute Performance from the University of Southern California, in the studio of Roger S. Stevens. Upon graduation, she was named Outstanding Graduate of the School of Music. Major influences from her studies include James Walker, Mitchell Lurie, Toshio Takahashi and Michel Debost. In addition to performing with the Orchestra of Northern New York, Jill is principal flutist and was a charter member, of Northern Symphonic Winds, and performs in the trio Sweet, Fair & Wise (flute, guitar and tenor voice), and as a soloist and chamber musician in many various combinations. Ms. Rubio is adjunct professor of flute at The Crane School of Music, and is the band director at A. A. Kingston Middle School in Potsdam. She is on the executive board of the New York State Band Directors Association, flute editor for the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Manual, and an All-State Adjudicator. In addition to playing flute for the Orchestra of Northern New York, Jill serves as the Personnel Manager.

GALE SCHABERG, Co-Principal Flute
Gail Schaberg is a former member of the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra and the Lansing Symphony. Her flute teachers included William Hebert of the Cleveland Orchestra and Russell Friedewald of Michigan State University. A graduate of Michigan State University, she is certified in music education and special education. Ms. Schaberg earned her Master of Music Education degree at the State University of New York at Potsdam where she later taught courses in music for special learners. She was the chair of music education at The Crane School of Music and the National Chair for Exceptional Learners of the Music Educators National Conference (MENC).

ANNA HENDRICKSON, Principal Oboe
Anna Hendrickson is Assistant Professor of Oboe at The Crane School of Music. She holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the Eastman School of Music where she studied with Richard Killmer, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin- Madison, as a student of Marc Fink. She has been a member of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra (Ontario) and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and is currently a member of the summer Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon. She performs now with the Potsdam Wind Quintet, the Orchestra of Northern New York, and the Northern Symphonic Winds.

ALAN WOY, Principal Clarinet
Dr. Alan Woy joined the faculty of The Crane School of Music in 1971. He taught studio clarinet, woodwind techniques, and conducting, and was also a chamber music coach and band director. Since his retirement from Crane in 2004, he continues to lead an active musical life as a performer, teacher, and conductor. He recently relocated to Rochester, N.Y., where he teaches in the New Horizons Adult Education program, Eastman Community Music School, and has a private studio. Dr. Woy has been principal clarinet with the Orchestra of Northern New York since it began 20 years ago. He continues to perform with Northern Symphonic Winds and the Potsdam Clarinet Quartet.

CAROL LOWE, Principal Bassoon
Carol Lowe teaches courses in bassoon performance, reed-making, repertoire, pedagogy, and orchestral studies at The Crane School of Music. She is a native of Brevard, North Carolina and has performed throughout the United States and Europe. While living in the Atlanta area Dr. Lowe performed frequently with the Atlanta Symphony, including a 1996 tour to Carnegie Hall and subsequent recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 6. She has toured and recorded in London, Paris, and Munich with various ensembles and was a member of the Taft Quintet, first-prize winners of the 1989 Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition. As an active member of the International Double Reed Society, Dr. Lowe has presented recitals at their annual conferences in Austin, Muncie, Ithaca, Provo, and Norman. Her degrees are from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Lowe is principal bassoon for the Orchestra of Northern New York and is a founding member of the Aria Reed Trio.

JOHN ELLIS, Principal Trumpet
John Ellis, trumpet, has appeared with a variety of musical organizations and artists, including the Canadian Brass, U.S. Army Brass Band, Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montreal, Calgary Philharmonic, the Moody Blues, as well as Grammy Award winners Diana Krall, Tony Bennett and Anne Murray. He performs frequently with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, and has been heard internationally on several broadcasts by the CBC and PBS. He is Principal Trumpet of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, is a member of the Capital BrassWorks and the Potsdam Brass Quintet. Dr. Ellis holds the position of Professor of Music at The Crane School of Music.

DOUGLASS LYONS, Principal Horn
Douglas Lyons is a freelance Horn player based in New York City. New York City principal horn credits include Barge Music, Philadelphia Boys Choir, Savoy Opera, Moscow Radio Orchestra Tour, Philly Pops Spain Tour, The Little Orchestra, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Lion King, Phantom, and Curtains. In addition he has served as principal horn with Pheonix Symphony, Aspen Corale Society, California Philharmonic, Pasadena Pops, Orange County Master Corale, and extensive film and TV scoring. Other Horn credits include the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Grammy Awards Orchestra, New York City Ballet, New Jersey Symphony and Symphonica Toscanini Tour. Over the years Douglas has had the honor of working with great conductors such as John Adams, Aaron Copland, James DePriest, Jerry Goldsmith, Helmuth Rilling, John Williams, Michelle Plausons and Zdenek Macal among others. Recordings: California Philharmonic Winds (Serenades of Mozart and Strauss), Zagreb Philharmonic (Scheherazade, J. Strauss' Waltzs, Djao u Selu), California Philharmonic (KMOZART), I Solisti di Zagreb (J. S. Bach Cantatas and Mozart programs), Novi Sad Chamber Orchestra (Britten Serenade and Brahms Horn Trio).

MARK HARTMAN, Principal Trombone
Mark Hartman is currently in his 26th year at The Crane School of Music, State University of New York at Potsdam where he is currently serving as the acting associate dean. During twenty-five years of studio teaching, Mark has been a soloist with bands and orchestras throughout the northeast and presented numerous recitals and clinics at major conventions, universities and colleges. He has performed or presented at five International Trombone Festivals, numerous New York State School Music Conferences, The Summit Brass Music Festival, and The Skyline Brass Music Festival. Mark is the principal trombonist with the Orchestra of Northern New York, Northern Symphonic Winds, and Potsdam Brass Quintet and performs regularly with the Burlington Choral Society Orchestra. Mark has performed with the Ottawa Symphony, Vermont Symphony Orchestra, The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, The Brevard Music Center Festival Orchestra, the Upstate New York Trombone Ensemble, Skyline Brass Ensemble and Summit Brass. He can be heard on two Potsdam Brass Quintet CDs entitled, "La Rejouissance" and "The Art of Brass: the compositions and transcriptions of Arthur Frackenpohl."

CHARLES GUY, Principal Tuba
Charles Guy, tuba and euphonium, teaches tuba, euphonium and is the director of the Crane Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble. He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from Michigan State University and the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Akron. Active as a soloist, recent conference and workshop performances include the 2004 United States Army Band Tuba-Euphonium Conference, the 2003 Northeast Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference and the 2002 and 2003 Symphonia Tuba and Euphonium Workshops. He performs with the Potsdam Brass Quintet, the Orchestra of Northern New York and Northern Symphonic Winds and has played the Rochester Philharmonic, Syracuse Symphony and Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestras. In 1999 he won the Artist Division of Leonard Falcone International Solo Competition and has since served as an adjudicator for the competition. In the summers he is the tuba and euphonium instructor at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. He is a clinician for DEG Music and Willson Tubas.

SCOTT LAVINE, Principal Timpani
Scott LaVine is Professor Emeritus at The Crane School of Music where he has conducted all of the wind bands, taught courses in conducting, music education, technology, theory, and functional piano, and served as coordinator of technology. Previously, he was department chair and director of bands at Norwood-Norfolk Central School and directed bands at St. Lawrence University. Scott conducted concert and jazz bands for the Crane Youth Music Summer Program and served as CYM Director from 1998-2003. He is a past-president of the New York State Band Directors Association, the Crane Faculty Association, and the Crane Alumni Association and serves on the NYSSMA Technology Committee. He is a co-founder and conductor of Northern Symphonic Winds, an instructor for the Technology Association for Music Educators (TI:ME), and an adjudicator for FiestaVal of Richmond, VA.

JAMES A. PETERCSAK, Principal Percussion
James Petercsak is a percussionist of a vast and eclectic variety of musical styles based in the New York/New Jersey area. In the summer of 2008 James was in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada performing with the festival orchestra under the direction of Lior Shambadal. In June of 2009, James returned to Banff to perform with an internationally selected group of percussionists under the direction of Steven Schick where he premiered Inuksuit by composer John Luther Adams. James has performed in venues across the United States, Canada, France, Belgium, Germany, and recently Italy where he premiered numerous works for percussion and worked closely with several composers at the SoundSCAPE music festival in Pavia. James received a Master of Music degree from McGill University under the tutelage of Aiyun Huang and Montreal Symphony Orchestra timpanist Andrei Malashenko. While at McGill, James was the recipient of the Schulich Graduate Fellowship Award, the SSHRC Graduate Research Assistantship and performed in internationally renowned contemporary music festivals including Festival International Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques, Musi Mars,, Musi Mars, and the Cool Drummings festival in Toronto, Ontario.

JESSICA SUCHY-PILALIS, Principal Harp
Harpist Jessica Suchy-Pilalis has performed both in the U.S. and abroad as a recitalist and soloist with orchestra. Dr. Suchy-Pilalis holds advanced degrees in harp performance and theory from the Univeristy of Wisonsin-Milwaukee, The Eastman School of Music and Indiana University. She has been awarded a Master Fellowship by the Indiana Arts Commission/National Endowment for the Arts. She toured Greece as a soloist under the auspices of the U.S. State Department, while also representing the U.S. at the international music festival Diethnis Mousikes Hmeres and giving performances on Greek National Radio-Television. She is featured on compact disc releases of new music compositions and on our own recording, Invitation to the Dance.

KIRK SEVERTSON, Principal Piano
Kirk Severtson has been on the faculty at The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam since 2001, where he is musical director for the Crane Opera Ensemble, coaches singers and pianists, and teaches classes in art song repertoire and accompanying. During the summer, he coaches for Lake George Opera (NY) and has previously coached at Opera North (NH), the Opera Theater of Lucca (Italy), the Cincinnati Opera outreach program, the Rising Star Singers festival, and Dorian Opera Theater, and held a fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival in vocal chamber music. He holds a B.A. from Luther College with majors in music, math, and computer science, and M.M. and D.M.A. degrees in piano performance from the University of Cincinnati , College-Conservatory of Music. He appears frequently in recital with both singers and instrumentalists. One ongoing performance project is a choreographed version of Hindemith's Das Marienleben with soprano Judith Kellock and dancer Risa Fujita, which has been given numerous performances from New York City to Hawaii.