Grace Mehm

Oboe

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Grace Mehm holds a Master's Degree in Oboe Performance from the Bob Cole Conservatory of music at California State University, Long Beach.  At the Cole Conservatory she had the privilege of studying oboe and english horn with Carolyn Hove.  Her Bachelor's Degree, also in Oboe Performance, is from the Hartt School of Music of the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut.  While there she studied with oboist Humbert Lucarelli and was a longtime member of the Cheshire Symphony Orchestra.  She has extensive experience teaching private and group lessons, including lessons in reed making.

Ben Tevik

Clarinet, Saxophone, Flute
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Ben Tevik is an accomplished freelance performer and private instructor. He earned his Master’s degree in Clarinet Performance from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach where he studied clarinet with Dr. Michael Grego. While studying classical clarinet, Ben also spent his university years studying jazz, playing saxophone in the Bob Cole Conservatory Concert Jazz Orchestra and playing clarinet in jazz/Dixieland combos. He
earned his Bachelor’s degree in Clarinet Performance from the University of Arizona, where he had the privilege of studying under Prof. Jerry Kirkbride. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and has toured across mainland China. Ben is comfortable performing and
teaching across all genres of music, and he enjoys using that knowledge and experience to educate the next generation of young performers.

Jim Youngstrom

Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Trumpet & Oboe
Jim has been a member of the Brian Setzer Orchestra for 13 years. He has appeared on many TV shows, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno , Conan OBrien, and David Letterman. He has performed with Diane Schuur, Bobby Caldwell, Cab Calloway and Jerry Lewis.  Jim has a Bachelor's degree in clarinet performance from Cal. St. Univ. Northridge,  has been teaching woodwind students for over 30 years, and has had much success teaching Saxophone, Flute, Bass Clarinet, Trumpet and beginning Oboe. Jim has a wealth of knowledge and experience in many different styles of music and will tailor the lessons to the student's wants and needs.
David Diaz
Clarinet
David Diaz is an accomplished freelance clarinetist who tours the United States extensively. Born in Los Angeles, he was musically educated at Hamilton Academy of Music and at the University of California, Los Angeles where he studied clarinet performance and chamber music with the acclaimed studio musician and centaur recording artist Gary Gray. His musical mentor and confidant was the late Kalman Bloch, the legendary retired principal clarinetist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (1937-1981). To his credit, David Diaz has performed in the major concert halls in the US: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (Los Angeles), Carnegie Hall (New York), the Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Royce Hall (Los Angeles), Hollywood Bowl (Los Angeles) and many countless others. In addition to being an active recitalist, he enjoys giving lectures and master-classes in the inner-city schools as a way to promote the arts in communities where the alternative is a life of crime and decadence. Recently, he finished working on a project with the Super-Now band, lending his classical expertise into this band's fusion sound (myspace.com/supernow). Also, David collaborated in a short-film (music by Mahesh Balasooriya), which will be screened at the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals, respectively. His credits include Kenny Burrell's Ralph Bunch Suite http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=32272. Currently, David resides in Los Angeles, California.
En espanol: David Diaz es un clarinetista con una destreza musical y apasionada cuando viene a la musica clasica. Nacido en Los Angeles, fue educado en La Academia de Musica, Alexander Hamilton y en la Universidad de California, Los Angeles con el gran clarinetista de peliculas y clarinetista principal de la Orquesta de Camara de Los Angeles , el maestro Gary Gray. Tambien, estudio con Kalman Bloch, legendario clarinetista principal (retirado) de la Orquesta Filarmonica de Los Angeles (1937-1981) quien fue un guia para David. En su joven carrera, a viajado por todo los Estados Unidos y Mexico. En los Estados Unidos, su musica lo a llevado a los grandes escenarios de la musica clasica como: Carnegie Hall de Nueva York, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Royce Hall y muchos mas. Como un concertista activo, le encanta dar charlas sobre la cultura y la musica clasica y dar clases de musica a muchachos en escuelas de bajos recursos, dandoles una alternativa a esa vida de crimen y decadencia que estan rodiados. Recientemente, termino un proyecto musical con la banda popular Super-Now, prestando su conocimiento musical al sonido nuevo de esta bandawww.myspace.com/supernow. Tambien, David termino grabacion en una pelicula de corto metraje, musica por Mahesh Balasooriya, que sera presentada en los siguente Festivales de Peliculas: Sundance (E.E.U.U) y Cannes (Francia). En la actualidad, David vive en la ciudad de Los Angeles, en los Estados Unidos.
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