Woodwinds

Jill Pauls

Principal Flute

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Jill Pauls is principal flute of the Oregon Mozart Players and the Corvallis-OSU Symphony, having also made numerous appearances as a soloist with these ensembles. She is also principal of the Eugene Opera Orchestra and has played flute and piccolo as a member the Eugene Symphony for nearly two decades. Jill is a member of several chamber ensembles including Mozart’s Magic Flutes and the Arrieu Wind Quintet, which toured China in 2000. She earned Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Oregon, where she studied with Richard Trombley. She has studied with Trevor Wye in England and has performed in masterclasses for Jean-Pierre Rampal, James Galway, Geoffery Gilbert, John Solum, Julius Baker, Samuel Baron, Robert Dick, Harvey Sollberger, and many others. She twice performed at National Flute Association Conventions. Pauls has been the Instructor of Flute at Oregon State University for nearly 20 years. She also maintains a successful private studio out of which have come several students who have placed in the top five at the State Solo Competition. Previously, she taught college students at the University of Oregon as a graduate teaching fellow. She enjoys spending time and making music with her husband Rod, son Joshua (pianist, percussionist), and daughter Andrea (cellist, pianist).

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Cheryl Wefler

Principal Oboe

2024-2025 Season Sponsor:
Charles and Leslie Wright

Cheryl Wefler regularly performs with the Eugene Symphony, Oregon Mozart Players, Eugene Opera Orchestra and the Eugene Concert Choir, and other groups in Eugene and on the Oregon Coast. She has performed across the country in venues that have included Wolf Trap, Opera at John Jay, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Opera Saratoga, numerous IDRS conventions around the country, premiered a concerto written for her in Colorado, and also a sonata written for her in the UK. She is the owner/operator of Cascade Oboe Reeds and author of “Principles and Techniques of Oboe Reed Adjustment.”

Carol Robe

Principal Clarinet

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Carol Robe is the clarinet instructor at Oregon State University, where she is principal clarinet of the Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra. She is also principal clarinet for the Oregon Mozart Players and Eugene Opera. Additionally, Robe plays clarinet and bass clarinet as a member of the Eugene Symphony and Portland Opera. performs with the Oregon Symphony in Portland. As a soloist with the Oregon Mozart Players, Robe performed the Strauss Duet Concertino with Frank Morelli in 2006 and the Rossini Introduction Theme and Variations in 2004. In 2006 she also performed the Mozart Concerto with the Henan Symphony Orchestra in Zengzhou, China. An active chamber musician, Robe is a member of several Northwest ensembles including the Arrieu Wind Quintet, which toured China in 2000, and the Cascadia Clarinet Quartet, which performed at the International Clarinet Association convention in Denver, Co. in July 2023. She earned a master’s degree in music at the University of Oregon where she studied with Robert Vagner. She also studied with Rosario Mazzeo of the Boston Symphony for many years. When not performing, she enjoys spending time traveling with her husband and hiking in the Pacific Northwest.

Ben Greanya

Acting Principal Bassoon

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Ben Greanya is Principal Bassoon of the Eugene Symphony and Adjunct Professor at Lewis and Clark College. Before moving to the Pacific Northwest, he served as Principal Bassoon with the Annapolis Symphony in Maryland and was Assistant Professor of Bassoon at Gettysburg College. / He has performed as a guest with the Baltimore and National Symphonies, as well as the Washington National Opera. Since moving to Oregon, he has performed with the Oregon Symphony, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and the Portland Opera. / Ben is a member of the Inscape Chamber Orchestra, a Washington DC based contemporary ensemble which has four recordings under the Sono Luminus label, including the Grammy-nominated album, Sprung Rhythm. / Originally from Michigan, Ben holds degrees in music performance from the University of Michigan and New England Conservatory. His principal teachers are Robert Williams, Richard Beene, and Richard Svoboda. / When not playing or making reeds, Ben enjoys exploring the outdoors and spending time with his wife, Dana, in their home in Portland.

Alexis Evers

Flute

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Alexis Evers is currently performing and teaching in Eugene, Oregon, where she performs as principal flute with the Eugene Concert Orchestra and second flute with Oregon Mozart Players. She is also the third flutist/piccoloist with the Rogue Valley Symphony and has performed with Orchestra NEXT (Eugene Ballet Company), Festival Napa Valley's Blackburn Music Academy, and Eugene Symphony Orchestra. An avid performer of new music, she was a 2018 Guest Artist for the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium and was recently a featured performer at the 2018 SEAMUS national conference. In her free time, Alexis enjoys long-distance running.

Kris Klavik

Oboe

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Biography forthcoming.

Ling (Holly) Hang

Clarinet

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Born in Taipei, Taiwan, clarinetist and collaborative pianist Ling (Holly) Hang earned her Master of Music degree from North Texas University. She studied clarinet with John Scott and collaborative piano with Steve Harlos and Berthe Odnoposoff. Holly was a member of the UNT Wind Symphony, the UNT Collegium wind-conducting workshop, and can be heard in the recordings by GIA publications. Prof. Hang joined the faculty at Western Oregon University in 2020. In the following year, 2021, she was hired as a clarinet professor at Corban University and Chemeketa Community College. While teaching in Oregon, she maintains a large private virtual studio in Frisco Independent School District, Texas. Many of her students have earned top chairs in the All-state band (WIBC, TMEA, and ATSSB organization) and solo and ensemble contests. In addition to her clarinet teaching studio, she was a chamber music coach and collaborative pianist for UNT’s ClarEssentials in 2016 and 2018. Holly is known as an international clinician who works with the university around the world. In her home of Oregon, she has given masterclasses at Portland State University and Oregon State University. Internationally, she has coached clarinetists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and The Buddy Clarinet Ensemble in Taipei, Taiwan. In the 2021- 2024 season, Prof. Hang serves as the acting 2nd clarinetist in the Oregon Mozart Players base in Eugene, Oregon. She often subs in the Eugene symphony and Oregon Symphony Orchestra. In 2020, she performed as a guest soloist with Lone Star Youth Winds at Moody Performance Hall in Dallas, Texas. IN 2019, she won the 30th annual Frances Walton Competition. She performed live on the Classical KING FM 98.1 radio and had a weeklong performance tour throughout Seattle, Washington, to promote classical music; she performed in Seattle’s Central Library. In 2018, Holly performed as a guest soloist with the James Bowie High School Wind Ensemble in the Western International Band Clinic in Seattle, WA. She is also an active Lone Star Wind Orchestra member under music director and conductor Eugene Migliaro Corporon. Since 2016, Holly has performed Clarinet recitals in MU PHI EPSILON’s concert series at Dallas Public Library. Holly is an active collaborative pianist throughout Oregon and Dallas/ Fort Worth. In the collaborative piano field, she accompanies the WOU musical production in 2022 and specializes in instrumental works. Prof. Hang plays and endorses Bakcun Lumière clarinets and is a D’Addario artist.

Joseph Hartman

Bassoon

2024-2025 Season Sponsor:
Emma Hartman In memory of Joseph Schmidig

Bassoonist Joseph Hartman joined Oregon Mozart Players as second bassoon in 2015. He is also the principal bassoonist of the Eugene Concert Choir and has performed with other orchestras in Oregon including the Eugene Symphony, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Newport Symphony, Portland Columbia Symphony, and other groups. He earned a Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance from the University of Oregon in 2011 studying with Dr. Steve Vacchi and a Master of Music in Bassoon Performance from Indiana University Bloomington studying with William Ludwig in 2013. In 2011, Hartman attended The Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestra Musicians in Hancock, Maine.


Brass

David Kruse

Principal Horn

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After earning degrees at Yale and at The Juilliard School, David Kruse played Principal Horn in several symphony orchestras in Mexico. He was Principal Horn of the Greenwich Philharmonia and played in the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy for three seasons. He was a member of the Phoenix Symphony for six years, was a member of the orchestra of Santa Fe Opera and was Principal Horn of the Victoria Symphony in British Columbia. Dave plays with the Eugene Symphony where he was Principal Horn for 16 years, and is Principal Horn of Oregon Mozart Players, Eugene Opera Orchestra, the Sunriver Music Festival and Portland Chamber Orchestra, and performed for many years with the Oregon Bach Festival.

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JOnathan Kuhns-Obana

Horn

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Jonathan Kuhns-Obana is currently a member of the Oregon Mozart Players, Eugene Symphony Orchestra, Portland Opera Orchestra, and Eugene Concert Orchestra. Previously, he has held principal positions with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra (Japan), and the Young Musician’s Foundation Debut Orchestra (Los Angeles). In addition, he has performed with a number of other festivals and orchestras, including the Oregon Bach Festival, Fresno Philharmonic, Sunriver Music Festival, and Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. During the day, Jon also works as an administrator at Network Charter School. Jon received his Master of Music from the University of Southern California and Bachelor of Music from Indiana University. His teachers have included Myron Bloom, Eli Epstein, Rick Todd, and James Thatcher.

DavE Bender

Principal Trumpet

Trumpet II

Vacant

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Dave Bender is a freelance trumpet player living in Eugene, Oregon. In addition to playing with Oregon Mozart Players, Dave performs regularly with the Eugene Symphony, the Girl Circus Orchestra, the Fighting Instruments of Karma, the new bohemians, and the Eugene Hard Bop Collective. He composes, arranges, orchestrates, leads bands, and records. He is the trumpet teacher at Lane Community College, the brass coach of the Eugene Springfield Youth Symphonies, and maintains his own studio of 20 trumpet students.

 

Percussion/Keyboard

Ian Kerr

Principal Timpani

Leave of Absence for 2024-2025 Season

Biography forthcoming.

Principal Keyboard

Vacant