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GROSSMONT SYMPHONY WOODWIND QUINTET
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The Grossmont Symphony Woodwind Quintet is the resident
woodwind quintet of the Grossmont Symphony Orchestra at
Grossmont
College
. It's two-fold mission is to serve
San
Diego
's
East
County
community through performances of
chamber music at local venues, in addition to performing
educational concerts at Junior and Senior High Schools
throughout our
San Diego
’s East County
community. As principal members of the Grossmont Symphony
Orchestra's woodwind section, they also assist the music
director of the Grossmont Symphony Orchestra in coaching
members of its woodwind sections, in addition to mentoring
their inside stand partners in rehearsals/performances.
It's varied performing repertoire includes chamber music
suitable for serious chamber music concerts, to educational
performances, to lighter music for social events.
Concert Information below!
View a movie file of the GSWQ in concert by clicking
here!
Listen to a sound
file of the GSWQ in concert by clicking
here! |
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Kay Van Tassell, flute |
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Kay
began playing the flute at the age of nine. She attended
Westmont College in Santa Barbara, where she was a soloist
with the Westmont College Symphony Orchestra. She also
attended San Diego State University, where she was principal
with the Wind Ensemble. She has also performed with the
Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra, the San Diego Lyric
Opera, and in numerous churches throughout the San Diego
area. Kay has been principal flutist with the Grossmont
Symphony Orchestra since 1987. She has appeared as concerto
soloist several times performing Telemann’s Concerto for
Flute and Recorder in E minor, Honegger’s Concerto da
Camera, Poulenc’s Babar the Elephant, Mozart’s
Concerto for Flute and Harp K. 299, Telemann’s
Fantasia for Unaccompanied Flute No. 8 in E minor and
Kennan's Night Soliloquy. She resides in La Mesa
with her husband, Ken, and their fourteen-year-old daughter,
Melody. |
Mike Gaby, oboe |
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Mike is a
native-born San Diegan. He began studying oboe at the age
of 15, and attended San Diego State University (SDSU) where
he studied under Peggy Michael, whom he credits as his most
influential teacher and mentor. Michael has performed with
the SDSU and USD Symphony Orchestras, the San Diego Chamber
Orchestra, the San Diego Opera Ensemble, the Tijuana Opera,
the Pro-Musica Ensemble of Ensenada, and various chamber
music groups around Southern California and Mexico. He has
held the position of principal oboe of the Grossmont
Symphony Orchestra for over 10 years and has been featured
as soloist several times, most recently in the American
premiere of Michael McGlynn’s Silver River. In
addition to the oboe, Michael also plays all four baroque
recorders (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), and has
performed throughout San Diego on these instruments. |
Bob Barnhart,
clarinet |
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Bob
studied
with Daniel Magnusson, Mel Warner and Kalman Bloch. In 1968,
Bob won the San Diego Musical Merit Competition, and the San
Diego Symphony Young Artists Competition, appearing as
soloist with the San Diego Symphony in the Mozart
Clarinet Concerto. Also in that year, he won the La
Jolla Civic Orchestra Young Artists Competition, appearing
as soloist with the LJCO performing the Debussy Premiere
Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra. From 1975-1984, Bob
performed with the San Diego Symphony, primarily as its Eb
Clarinetist. During its 1984 season, he was the principal
clarinet of the San Diego Symphony "Pops" orchestra. During
this time, he also performed with the San Diego Opera and
San Diego Ballet orchestras. Bob has been the principal
clarinetist with the Grossmont Symphony Orchestra and a
member of the Grossmont Symphony Wind Quintet since 1998.
Bob has appeared as a soloist with the GSO in 2001,
performing the "Spring" movement of Lawrence Ashmore's
Four Seasons for Clarinet and Orchestra, in 2005,
performing the Mozart Clarinet Concerto and again in
2006, performing the Copland Clarinet Concerto. This
season he will be appearing a soloist with Rebecca Basilio
in Schubert's Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (The Shepherd on
the Rock). Bob is also actively involved in chamber
music as a member of the San Diego Chamber Music Society. |
Arnold Barron,
bassoon |
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Arnold is a native of Southern
California growing up in the Los Angeles area. His musical
career began at the age of 9 where he started playing the
clarinet in his elementary school orchestra. In Junior High
at age 13, he was asked if he would like to try learning to
play the bassoon. Arnold continued with the bassoon through
high school and college. He completed his Bachelor of
Science degree at California Polytechnic University, Pomona
and currently works in the area of marketing for a local
biotechnology company in North San Diego County. Throughout
college and after, Arnold has had the opportunity play
bassoon with many musical organizations including the
orchestras of Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State Fullerton,
Cal State San Bernardino, the Los Angeles Korean
Philharmonic Orchestra, the Downey Civic Light Opera, the
Ontario Civic Light Opera, and the Palomar Symphony
Orchestra. Arnold has been the GSO’s principal bassoonist
since 2006. |
Monica Palmer,
French horn |
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Monica has played French horn on three
continents, to varying effect -- from her native
southwestern England, where she began playing horn at age
10, to southern Okinawa, during her husband's Navy tour of
duty there. After 8 months of lessons in England from a
member of the BBC Light Opera orchestra she moved with her
family to an area of upper New York State with no local horn
teachers. However, the family, through the efforts of
her father (an accomplished amateur flutist, pianist and
arranger) had become a performing musical
ensemble providing valuable experience in playing chamber
music, especially woodwind quintets, as well
as standard solo works for horn. With other family members,
she also participated in community symphony and opera
orchestras. A job change moved the family to Lenox,
Massachusetts, where, at ages 15, 16 and 20 she had the
extraordinary opportunity of being accepted as a student at
the Tanglewood summer music festival, there receiving
orchestral and chamber music coaching from principals of the
Boston Symphony and, as a member of the student orchestra,
being occasionally conducted by Leonard Bernstein, Charles
Munch and Pierre Monteux.
Pursuit of an academic
college career led to a degree in music theory. Monica then
continued to play horn in Berkeley, California,
where, during a 15-year period, she was an associate with
the Berkeley Symphony as well as principal of the Berkeley
Opera orchestra, Trinity Chamber Orchestra, and Prometheus
Symphony, and a member of the Horizon Woodwind Quintet. In
the San Diego area she has continued to participate in a
number of amateur and professional ensembles and teaches
horn privately. For the past several years she has been a
piano student of Cynthia Darby. Her horn teachers include
Willem Valkanier, Ward Fearn, Stuart Groningen and Arthur
David Krehbiel. Monica has been the GSO's principal
horn since 2000. |
Next Concert by the GSWQ:
For
more information, please call the Grossmont College Music Department
Office at: (619) 644-7298.
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