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Current StudentsAll students below are current students studying horn at the Jacobs School of Music. If you would like to see a student's biography, please either click on their name or scroll down to the bottom of this page.
Aaron Kibbler is a member of the Jacobs School of Music class of 2011, studying horn performance with Jeff Nelsen and trying to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. He started his horn playing in 3rd grade at Huckleberry Hill Elementary School in Brookfield Connecticut on a single F horn purchased by his Mom at a flea market for $12.50, though he has long since moved on to a much more reliable instrument. Aaron went to high school at Vernon Hills High School in Vernon Hills Illinois and played in the Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra. While in high school, Aaron was a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra from 2005-2007. His most memorable experiences with the CYSO were touring Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. While at IU, Aaron has performed with the Philharmonic orchestra, the Symphony orchestra, and the Wind Ensemble.
My name is Andrew Dorrell, and I've lived in central Indiana all my life. I have a deep interest in the indie and instrumental rock scene. I also love indie and foreign films. When I'm not playing or listening to music I like reading and studying political philosophy and economics. I loved my HS marching band and played in the Dayton (OH) Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. My family has an IU tradition. All my siblings graduated from IU and we're big Indiana basketball and Bobby Knight fans. If you know who Efrim Menuck or Ayn Rand is, we'll probably be fast friends. Someday I want to live in Montreal or Austin, Texas. But Indiana will always be my home.
Ashley Cumming is looking forward to beginning her Doctorate of Music as part of Studio Nelsen. A native of Cambridge, Ontario, Ashley earned her Masters in Performance with Kurt Kellan at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia and her Bachelor of Music in Performance with Nina Brickman in Waterloo, Ontario. Ashley has performed in workshops such as the Banff Festival Summer Music, Windfest Chamber Music Workshop and in 2008 studied and performed in Austria at the International Sommerakademie, Austrian Masterclasses and privately as part of the Johann Strauss Foundation scholarship. Upcoming engagements include a 2010 performance of Mozart 3 with the Sooke Philharmonic in British Columbia. In her free time, Ashley enjoys great friends, cooking, dance, golf and running.
Blair Sordetto is a sophomore at Indiana University studying Horn Performance and Arts Administration. She is originally from Seattle, WA where she was a member of a Japanese drum group called Seattle Matsuri Taiko for seven years. She also enjoyed performing with the Seattle Youth Symphony orchestra for several years. Blair has been a member of Washington's All State and All Northwest Bands and Orchestras and competed and placed in several local and state solo and ensemble contests. Besides classical music, she also enjoys classic rock and Earth Wind and Fire. She spent the summer interning in the administration of the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera companies. In her free time, she enjoys socializing with friends, attending opera and symphony concerts, eating at different ethnic restaurants, and drinking Starbucks.
Brad Shaw is from Carmel, Indiana and is majoring in Music Education at Indiana University. He attended Carmel High School where he participated in the Marching Band, Concert Band, and Symphony Orchestra. While at Carmel, Brad won the BOA Grand National Championship with the Marching Band in 2005. He also had the privilege of traveling to St. Petersburg, Russia with the Symphony Orchestra in 2006 to play in the International Music Festival. While in high school, Brad also participated in the Indianapolis Youth Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Charlie Conrad. In the summer of 2008, Brad was on the Carmel High School Marching Band staff as a music technician where he helped lead the band to the best music caption award at the 2008 Grand National Cahmpionships. In the summer of 2009 Brad plans to march with the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps. Outside of music, Brad enjoys camping and hanging out with his friends.
Danielle Kuo-LeBlanc grew up in Scituate, Rhode Island where she picked up the French horn at age 10. She has held positions in the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and Wind Ensemble (2002-2006), the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra (2004-2005), and the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra (2005-2006). She has also participated in solo and ensemble state competitions from1999 to 2006. Danielle placed into the All-Eastern Festival of 2005. She has performed for both operas and summer pops orchestras throughout New England. She is currently enrolled at Indiana University’s Jacob School of Music where she is pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Music with Professor Myron Bloom.
Although born with a bi-lateral sensory neural hearing loss in both ears, Eric Gilfus has successfully embarked on a career as a music performance artist. At the age of six he began studying piano and within a year, Eric performed his first piano recital. He picked up the horn when he was 12, and since then, has continued a strong relationship with this instrument. Eric Gilfus has performed with many professional ensembles including the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, the American Horn Quartet and has performed with professional Central Florida wind ensemble Southern Winds. Eric has also been invited to perform with such diverse groups such as colleges, churches, basketball teams, theater companies and PGA events. He is a proponent of new music, and has been asked to debut the horn solo "Estudio" by composer Omar Surillo. In addition Eric has been working to incorporate horn into other styles of music not typical to the horn such as Folk rock and Jazz. Eric also enjoys performing in outreach programs at hospitals, hospices, libraries and schools, and has had experience working as a clinician, coach, and as a theory teacher at the Eastern U.S. Music Camp in upstate New York as well as local high schools. Currently pursuing a Masters of Music Performance at Indiana University in Bloomington, Eric is a scholarship student of Jeff Nelsen who is a Yamaha Performing Artist and member of the Canadian Brass. Eric has also studied with professional hornists such as Aaron Brask, Richard Chenowith, Ben Lieser, Kevin Reid, and David Johnson.Prior to entering Indiana University, Eric was accepted to and attended Stetson University in Deland, Florida, as well as the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, both well known for their exceptional music programs.As an alumnus and lifelong member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, Eric Gilfus proudly calls himself a Sinfonian.
Ericka Tyner is the former Lecturer in Horn and Music Theory at the Petrie School of Music at Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. A Converse alumna, she also holds a MM from the University of Alabama and is a member of the Rho chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda. Ericka particularly enjoys collaborating with colleagues in chamber music ensembles, and has performed as a member of the Papageno Woodwind Quintet and is a winner of the 2004 Southeast Horn Workshop Horn Quartet Competition. She has also spent summers at the Brevard Music Festival, in residence at the Performing Arts Institute, and performing throughout England, Prague and Vienna with the Converse College Woodwind Quintet. While in South Carolina she also performed with the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Ericka is delighted to be a student again! Besides the horn, she also enjoys movies, knitting funky scarves, watching football and learning all she can about wine.
Everett Burns is from Richardson, Texas, and he is studying horn performance with Jeff Nelsen. He graduated from J.J. Pearce High School, where he played principal horn in the Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra. He received the Sarah Betz Scholar Award for Musical and Academic Excellence, which gave him the opportunity to be the featured soloist with his high school at the Meyerson Symphony Center. Everett was also a member of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra program, where he has played in both the Philharmonic Orchestra and the Wind Symphony. He was a member of the Texas All State Symphony Orchestra in 2007. At Indiana, Everett has been a member of the Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra, the Brass Choir, and the freshman horn ensemble. Outside of music, Everett has worked as a math tutor, as a bookseller at Barnes and Noble, and as a host at an Italian restaurant in Richardson, TX. He enjoys reading, playing video games, Frisbee, and watching TV and movies. He is also an Eagle Scout.
Jamie Leff grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, being privileged to live less than an hour from the Chicago Symphony! She played principal horn in Buffalo Grove High School’s Symphonic Band and Symphony Orchestra. She also participated in Marching and Pep Band, Jazz Band, District 214 Honors Band and Orchestra, auditioned into IMEA district VII Band and Orchestra, and received the Director’s Award in Band. Outside of school, she was a part of Midwest Young Artists Symphony Orchestra and played in her MYA quintet, “The Brass is Half Full.” She also had the incredible experience of playing in a masterclass for Dale Clevenger and playing under Gustavo Dudamel’s direction in the Chicago Youth Music Initiative. She adores playing and listening to chamber music, playing basketball, meeting new people, working (at Ravinia!), and loves the CSO! Jamie is in the class of 2013 at The Jacobs School of Music and is studying horn performance with Jeff Nelsen.
My name is Jeffrey Lynch and I was born and raised in Carrollton, Georgia. In fifth grade I was given a sheet asking if I wanted to be in the band despite the fact that I knew little about band and classical music. I chose to play the French Horn because to me it looked like the most beautiful instrument. After three years of mediocrity, I was faced with the choice of whether or not I should continue band into high school. My close friends influenced me to continue into marching band. I enjoyed marching band and performing with my friends so much that I decided to get private lessons from Richard Deane, the third horn of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and within two years I was the principal third horn of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. The next year I was accepted into both the New England Conservatory of Music and the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Today I continue to study at the Jacobs School of Music with the legendary Myron Bloom.
Jesse Clevenger started on the trumpet in the fourth grade. By the eighth grade he was certain that he would rather play that horn. After his first time participating in the Marrowstone Music Festival in Washington State (now an annual trip for him) he realized that Music Performance was the life at which he wished to try. During his years in high school, he played at school in any ensemble that he could: the chamber, wind, and symphony orchestras. Outside of school, he joined Midwest Young Artists Youth Symphony (where he also participated in chamber groups), and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra with which he was lucky enough to tour with in South America during the summer of 2009. Jesse is excited that music has taken the front seat in his schooling and always hopes to do a lot of playing. Some of his other interests have been swimming, hiking/mountain climbing, wrestling, and cooking (pizza and stir-fry mostly). He is a big movie buff and desires to speak multiple languages at some point.
Jenny Smoak is in her third year of studying Horn Performance with Jeff Nelsen at Indiana University. While at IU, Jenny has participated in Indiana University’s Concert Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, Festival Orchestra, Symphonic Band, Horn Choir, Brass Choir, and various chamber ensembles. A native of Raleigh, NC, Jenny performed for 4 years with the nationally award-winning Triangle Youth Brass Band, playing the British-style Eb Tenor Horn. She attended the NC’s Governor’s School for Music, and UNCG Summer Music Camp for 6 years before coming to Indiana. Since arriving in Bloomington, she has participated in Jeff Nelsen’s Fearless Audition Training Camp, the Raphael Mendez Brass Institute, and the International Horn Society Symposium over the summers. Outside of playing the horn, Jenny has been named a “Founders Scholar” by Indiana University (2009) and is also an avid participant and leader in Cancer Awareness community events throughout Bloomington. Jenny is known for her spunky and energetic personality and enjoys spreading the joy of music and life with everyone she meets! This Fall, she will be studying abroad in Vienna, Austria with Wolfgang Vladar of the Vienna Philharmonic. Upon arriving back to IU in the Spring of 2010, Jenny plans to study Natural Horn with Richard Seraphinoff and reunite with her Studio Nelsen-ers!!
Originally from Macomb, Illinois, John Reem earned his Bachelor of Music degrees in Horn Performance and Music Composition at Western Illinois University. His primary horn teacher has been Dr. Randall Faust. While at WIU, he participated in Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band and Marching Band. John has also performed as Assistant Principal Horn of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony Orchestra, Principal Horn of the Lausitzer Opernsommer (Germany) and Section Horn of the American Wind Symphony Orchestra. He has also appeared twice as a soloist with the WIU Symphony Orchestra, performing Lars-Erik Larsson’s Concertino for Horn and Strings and Robert Schumann’s Konzertstück für vier Hörner. John is a member of the International Horn Society and has attended the symposia in Cape Town (2006) and Macomb (2009). He also is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. In his spare time, John enjoys watching movies, in addition to following college and professional sports. He is an avid fan of the Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers, in addition to the Chicago Cubs and Minnesota Twins. He also enjoys University of Michigan sports, and is learning to love Indiana University sports as well. On a personal note, John is extremely proud and excited to begin his Master of Music degree and to be a member of the IU Horn Studio, and is equally excited and blessed to be studying with Richard Seraphinoff.
Kelsey Westvelt is from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and he began playing the horn at age twelve. At the age of fourteen he began studying privately with Mary Fearon in Edmonton. He has won a number of prizes and awards including the Northern Alberta Concerto Competition and second place for brass in the National Music Festival of Canada. He started his BM – Performance degree at IU last fall (2007).
Kira Lowe was born and raised in Richardson, Texas where she attended J.J. Pearce High School and was a member of the Wind Ensemble. While living in the Dallas area, she was also a member of the Metropolitan Winds. Kira began her college career at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. While at TCU, she was a member of the Wind Ensemble, the Symphony Orchestra, and in 2005 was principal horn in the Opera Orchestra. Kira earned her bachelor’s degree in music education from Sam Houston State University in 2008. While at SHSU, she was principal horn in both the Wind Ensemble and the Symphony Orchestra, which toured China in 2007. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Kira was awarded the Betty Frizzell Music Award and Scholarship and was also a selected participant of the SHSU Honor’s Recital. Outside of school, Kira was a 2005 Southeast Horn Workshop Horn Quartet Competition finalist, as well as a finalist in the 2006 Mid-South Horn Workshop University Solo Competition. In addition, Kira was a participant in the 2007 Assisi Music Festival in Assisi, Italy, and is third horn in the Lake Charles Symphony Orchestra in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Kira is also an active private horn instructor, having several years of teaching experience in Texas schools in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex as well as the greater Houston area.
Lauren Migalski, 19, is a native of Southern New Jersey. This year she will be a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree. She discovered her love for the French Horn in tenth grade, whilst at Southern Regional High School. Lauren has been a proud participant of Bravo Brass, located in Philadelphia, under the instruction of Paul Bryan and Barry McCommon. After graduating from IU, Lauren plans to attend Officers Candidate School. Hopefully a serving in a military band will follow. Outside of her busy music life, she enjoys spending time in the sun, sitting on the beach, watching lots of movies, walking and taking LOTS of pictures. Lauren is an intense animal lover that talks incessantly about her puppies, Remi and Bailey, and her mouse, Pilot.
Michael Lombardi, a native of Long Island, NY, began playing horn at the age of 9. Michael’s pursuit of a professional music career began in 2005 when he was named a member of the New York All-State ensembles, an honor he received again in 2006. In 2007, Michael was named to the MENC All-Eastern Honors Orchestra, playing second horn. During his high school years, he led a very busy performing schedule, playing with the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York, Long Island Youth Orchestra, and Nassau Suffolk Performing Arts Wind Symphony as principal horn. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music Degree in Performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, which he will complete in the Spring of 2011.
Mira Bacon has played horn for six years and will be a freshman at IU this fall. She studied with members of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and has participated in OMEA All-State Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra, and attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute for two summers. Aside from practicing, Mira enjoys playing soccer and planting flowers. Although born and raised a Buckeye fan, Mira is excited to become a Hoosier!
Paula Kinev attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts and graduated in 2005. While growing up in New York City she was principal horn of Children's Orchestra Society's Young Symphonic Ensemble and a finalist in their Discovery Concerto Competition. Her beloved wind quintet from high school, Ten Red Shoes, won a spot in the Young Musician's Competition of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center with the first movement of the Nielsen Quintet. She was also principal horn of the Jazz Standard Youth Orchestra and a proud member of the ISO Symphony. Upon graduation from high school she received the Sam Jablonsky Memorial Award to a Brass Player. Paula graduated from Syracuse University with a BM in Performance and minor in Music History in May 2009. While at SU she was a member of numerous ensembles, most notable being (of course) the SU Wind Quintet and SU Symphony Orchestra. She enjoyed her various forays in chamber music, new music, pit orchestras, and recordings. As part of the Renee Crown Honors Program, she completed a Capstone Project- Natural Horn Performance in the 19th Century, which included a lecture recital on natural horn in fall 2008. While at SU Paula was in the studio of Jon Garland, assistant principal horn SSO. In addition to Kopprasch Paula also enjoys books, film, good food, good drink, traveling, and The Office.
Peggy Moran holds the positions of 2nd horn in the Lafayette Symphony and 4th horn in the Richmond (Indiana) Symphony. She also plays as an extra horn with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Dayton Philharmonic, the Indianapolis Symphony, and the Louisville Orchestra. She has performed guest solo and chamber recitals at Franklin College and on the Young Artist Series at IUPUI. Peggy graduated from the University of Chicago in 1999 with a BA in Music, with a thesis paper in music theory. She completed an MM in 2001 and a Performer’s Diploma in 2002 at Indiana University. Her main teachers at IU were Michael Hatfield and Richard Seraphinoff, and while in Chicago she studied with Ethel Merker. Peggy has done additional studies with Doug Hill of the University of Wisconsin; Lucinda Lewis of the New Jersey Symphony; and Edwin Thayer, formerly of the National Symphony. She is the private French horn Instructor at Marian University, in Indianapolis, and teaches private students in the Indianapolis area. Since 2007, she has been a board member of the Kendall Betts Horn Camp. Peggy has been taking yoga classes for many years, and currently takes one or two vinyasa yoga classes a week.
Rachel Bennett is a freshman performance major from Evansville, IN studying with Prof. Seraphinoff. She really enjoys the music of J. S. Bach, especially the Unaccompanied Cello Suites. Rachel also plays piano, organ, viola, electric bass, and most other brass instruments. Rachel listens to mostly ska and rock music, but likes discovering new tastes in music. Outside of music, Rachel enjoys spending time with her boyfriend, reading and writing poetry, learning about philosophy and theology, and learning about languages. She follows Premier League (go Liverpool!), Bundesliga (Werder Bremen!), and World/Euro Cup (Hup, Holland, Hup!) football very actively. Above all, she takes pride in a vibrant sense of humor and zeal for life and God.
Becky McLaughlin is from Columbia, Maryland and a 2006 graduate of Hammond High School. She took lessons with Bruce Moore, the 4th horn of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, for almost 9 years. While attending HHS, she was a member of the orchestra, marching band, wind ensemble, and jazz band. She played with the Greater Baltimore Youth Orchestra for 6 years and traveled to Russia, Finland, and Estonia with the ensemble. Becky made the Maryland All-State Band for 2 years (seated 3rd then 1st) and the Maryland All-State Orchestra for 3 years (seated 4th for a year and 1st for 2 years). In 2005 she won the Columbia Orchestra Concerto Competition and was delighted to have the opportunity to play with them. As a Music Education major at Indiana University, she is a 3rd year member of the Marching Hundred and part of the Undergrad Staff. She has also played with the Symphony Orchestra for 2 semesters as 3rd chair and then 1st chair. Outside of music, Becky plays lacrosse, tennis, ultimate frisbee and volleyball, runs track, and swims.
Ryan O’Connell hails from Bethlehem, PA, where he got his start in music from an early age growing up in a musical household. He started playing the piano at the age of four and the Horn at the age of seven. At age ten, he started a career as a professional actor, touring with the national Broadway touring company for the show “Ragtime.” His music studies continued throughout his life, leading him to perform in many ensembles including holding the principal horn position for the Honor Band of America in 2006. He has also continued working in musical theater, both on stage and as a music director and accompanist. Ryan has also experienced success as a composer. His first published piece, “Variations on ‘Deck the Hall,’” was selected as an Editor’s Choice in its first year of publication by J. W. Pepper and remained a top seller on the website for the entire season. He has written many other songs in the pop genre and is currently working on a collaborative recording project. Recently, he was fortunate enough to be selected to play piano with a touring pop/rock band called "Stop on Green," as part of a summer missions project with Campus Crusade for Christ. Ryan will be a junior this year at IU. He is planning on graduating in 2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in Horn performance with a minor in conducting. Please visit his brand new website/blog at www.ryanomusic.com.
William Dickinson was principal horn with the Greater New Haven Youth Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra at the Neighborhood Music School in Connecticut. He was also a member of the NMS Premier Wind Quintet. In the summer of 2007, Will attended the Interlochen Horn Institute and performed with the Boston University Tanglewood Institute’s Young Artists Orchestra. He has also been a guest artist with the Choate Rosemary Hall Chamber Orchestra, accompanying them on two trips to Europe. Throughout high school, he attended the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven, CT where he studied music theory and composition and performed in numerous ensembles both on the horn and as a singer. Will began his musical career at age 8 as a member of the Trinity Boys Choir of Trinity Church on the Green, New Haven, CT: his first instrument was the piano. He has participated in master classes with Willie Ruff, Michelle Perry, Thomas Bacon, Julie Landsman, Daniel Katzen, Randall Faust, Julie Schleif, and Jason Snider, among others. Will made All-State twice in Connecticut and was the principal horn in the 2008 CT Southern Region High School Music Festival Orchestra. He won the 2007 Neighborhood Music School Concerto Competition and was one of three finalists for the 2007 Stamford Symphony Instrumental Scholarship Competition. In addition to his music, Will is an enormous cinema lover and adores the comedy of The Simpsons and Seinfeld. He looks forward to being a part of Professor Bloom’s studio.
Zach Glavan began his studies on the horn in Grapevine, TX in 2000. From 2003-2007 he studied with Karen and Dennis Houghton, owners of 'Houghton Custom Horns.' From 2003-2004 Zach was a member of the Youth Orchestra of Greater Fort Worth. He later joined the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra from 2004-2007 under the direction of Richard Giangiulio, Principal Trumpet of the Dallas Symphony (1969-1993). Zach was awarded the principal position from 2005-2007 and had the honor of touring China in 2007. He is working towards a BM in Horn Performance and is studying under Jeff Nelsen of the Canadian Brass. Some of his favorite orchestras include the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (under Simon Rattle). In his free time Zach likes playing soccer, golfing, and watching movies (only the good ones... Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Fight Club). Zach is a huge tea lover and thinks everyone else should be too.
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Jeff Dunford is a native of Ohio, having earned his undergraduate degree in music education from The Ohio State University. He has just finished his masters studies in music education at Bowling Green State University, and is pursuing doctoral studies in horn performance with Myron Bloom, at Indiana University. Mr. Dunford has studied the horn since fifth grade, and been taught by Charles Waddell, Larry Lowe, and Andrew Pelletier. His budding performance career has taken him from playing in community orchestras to making his Carnegie Hall debut in the summer of 2008 with the National Wind Ensemble under H. Robert Reynolds. Mr. Dunford and his wife, Janey, are proud parents of four beautiful children.
