Listed in Alphabetical Order: Sey Ahn, Honor Orchestra of America Assistant Conductor Born in 1986 in Seoul, Korea, Sey Ahn began playing the piano at the age of three. After immigrating to America at the age of ten, she consistently won accolades at numerous competitions such as the National Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, Music Teachers National Association Piano Competition, International Young Artist Piano Competition and the Ylda Novik Piano Concerto Competition, to name a few. As a result, she concertized extensively, performing recitals as well as soloing with various orchestras including the Georgetown Symphony Orchestra and the Frederick Orchestra. From 2004-2008, Ahn attended the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, where she received a Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Performance under the guidance of Professors Alan Chow and James Giles. During her years at Northwestern, Ahn also studied conducting with Maestro Victor Yampolsky, Professor and Director of Orchestras at the Bienen School. In 2008, Ahn moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance at the Thornton School of Music of the University of Southern California. While studying piano with Professor Norman Krieger, Ahn was accepted into the private conducting class of Professor Larry Livingston, Chair of the Department of Instrumental Conducting and Music Director of Thornton School Orchestras. Subsequently, in the fall of 2010, she was admitted as one of two orchestral conducting majors in the Master’s Degree program. Ahn has taken part in master classes and workshops led by renowned maestros Kurt Masur, Carl St. Clair, Jorge Mester, Helmuth Rilling, Mei-Ann Chen, Alexander Mickelthwate and Larry Rachleff. This past November, Ahn was among a cohort of nine conductors chosen from a field of one hundred applicants to enroll in the Kurt Masur Conducting Seminar at the Manhattan School of Music. She was subsequently chosen by Maestro Masur to conduct in the final concert. Selected to participate in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra International Conducting Symposium in 2010, Ahn was mentored by Maestro Alexander Michelthwate and Larry Livingston. Ahn has also participated in the California Conducting Institute, where she worked with Don Thulean, formerly head of the American Symphony Orchestra League Conducting Program, and Maestro Jon Farrer, Music Director of the Bakersfield Symphony in Bakersfield, California. Commencing in 2010, Ahn began serving as an assistant conductor to Maestro Larry Livingston with the Idyllwild Summer Music Festival Orchestras. Continuing that role in the summer of 2011, Sey also managed both the Idyllwild Summer Symphony and Chamberfest Orchestras. As of fall 2011, she has been appointed as a co-conductor and administrator of the USC Concert Orchestra. Trained from childhood to be a Tae Kwon Do black belt, she is an expert dancer, golfer and tennis player, and has studied flute and voice extensively. Ahn lives in Buena Park, California and carries a demanding teaching schedule. Thomas Akins, Master of Ceremonies, Warren Performing Arts Center Thomas N. Akins, was Principal Timpanist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) from 1965 to 1991, a position that is now endowed and titled in his honor. He then served as the ISO’s Director of Public Relations and Archives until 2007. Akins gave the world premiere of William Kraft’s Timpani Concerto No. 1 in 1984 and has appeared as soloist, guest conductor and narrator with the ISO and other orchestras on many occasions. He is conductor of Carmel Brass, co-host of an arts radio show, an award-winning author, a published composer/arranger and a national sports radio correspondent. His latest book, Behind The Copper Fence: A Lifetime On Timpani, is available at www.behindthecopperfence.com. Joseph Alessi, Honor Band of America Guest Artist Joseph Alessi was appointed Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic in the spring of 1985. He began musical studies in his native California with his father, Joseph Alessi, Sr. as a high school student in San Rafael, California, and was a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony before continuing his musical training at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music. Prior to joining the Philharmonic, Alessi was second trombone of The Philadelphia Orchestra for four seasons and principal trombone of L’Orchestre symphonique de Montreal for one season. In addition, he has performed as guest principal trombonist with the London Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall led by Pierre Boulez. Alessi is an active soloist, recitalist and chamber music performer. In April 1990 he made his solo debut with the New York Philharmonic, performing Creston’s Fantasy for Trombone, and in 1992 premiered Christopher Rouse’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Trombone Concerto with the Philharmonic, which commissioned the work for its 150th anniversary celebration. His most recent appearance with the Philharmonic as soloist was in world premiere performances of Melinda Wagner's Trombone Concerto in February of 2007. Alessi has been a guest soloist with the Lincoln Symphony; National Repertory Orchestra; Colorado Symphony Orchestra; Syracuse Symphony Orchestra; Virginia Symphony; Alabama Symphony Orchestra; Santa Barbara Symphony; South Dakota Symphony; New Japan Philharmonic; Seoul Philharmonic; Orchestra of Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, Sicily; Mannheim National Theater Orchestra; National Symphony of Taiwan; Puerto Rico Symphony; Hague Philharmonic; Helsinki Philharmonic; and the Hartford Symphony. Alessi has also participated in numerous festivals, including the Festivale Musica di Camera in Protogruaro, Italy; Cabrillo Music Festival; Swiss Brass Week; and Lieksa Brass Week in Finland. He was featured in the 1997 International Trombone Festival in Feldkirch, Austria, and the International Meeting of Brass Instruments in Lille, France. He is a founding member of the Summit Brass ensemble at the Rafael Mendez Brass Institute in Tempe, Arizona. In 2002 Alessi was awarded an International Trombone Association Award for his contributions to the world of trombone music and trombone playing. Alessi is currently on the faculty of The Juilliard School; his students now occupy posts with many major symphony orchestras in the U.S. and internationally. He has also given master classes throughout the world and has toured Europe extensively as a master teacher and recitalist. He has performed as soloist with several leading concert bands, including the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point, U.S. Army Band (Pershing's Own), and the U.S. Marine Band (President's Own). Alessi’s discography includes many releases on the Summit record label, including the recent Trombonastics, and a disc with New York Philharmonic Principal Trumpet Philip Smith entitled Fandango; he also recorded New York Legends on the Cala label. His live recording of the Rouse Concerto with the New York Philharmonic can be heard on Volume II of the recent release, An American Celebration, on New York Philharmonic Special Editions, the Orchestra’s own recording label. Three new recordings are scheduled for release in 2007: Return to Sorrento, on the Naxos record label, and two recordings on the Summit record label that feature Alessi with Columbus State University Wind Ensemble and the Imperial Brass Band. In addition, conductor/composer Bramwell Tovey recently recorded a piece written especially for Alessi, entitled Urban Cabaret with Alessi as soloist. Alessi was invited by the International Trombone Association to record a solo disc of newly composed works, which was distributed to the Association’s membership of 5,000 trombonists in early 1999 and is now available as Beyond the End of the Century through Summit Records. Recently, his recording of George Crumb’s Starchild on the Bridge record label, featuring Alessi as soloist, won a Grammy Award for 1999– 2000. Other recordings featuring Alessi are with the Canadian Brass (Sony Classical and Philips Records). Further information about Alessi can be found on his website, www.slidearea.com. Thad Anderson, Sandy Feldstein National Percussion Festival Evaluator Sponsored by Yamaha Corporation of America, Vic Firth and Remo Thad Anderson is a member of the percussion faculty at The University of Central Florida. Active as a solo, orchestral and chamber musician, some of Anderson’s performance credits include the Accidental Music Festival; Victoria Bach Festival; Austin Chamber Music Center; Round Top Festival-Institute; Syracuse Society for New Music; Make Music New York; Winter Park Bach Festival; Days of Percussion in Florida, Texas, Idaho and Oklahoma; the Texas and Florida Music Educators Association Convention; Percussive Arts Society International Convention; Austin, Waco, and Brevard Symphony Orchestras; and as a guest soloist with Conspirare and the Monroe Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, Anderson is highly active in the Percussive Arts Society community, where he is currently President of the Florida chapter. He completed his undergraduate work in Music Education at the University of Central Florida and received his Master of Music degree and Doctorate of Music Arts degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Texas at Austin. Anderson endorses Yamaha, Vic Firth and Remo. Harry D. Blake, National Concert Band Festival Associate Coordinator Harry D. Blake will finish his 50th year of band directing in May of 2013 as Director of Bands at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas. He previously taught