James Vail, professor of choral and church music, has been on the faculty at USC since 1961. He has conducted the USC Concert Choir and Chamber Singers at both national and divisional conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and Music Educators National Conference (MENC), on frequent tours of the western United States, and in western Europe in 1985. He is former dean of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Guild of Organists and former president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Choral Conductor's Guild. He has been lecturer-adjudicator at national church and choral music festivals and workshops and a contributor to the Choral Journal. Dr. Vail is organist and choirmaster at St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Westwood, presenting an annual series of major choral-orchestral works. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and USC. V - Z
Allan Vogel, oboe, is one of the most versatile soloists performing today. He has appeared with the Seattle Symphony, with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra on numerous occasions and with the Marlboro Festival Orchestra under Pablo Casals. He has been featured artist at the Santa Fe, Aspen, Mostly Mozart, Marlboro and the Chamber Music Northwest festivals, as well as a guest soloist at the New England, Berea, Oregon and Madeira Bach Festivals. In addition, Mr. Vogel has appeared with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. As a founding member of the baroque ensemble Musical Offering, Allan Vogel has performed at the Frick Collection, 92nd Street Y and Carnegie Recital Hall in Minneapolis' Orchestra Hall and on major series in San Francisco, Dallas, Phoenix, Houston, Chicago, Buffalo, Toronto and Cleveland. He holds advanced degrees from Holy Names College and USC. His extensive discography includes recordings for RCA, Angel and Nonesuch with such artists as Peter Serkin, Helmuth Rilling and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra under Gerard Schwartz. With Musical Offering, Mr. Vogel has recorded all-Telemann, all-Vivaldi and all-Bach albums for Nonesuch Records. Currently the principal oboist of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Mr. Vogel received his doctorate from Yale University.
Since 1985, Fred Vogler has worked as a recording engineer for the music and film industries. With an emphasis on acoustic and orchestral music, Vogler has served as an engineer for classical music releases on such labels as Sony Classical, Telarc International RCA Victor, Koch International, Harmonia Mundi USA, Sierra Classical and Klavier Records. Last year, he and fellow USC graduate Keller Coker founded RCM Records. As a sound reinforcement engineer for a number of live concerts and festivals, he recently served as the orchestra mixer for Barbra Streisand's 1994 World Tour "The Concert." Additionally, he has provided recording and post-production editing services for broadcast programs including the Los Angeles Philharmonic's radio concert series and Chorus America's "The First Art" for National Public Radio and American Public Radio. Vogler's credits as a feature film sound engineer include Touchstone Pictures' Sister Act and Sister Act II, What's Love Got To Do With It? and Paramount Pictures' Leap of Faith. A native of Southern California, Vogler attended Pomona College in Claremont where he studied music theory and mathematics before receiving a bachelor of science degree from USC's School of Music, and a master of arts degree from USC's Annenberg School for Communication.
Following a music-filled childhood in Kentucky - his father was his band director - Jim Walker graduated with honors from the University of Louisville and went on to play in the United States Military Academy Band at West Point. He subsequently studied with Harold Bennett and eventually won the associate principal flute position with the Pittsburgh Symphony in 1969. Eight years later he became principal flutist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and began working simultaneously in the recording studios for jazz/pop sessions, television and motion pictures. In 1980, Jim formed Free Flight, a jazz/classical quartet, resulting in four Tonight Show appearances, eight recordings and lengthy annual tours. Jim resigned his position with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in order to allow more time for the quartet, for solo concertizing and for seminar presentations. Jim is flute program coordinator at USC.
Michele Weir, lecturer in the Jazz Studies Department, is also on the faculty of California State University, Long Beach. She was previously on the faculties of the Phil Mattson School and Spokane Falls Community College, where she taught vocal jazz classes and jazz piano, harmony, improvisation and arranging. As a member of the vocal group, "Phil Mattson and the P.M. Singers," Michele appeared as singer and arranger for their two albums, including the Grammy-nominated Night in the City. As a pianist, she has toured with Bobby Vinton, and her arrangements are published with Hal Leonard, Jensen Publications and the U.N.C. Jazz Press. She is currently in demand as a clinician and adjudicator and serves as co-chair of vocal jazz for the International Association of Jazz Educators.
David Weiss, principal oboist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1973, was born in New York City in 1947. He started piano lessons at age three with his mother, Marcia Neukrug Weiss, and then the oboe at age 10. He played in the Meremblum and YMF Debut Orchestras and, cutting his scholarship studies at USC short, became principal oboist with the Metropolitan Opera National Company in 1965. He went on to hold first chair positions in the West Point Military Academy Band, Pittsburgh Symphony and National Symphony before returning to Los Angeles. As a soloist, Mr. Weiss has appeared several times in Carnegie Recital Hall, at New York's Caramoor Festival, Avery Fisher Hall and the Kennedy Center. His first concerto performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic was in 1962 at age 15. Mr. Weiss taught at Vassar College and Duquesne University and is now on the music faculty at USC.
David J. Wilson is an associate professor of choral and church music and conductor of the Concert Choir. He is a graduate of University of the Pacific and the University of Illinois and is a fellow of the Berkshire Music Center, Tanglewood. He was participation conductor of the first Vienna Choral Conductors Symposium and has been guest conductor-clinician for national high school, college, church and community choir festivals and honor choirs. His performance editions and translations include works by Johann Adolf Hasse, J.S. Bach, Monteverdi and Bruckner. Dr. Wilson is director of the Long Beach Bach Festival, of the Camerata Singers and director of music at Riviera United Methodist Church in Redondo Beach. He was on the board at the Vienna Institute of Music and is a past-president of the California State American Choral Conductors Association.
Richard J. Wingell, associate professor of musicology, is a specialist in medieval music and the history of music theory. He has presented papers and published articles on medieval music theory, tropes and sequences, and troubadour songs, as well as editions of medieval treatises on music. He has also published a music appreciation text and a guide to writing about music. He teaches graduate courses in medieval music and research methodology and has led seminars on topics such as medieval chant, medieval secular song, the history of music theory before 1750, and the cantatas of J. S. Bach. Professor Wingell is a member of the American Musicological Society, the Medieval Academy of America and the Medieval Association of the Pacific.
Terry Woodson, lecturer in the Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television Program, attended the University of Tulsa. He presently works with many arrangers and composers in the film and television industry. In 1980, Terry started his own music preparation service and composes and prepares music for many television and film productions while also managing libraries for singing artists.
Gary Woodward, flutist, has performed as principal flutist with virtually all of the major orchestras in the area including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony and the Pasadena Symphony. He regularly performs as principal flutist for the Los Angeles Music Center Opera and Joffrey Ballet and holds faculty positions at USC and Occidental College. He has taught at the Aspen Music School, the University of California, Santa Barbara, Pomona College and the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts. Mr. Woodward is actively recording for motion pictures and television, notably as flute soloist for the film, New York Stories, as first flute on Godfather III, on Murder She Wrote, Heat of the Night, and seaQuest, and cartoons such as the Animaniacs and Tiny Toons. He has performed for over a dozen musicals including Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera and is a soloist annually at the Oregon Bach Festival and the Los Angeles Bach Festival. He is a founding member of the mostly-new music ensemble XTET. He has released two albums: Poem: Works for Flute and Piano with pianist Brooks Smith and The Complete Flute Sonatas of J.S. Bach. Mr. Woodward holds degrees in music from USC and Chapman University where his principal teachers were Roger Stevens, Arthur Hoberman and Edna Comerchero. He also studied extensively in the master classes of Julius Baker, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Marcel Moyse and Maxence Larrieu.
Suli Xue, violinist, received his early training from his father. After graduating from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1982, he was selected for the position of solo violinist and concertmaster of the Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China. As a member of the solo artist ensemble of that orchestra, he toured throughout China and performed frequently on radio and television. Since his arrival in America in 1986, Mr. Xue has received enthusiastic acclaim for his recitals and solo performances with orchestras. He has also been invited to participate as soloist and in chamber music concerts at the Tanglewood Festival, the Grand Teton Music Festival and the Centre d'Arts Orford Festival in Canada. He has frequently been a juror in competitions. In 1990, Mr. Xue graduated from the USC School of Music, after completing studies with Professor Alice Schoenfeld. He has served as a member of the San Diego Symphony from 1990 to 1992 and of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1992. Professor Xue joined the violin faculty at USC in 1993.
Nancy Yamagata began cello studies in Los Angeles with Eleonore Schoenfeld at the age of 10. She holds a degree in music education from USC where she was awarded the alumni association award for the outstanding graduate of 1978. Ms. Yamagata has concertized extensively as a chamber musician with the Young International Trio, which won first prizes in the 1974 and the 1975 Coleman Chamber Music Competition. In 1986, she was awarded the SHAR Distinguished Young Teachers Award at the Suzuki Teachers Conference in Chicago. She has been a registered teacher trainer in cello in the Suzuki method since 1985, and has taught at numerous institutes and workshops throughout the U.S. and Canada. Nancy is currently on the faculty at the R.D. Colburn School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles. She is a founding member of the Marina Ensemble which has been the resident trio at Southern California Suzuki Institute, and is a valued faculty member at the National Cello Institute in Pomona.
Christopher Young, composer, is a lecturer for the Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television Program. While attending UCLA, he received the Henry Mancini Award for Motion Picture Scoring, the Frank Sinatra Award for Big Band Arranging and the Atwater Kent Award for an electronic composition. Since then he has written scores for over 35 feature films including Jennifer 8, Murder in the 1st, Dream Lover and Bat 21. He received an Emmy Award nomination for the movie of the week, Last Flight Out, and the Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films for his score to Hellbound: Hellraiser II.
Jay Zorn, currently chairman of the Music Education Department, also serves as president of the California Music Educators Association. Dr. Zorn in the author of 10 published books in several languages including the best selling music appreciation textbook, Listening to Music, Second Edition, The Music Listener's Companion, Fundamentals of Music Theory, Brass Ensemble Method, Second Edition, and Exploring the Trumpet's Upper Register, Second Edition. Dr. Zorn served in the Air Force as conductor of the Air Forces in Europe Band, touring 20 countries over a four-year period, and has appeared as conductor of numerous honors bands and orchestras. He has performed as a trumpeter with many orchestras including the Moscow Symphony, the Darmstadt (Germany) Symphony, the Bolshoi and Ukranian Ballet orchestras. He earned degrees from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Columbia University, and a doctorate from Indiana University.
Paul Zukofsky, conductor and violinist, serves as professor of strings, chamber music and conducting, and is the director of the Arnold Schoenberg Institute. Since his Carnegie Hall debut in 1956, Mr. Zukofsky has performed as a violinist throughout the United States, Europe, Japan and South America. He has given the world premieres of works by many composers including Milton Babbitt, John Cage, Phillip Glass, William Schuman and Roger Sessions among others. As a conductor, he has recorded the premieres of all of Artur Schnabels' three symphonies with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He founded the Iceland Youth Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Zukofsky earned his B.M. and M.S. degrees at the Juilliard School. He has served on the faculties of Berkshire Music Center, New England Conservatory, Swarthmore College and Princeton University. He was principal investigator and project director of "Limits, Correlation and Constraints on Motor Skills," a research project supported by the National Science Foundation. He was recently inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Clarinetist Michele Zukovsky has appeared frequently with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and at the Music Center, and she has been a guest soloist with orchestras throughout the world. She has toured with Pinchas Zukerman in Australia, South America and the U.S. Ms. Zukovsky also performs regularly at the Philharmonic's Chamber Music Society concerts and has participated in a number of premieres on the Orchestra's New Music Group series. In June 1991, she gave the world premiere of John Williams' Clarinet Concerto with the Boston Pops. She collaborates with a number of chamber ensembles, most notably the Angeles Quartet, and has appeared at James Levine's Ravinia Concerts in New York's Alice Tully Hall; Concerts at the Y in New York with Jaime Laredo; Ima Concerts; the Music from Marlboro, Casals and Sitka (Alaska) Festivals, as well as those of Spoleto, Lockenhaus (Austria), Korsholm (Finland) and Schleswig-Holstein; and in New York, at the Mostly Mozart Festival and with the Lincoln Center Chamber Players. Ms. Zukovsky is principal clarinet with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which she joined in 1961 while still a student at USC. She studied clarinet with her father, Kalman Bloch, a former principal with that orchestra.
