ABOUT THE GUEST ARTISTS:

ROBERT ATHERHOLT joined the Houston Symphony as principal oboist in 1984. He was previously principal oboist of the New Jersey Symphony, a member of Orpheus, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, and was principal oboist of the Opera Orchestra of New York. He has appeared frequently as soloist with the Houston Symphony, beginning in 1985 with the Houston premiere of the Lutoslawski Concerto for Oboe and Harp.

He has appeared as a soloist in Mozart's Sinfonia concertante, Haydn's Sinfonia concertante, Bach's Concerto for Oboe and Violin and the world premiere of the Schumann/Picker Romances and Interludes. He was featured with the Houston Symphony in a performance of the Mozart Oboe Concerto, and in Bach's Concerto for Oboe d'amore. He also appeared on the oboe d'amore in a January 1998 performance of Takemitsu's Vers, L'arc-en-ciel, Palma.

As a chamber musician, Atherholt is the solo oboist for the Houston Symphony Chamber Players, with whom he has toured Japan and Europe. He appears regularly with Houston's Da Camera Society, and Context. He has performed at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, Japan's Pacific Music Festival, the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, the Caramoor Festival in New York and the Grand Teton Festival in Wyoming. This season he performed as guest principal oboist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in performances of Mahler's 7th Symphony with Bernard Haitink conducting, and later served as acting principal oboist on their European tour 2000 with Seiji Ozawa conducting.

Robert Atherholt's solo recordings include the Schumann/Picker Romances and Interludes for Virgin Classics and the Mozart Oboe Concerto for Pickwick International. Both recordings are with the Houston Symphony, Cristoph Eschenbach conducting. As a member of the Houston Symphony Chamber Players, Atherholt appears on the critically acclaimed recording of the Schoenberg Quintet, opus 26, for Wind Instruments on Koch International Classics. A native of Pennsylvania, Robert Atherholt is a graduate of The Juilliard School of Music. He is Professor of Oboe at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, and has been on the faculty of the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestral Seminar in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the National Orchestra Institute in College Park Maryland, the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, and in Texas at the Texas Music Festival, and the American Festival for the Arts. His students occupy positions in orchestras throughout North America and Israel.

BENJAMIN KAMINS is currently Professor of Bassoon at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. He accepted this position in 2003 after having served as Principal Bassoonist of the Houston Symphony for twenty-two years. Before accepting his current position at Rice University, he taught for sixteeen years as a member of the Shepherd School faculty in a adjunct position. During that time he had the opportunity to teach many wonderful students who currently play in orchestras and teach in universities throughout the U.S. and abroad.

After studies with Norman Herzberg in his native Los Angeles, Mr. Kamins began his professional career, at age nineteen, as Associate Principal Bassoonist of the Minnesota Orchestra. During his tenure with the Minnesota Orchestra, Mr. Kamins made solo appearances in works of Vivaldi and Haydn. As a soloist with the Houston Symphony he was often featured playing concerti of Mozart, Weber and Vivaldi. In 2002 he played the world premiere of Pierrot, a concerto composed by Larry Lipkis and commissioned for him by the Houston Symphony. He recorded the Mozart Concerto with Christoph Eschenbach and the Houston Symphony for IMP Masters. In addition to his positions in Minnesota and Houston, he has served as a Guest Principal Bassoonist with the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony.

Mr. Kamins' musical activities outside Houston have taken him to numerous festivals including Marlboro, Ravinia, Aspen, and Tanglewood. He has also been a faculty member of the Grand Teton Orchestral Seminar,the Pacific and Blossom Music Festivals and currently spends his summers on the faculties of the International Festival-Institute at Round Top, The Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California and as Principal Bassoonist of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony (Idaho).

A devoted chamber musician, Mr. Kamins was a founding member of the Aurora and Epicurean Wind Quintets. He has toured with the Clarion Wind Quintet and Music from Marlboro. He was a member of the Houston Symphony Chamber Players and is a featured performer on their highly acclaimed recording of the Schönberg Quintet for Winds. In addition, he is active nationally and internationally as a solo and chamber musician.

BRUCE MCCALL ~ MCCALL WOODWINDS
Bruce McCall took apart his first oboe while in the 6th grade. He has been repairing woodwinds since 1976 and now runs McCall Woodwinds in Knoxville, TN, specializing in oboes and bassoons. He studied oboe with Dan Stolper and bassoon with Edgar Kirk at Michigan State University. He studied with Thomas Stacy while serving in the USMA Band at West Point as an oboist and bassoonist. Bruce performs all setup and warranty repair work for Sharon's Oboe Shoppe in Richmond, VA. His customer list includes professionals and students from across the USA. He is the author of The Essential Guide to Adjusting Your Oboe

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