Chelsea Tipton II, conductor and clarinet
In his second season as Resident Conductor of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Chelsea Tipton II has been taking an active role in developing and implementing educational programs for the TSO in the community.

Mr. Tipton’s guest conducting engagements have included the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Columbus (Ohio) Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic (Special Reading Session), Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Greenville (South Carolina) Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Carolina Chamber Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Baton Rouge Symphony, and the Crested Butte Festival Orchestra. Mr. Tipton recently made his debut with the Boston Pops Orchestra and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

For the 2004-2005 season, guest conducting engagements include Chicago Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Louisville Philharmonic, Windsor Symphony, and the Oberlin Conservatory Chamber Orchestra. Prior to his appointment with the TSO, Mr. Tipton was Associate Conductor with the Savannah Symphony Orchestra for four seasons. He has held faculty positions at Central Michigan University (CMU) as Assistant Professor where he was Director of the CMU Symphony and a Visiting Professor in clarinet and chamber music at Western Michigan University. He has served on the faculty of the Apple Hill Chamber Music Festival in New Hampshire, and served four seasons as Assistant Conductor with the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina during the summers.

Mr. Tipton earned a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from Northern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance from the Eastman School of Music, where he was also awarded the Performer’s Certificate. He has also studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors in Hancock, Maine. As a clarinetist, Mr. Tipton has performed with several orchestras, including the Rochester Philharmonic, the Heidelberg Festival Opera Orchestra (Germany), and the Chicago Sinfonietta. He has appeared on the NBC Today Show with Wynton Marsalis and has performed as a section clarinet player with James Galway and the Eastman Philharmonia, Wynton Marsalis and the Eastman Wind Ensemble and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra on recordings with RCA Classical, CBS Masterworks and Pro Arte labels.

Shannon Ford, clarinet
Shannon received a bachelor’s degree in woodwind performance from Indiana State University, where she was a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda honorary organization, and a master’s degree in woodwind performance from BGSU; Ford has performed professionally for the past 15 years on both saxophone and clarinet with various large ensembles such as the Toledo, Terre Haute, Adrian and Lima Symphony Orchestras and the Toledo Concert Band; has participated in several world-premiere performances, including John Cage’s Four5 at the World Saxophone Congress in Italy; held a position as saxophone instructor at Muskingum College and clarinet instructor at Ohio Northern University; free-lances and teaches clarinet at Siena Heights University, woodwinds at Adrian College and maintains a large private studio.

Georg Klaas, clarinet
Georg has served as Principal Clarinet for the Toledo Symphony for the past two seasons. A native of Stillwater, Minnesota, he received his formal training on the clarinet at Indiana University where he received a Master of Music degree. He continued his studies at the University of Southern California, where he became the first ever recipient of the Mitchell Lurie Award in 2001. His principal teachers include Eli Eban, Yehuda Gilad, Mitchell Lurie, and Joaquin Valdepenas. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. John’s University.

In addition to his orchestral playing, Georg has appeared in numerous chamber music performances in the past few years both here in Toledo and at numerous venues throughout the country including: The Sarasota Music Festival, the Brevard Music Festival, the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, Chautauqua, and the Aspen Music Festival, where he has collaborated with such artists as violist James Dunham, bassoonist Steven Dibner and pianist John Nauman.

Jocelyn Langworthy, clarinet
Jocelyn has held the position of second clarinet in the Toledo Symphony since the fall of 2000. Prior to joining the TSO she had been the principal clarinetist of the Cedar Rapids Symphony. Originally from Vermillion, South Dakota (home of the National Music Museum). Jocelyn received her bachelors degree in clarinet performance from the University of Minnesota, where she studied with Burt Hara of the Minnesota Orchestra. She received a masters degree from the University of Southern California, studying with Yehuda Gilad and Mitchell Lurie.

Ms. Langworthy has participated in many summer music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Colorado Music Festival, the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan and the Festival dei due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. She has taught at several colleges and music schools in Iowa, Los Angeles and the Boston area, and teaches privately in Toledo. Locally, Jocelyn has been featured on WGTE’s “Live from FM 91” and in performances for the Aeolus Festival. She is also a founding member of the Parkwood Players.

Kevin Schempf, clarinet
Associate Professor of Clarinet at Bowling Green State University, Kevin also serves as solo clarinetist with the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble and bass clarinetist with the Toledo Symphony. A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, he holds bachelor's and master's degrees with the Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. He was a former member of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and The United States Coast Guard Band, and has played with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Lima Symphony, Nashville Chamber Orchestra, the Chautauqua Orchestra, the Skaneanteles Festival and the Society for New Music in addition to chamber music performances with CrossSound in Alaska, the New London Contemporary Players, Chamber Music Plus, the Wall Street Chamber Players, Ying Quartet and the New World Consort. and additional performances in Germany, Russia, Sweden, and Japan. He taught on the faculties of Connecticut College and Wesleyan University.

Barbara Specht, clarinet
Barbara serves as Assistant Professor of Clarinet, Saxophone and Orchestra at Heidelberg College. She holds degrees from Bowling Green State University and the Doctor of Musical Arts in Clarinet Performance from The Ohio State University. Her clarinet teachers include James Pyne and Fred Ormand. During the past year, she performed recitals at Capital University and Central State University and was a performer at the International Clarinet Convention in Columbus, Ohio in July. She has been conductor of the Heidelberg College-Community Orchestra for six years and also conducts and coaches various woodwind ensembles. In addition to teaching music education courses, a new course titled Women in Music was introduced and is being taught by Dr. Specht during the 1998-99 school year. She also performs with the Heidelberg Faculty Wind Quintet.