February 7, 2003
For thirty-five years the Toledo Wind Quintet has represented The University of Toledo Department of Music and Dance in performances throughout Ohio and Michigan: in public school band rooms; on the UT campus; on college campuses, and in communities throughout Ohio. Current members of the ensemble are Amy Heritage, flute; Kimberly Bryden, oboe; Sandra Jackson, clarinet; Alan Taplin, horn, and Joan Weiler, bassoon. All are on the teaching faculty of the UT Department of Music and Dance. Each brings to the ensemble, and to their teaching, an artistry and maturity that reflects the excellence of their training and the richness of their professional experiences. Members of the quintet perform as principals and members of the Toledo Symphony and in many of the most respected musical organizations in the region, including the Detroit Symphony, the Columbus Symphony, and the Michigan Opera Orchestra.
Recent performances of the Toledo Wind Quintet include programs at The University of Findlay, Heidelberg College, and Terra Community College. In January, the ensemble was invited to perform at the Ohio Music Education Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. At the heart of the quintet's mission is outreach to area high school musicians. The quintet regularly visits schools throughout Northwest Ohio and lower Michigan, performing for and working with aspiring young musicians.
Amy Heritage teaches flute and chamber music at The University of Toledo. Ms. Heritage has performed in the Toledo Symphony, the Lakeside (OH) Symphony, the Adrian Symphony, the Terre Haute (IN) Symphony and the Camerata Chamber Orchestra in Bloomington, Indiana. Ms. Heritage has performed throughout the United States with the flute and guitar duo, Duo Ami. She was a winner in the 1990 National Flute Association Performers Competition. Ms. Heritage received her bachelor's degree from Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music and her master's and doctoral degrees in flute performance from Indiana University.
Kimberly Bryden has been principal oboist, frequent soloist, and featured chamber musician of The Toledo Symphony since 1985. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees at the Cleveland Institute of Music and received her high school degree from Interlochen Arts Academy. Her primary teacher has been John Mack from the Cleveland Orchestra. Ms. Bryden has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Detroit Chamber Winds, the Pine Mountain Music Festival, and has held the position of principal oboe with the Canton Symphony, the Colorado Philharmonic and Basically Bach Music Festival in Anchorage, Alaska. In 1986, Ms. Bryden was a prizewinner in the Lucarelli International Oboe Competition at Carnegie Hall; she toured the east coast with the Cleveland Orchestra the same year. As a winner of the 1979 New York Philharmonic Young Artists' Competition, Ms. Bryden performed as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Zubin Mehta. For eight summers she served as a member of the faculty and performed as principal oboist at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina. This past fall she joined the faculty of The University of Toledo as oboe instructor and oboist with the Toledo Wind Quintet.
Sandra Jackson teaches clarinet at The University of Toledo. Her orchestral experience includes performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Toledo Symphony and the International Symphony Orchestra in Jerusalem. She is the former principal clarinetist of the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico, and a founding member of the Lakeview Chamber Ensemble. During the summer Ms. Jackson teaches at the Interlochen Arts Camp. She holds a bachelors degree in clarinet performance from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and a master's degree in performance from New England Conservatory of Music.
Alan Taplin is instructor of horn and performs in the UT faculty brass and woodwind quintets. He has been a member of the Toledo Symphony and the Toledo Opera since 1981, and performs with the Toledo Symphony Brass Quintet. Mr. Taplin is also Music Arranger for the Toledo Symphony. He has performed with the Des Moines Opera and performs frequently on commercial recordings in Detroit and Chicago. Mr. Taplin is a regular substitute and extra with the Detroit Symphony and has toured with the orchestra in Puerto Rico and Europe. He has taught on the faculties of Heidelberg College, Concordia College and Olivet College. Mr. Taplin received his bachelor's and master's degrees in horn performance from the University of Michigan.
Joan Weiler has been associate principal/second bassoonist of the Toledo Symphony and principal bassoonist of the Toledo Opera since 1989. She has also performed with the Columbus Symphony and the Columbus Opera Orchestra. Ms. Weiler received her master's degree in bassoon performance from Temple University and her bachelor's degree in performance from Ohio State University where she has also completed coursework for a doctorate in bassoon performance. In 1987, Ms. Weiler performed under the direction of Leonard Bernstein for the inaugural season of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany. Ms. Weiler has taught on the faculties of Heidelberg College, Ohio Wesleyan University and Wright State University. She is currently instructor of bassoon at The University of Toledo.
