Festival of Chamber Orchestras in June

Artistic Director and Conductor John Ashton has set the Festival of Chamber Orchestras for June 11-16. Held concurrently with the Youth Orchestra and the Brass Academy events, the Chamber Orchestra features soloists Cheryl Priebe Bishkoff and Douglas L. Myers.

For information and registration of high school students who wish to participate, call Ashton at (304) 291-8277 or Debby Rogers in the School of Fine Arts, (304) 367-4219.

Oboist Cheryle Priebe Bishkoff, described as "a musician of incredible artistry," (Richmond News Leader), is widely recognized for her inspiring musicality, uniquely glorious sound and charismatic performing style. Her recent appearances include performances of the Mozart Oboe Quartet at the Bach and Beyond Festival, the Vaughn Williams Oboe Concerto at the Festival of Chamber Orchestras 2004, the Mercello Concerto of Oboe in c minor, in last year's Festival, and Harold Farberman's oboe concerto Impressions at the Storm King Music Festival.

She is currently in her ninth season as principal oboe of the Rhode Island Philharmonic. In addition, she is principal oboe of the New Hampshire Symphony, the Western new York Chamber Orchestra and the Ocean State Chamber Orchestra. Bishkoff is also the assistant principal of the Bethlehem, PA, Bach Festival Orchestra. Among her many additional musical appointments, Bishkoff is a lecturer of oboe at Vassar and has a private studio in Rhode Island. She has recorded on the Dorian label.

Douglas L Myers, trumpet and horn, has a wide range of experience in music from the baroque and classical repertoire to new music and Broadway shows. A graduate of Phillips Academy, Andover, MA, and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Myers has studied with Adolph Herseth, Principal Trumpet, Chicago Symphony Orchestra; C. Gene Young, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and William Vacchiano, Principal Trumpet, New York Philharmonic. Myers has also performed on the Baroque Horn (corno da caccia) and the Natural Trumpet. He has also performed the world premiere of the trumpet solo, Assembly and Fall, by Ned Rorem, at Carnegie Hall for the 1976 Bicentennial celebration and the premiere of the trumpet solo, Lillehammer Fanfare, by Asheim, which opened the 1998 concert of the Bergen Festival.

Adding to his many and varied activities, Myers has taught at the Wisconsin College Conservatory, Duke University, the Hong Kong Cultural Center, the Warzburg Conservatory and the KEIO Academy of New York. Myers has also performed in the Gewandhaus Orchestra Summer Festival, The Grand Teton Music Festival, the Canary islands Music Festival, and the Bergen May Festival. He has appeared a soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, the Fairfield Orchestra, the Concerto Soloists in Philadelphia, the New England Bach Soloists, the New York Chamber Soloists and the North Carolina Symphony. His playing ahs been called, "elegant," "smooth, clean and clear," and "electrifying" (piccolo trumpet).