Julie Asuma Levene, clarinet, holds a bachelor's degree from Lawrence University, and a master's degree from the Yale School of Music. Her teachers have included Fan Lei, David Shifrin and Charles Neidich. She is a member of the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Wallingford Symphony Orchestra, Live Music Project, and the Earl Banquer Woodwind Ensemble, and has played throughout the Northeast with the klezmer ensemble Generation Klez. In addition to teaching at Thames Valley, Julie is currently on the faculty of the Connecticut School of Music and Choate Rosemary Hall.

New England Conservatory. ECSO, USCGB

Hartt School of Music, CC. USCGB, Norwich Concert Band. ECSO, Dick Campo Orch., CCCP, Jim Stewart Band & Coastline Swing Band. Faculty: CC

Chantal Hovendick, Clarinet, received a bachelor’s degree from the Lamont School of Music in Denver, Colorado and a master’s degree in clarinet performance from Florida State University in Tallahassee. She has studied with Bil Jackson, Frank Kowalsky, and Ramon Kireilis. Chantal has performed with the Lamont Symphony and the Colorado Springs Orchestra in Colorado, as well as the Florida Orchestra, the Tallahassee Symphony, the Orlando Philharmonic, and the Sarasota Opera Orchestra in Florida. She has participated in music festivals in the United States and abroad, including the Aspen Music Festival, the Rutgers University Arts Institute, the DePaul Clarinet Workshop, and the Belgian Clarinet Academy. As a soloist she has won numerous awards, including the Jefferson Symphony Concerto Award, the Lamont Orchestra Young Artist Competition, the Denver University Chamber Music Award, and the International Clarinet Society Orchestral Audition Competition in Ostend, Belgium. In 2002 she was the only American finalist at the International Clarinet Society Solo Competition in Stockholm, Sweden. Chantal joined the United States Coast Guard Band in 2001 and is on the faculty of the Thames Valley Music School.

USCGB

New England Conservatory, Suzuki training, Orff Institute-Mozarteum, University of Salzburg. USCGB, HSO, CT Opera Orchestra. Faculty: Central Connecticut State University.

F. Chopin Academy of Music (Warsaw, Poland), Yale University. NY Metamorphosis Orch., ECSO, CT Virtuosi Chamber Orch., NHSO.

Joshua Thomas, saxophone, has been a member of the Coast Guard Band since 2000. In this role he performs in the concert and jazz ensembles, saxophone quartet, and as a featured soloist. Josh has given featured performances at the 13th World Saxophone Congress, several regional conferences of the North American Saxophone Alliance, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, and several universities throughout New England. As an international musician, he made his orchestral debut in 2003 performing Glazunov’s Concerto with the Turin, Italy Opera Orchestra. He has also enjoyed success in competitions, winning prizes in the Concorso Internazionale di Musica in Chieri, Italy, Vienna International Music Competition, William Byrd Young Artists Competition, and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Active in teaching, he maintains a studio of students from southeastern Connecticut and has previously served on the faculty of Central Connecticut State University. Josh earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Michigan State University and a Master of Music from Louisiana State University.

USCGB