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Single Reed Day

Sunday, November 12, 2023

Join us for a day of exploring and celebrating the clarinet and saxophone at Western with the studios of Profs. Bobbi Thompson and Jana Starling and guest artists, saxophonist Carrie Koffman from the University of Hartford, and David Gazaille, principal clarinet with the Ontario Philharmonic. 

Planned activities include workshops on single-reed instruments, health and wellness, masterclasses, equipment exhibits, performances and collaborative playing opportunities.

A pizza lunch will be provided.

If you wish to participate in collaborative activities or equipment trials, it is recommended to bring:

• your instrument
• a folding music stand, if you have one

Registration

General Public | $25 +HST ($28.25)
(includes school-aged and non-Music Western students)

Western Music students | FREE
(already paid via Gift Fund levy)

Pre-registration is required for all Single Reed Day participants.

Includes pizza lunch

Register Here

Planned Schedule

Sunday, Nov. 12 | 9:30am–5pm
Exact scheduling TBD. Room locations will be supplied on arrival.   

Morning	Masterclasses
Morning	Recital
Morning	Exhibits
9:30a	Concert - NEW TIME
12:30p	Pizza Lunch
Afternoon	Workshops
Afternoon	Collaborative activities
Afternoon	Exhibits

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Guest Artists

Carrie Koffman

Professor of Saxophone
Hartt School of Music, Dance and Theater
University of Hartford

Carrie Koffman, Professor of Saxophone at the Hartt School of Music, has also held positions as Lecturer of Saxophone at the Yale School of Music, Lecturer of Saxophone at Boston University, Assistant Professor of Saxophone at Penn State University, and Assistant Professor of Saxophone at the University of New Mexico. She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, in 17 countries, and on six continents. She is a founding member of the Committee for Gender Equity of the North American Saxophone Alliance and served as the project manager for CGE’s Community Engagement Initiative. She is also a founding faculty member of the American Saxophone Academy, an annual educational program designed for advanced college students and beyond. Koffman holds a bachelors degree from the University of Michigan and a masters degree from the University of North Texas. Her primary mentor is Donald Sinta.

Koffman is a certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher and teaches Yoga for Performers. She is a Conn-Selmer artist/clinician and Vandoren performing artist.

David Gazaille

Principal Clarinet
Ontario Philharmonic

David Gazaille is a versatile musician and administrator who has contributed to the orchestral scene in Canada and the US. He holds a Bachelor of Music from McGill University, as well as Masters and Doctoral degrees from Stony Brook University. As a clarinetist, he has performed with ensembles such as the Ontario Philharmonic, where he is the principal clarinettist, the Albany Symphony Orchestra, and the Kingston Symphony Orchestra. He co-founded a non-profit program that introduced classical music to over 2000 young children on Long Island, NY. He has been the livestream producer of the Kingston Symphony Orchestra since 2020, as well as for NYO Canada and the National Arts Centre Orchestra during their visits in Kingston. As the Director of Members Services and Learning at Orchestras Canada, he connects and supports the administrative staff of Canadian orchestras from coast to coast, and develops learning programs to help orchestras adapt to the changing times.

Note: Previously scheduled guest artist Christopher Kirkpatrick (University of Montana) is unable to attend. 

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Western Music Faculty

Jana Starling

Associate Professor
Don Wright Faculty of Music
Western University

Jana Starling is an internationally recognized clarinet performer-teacher. She is an invited artist at the International Music Festival Loja-Ecuador, the International Music Camp (Peace Gardens), numerous times at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest®, and regularly across North America and China. She is co-founder/faculty at the Lift Clarinet Academy in Colorado, USA. She actively commissions and records new works, and is a member of LightBreak, a multi-media clarinet duo with aimed at redefining the traditional recital. Starling has 2 solo CDs with premiere recordings and reviewed in The Clarinet journal hailed as “a wonderful player…musically sensitive …you will not be disappointed!”

She is currently an Associate Professor in the Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University (Ontario, Canada), studied at Arizona State University and Brandon University and her teachers have been Ron Goddard, Connie Gitlin and Robert Spring. Starling is a Buffet-Crampon and Gonzalez Reed artist.

Bobbi Thompson

Associate Professor
Don Wright Faculty of Music
Western University

Saxophonist Bobbi Thompson currently serves as Assistant Professor at Western University in London, Ontario. She is a passionate proponent of contemporary music who performs frequently with guitarist Ariel Kasler. Together, the Thompson-Kasler Duo is working to expand the repertoire for saxophone and electric guitar through commissioning and performance projects. She has also performed with a wide range of organizations including London Symphonia (Canada), Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, Toledo Jazz Orchestra, Toronto Wind Orchestra, Grand Theatre (Canada), Drayton Entertainment, and the world-famous University of North Texas Lab Bands.

Outside of her role as a performer and educator, Bobbi currently serves as Secretary of the North American Saxophone Alliance and on the Editorial Board of NASA’s journal The Saxophone Symposium. She is a Conn-Selmer Artist and performs on Selmer Paris saxophones. 

Carina Cononico

Assistant Professor
Don Wright Faculty of Music
Western University

Carina Canonico, DMA, is an Assistant Professor of clarinet who joined the faculty in 2023. Before joining the Don Wright Faculty of Music, she taught at York University.

Carina holds the position of principal clarinet with the Kingston Symphony and has performed with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, and the Riverside Symphony Orchestra. She has performed Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto as a soloist with the Kingston Symphony, and Lindberg’s Clarinet Concerto with the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, she has recorded with the Albany Symphony on several Grammy nominated and winning albums.

She holds Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from Stony Brook University, as well as a Bachelor of Music degree from McGill University.

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Sponsors

 

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Contact Information

Sasha Gorbasew
519-611-2111 x80532
agorbase@uwo.ca

Jana Starling
jstarli@uwo.ca

Bobbi Thompson
bthomp24@uwo.ca