Windsync Woodwind Quintet, Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet, French Horn

Versatile and vibrant, the musicians of WindSync “play many idioms authoritatively, elegantly, with adroit technique, and with great fun” (All About the Arts). WindSync launched an international touring career after winning the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition and the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. The ensemble has since appeared on legendary stages including Ravinia, the Met Museum, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, the Library of Congress, and Carnegie Hall. In demand for their ability to embed in communities, WindSync has served in residencies with the Grand Teton Music Festival, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, and the Lied Center. Winner of the 2022 Fischoff Ann Divine Educator Award, the ensemble regularly coaches at training programs nationwide, collaborates with youth orchestras, and performs for thousands of young people each year. The group also produces events year-round in their artistic home base of Houston, Texas.

Garrett Hudson, flute

Garrett Hudson is a founding member of WindSync. The Canadian flutist’s roots lie in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he made his solo debut with the Winnipeg Symphony at the age of 16. During his training, Hudson performed with the National Academy Orchestra of Canada and l’Orchestre de la Francophonie in Montreal, Quebec. He earned degrees from the University of British Columbia, under Scottish flutist Lorna McGhee, and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he studied with renowned flute pedagogue Leone Buyse. A sensitive communicator both on stage and off, Hudson has coached woodwind students at the Eastman School of Music, Northwestern University, the University of Iowa, and the University of Texas. He lives in Houston, Texas, where he maintains a teaching studio at the beginner through professional levels. He is often found behind the wheel of the minivan while WindSync is on tour and is a coffee and wine enthusiast.

Emily Tsai, oboe

Noted by DMV Classical as having “a consistently lovely tone and [taking] her melodic twists and turns with stylish assurance,” Emily Tsai began playing oboe at age ten after having begun musical studies at age four on the violin. Based in Washington, DC, she is the Assistant Principal Oboe of the Washington National Opera and the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra and is Lecturer of Oboe at the University of Maryland. As a soloist, she has performed with the Alba Festival Orchestra, Amadeus Orchestra, and Paragon Philharmonia. Tsai holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and University of Maryland, and her teachers include Mark Hill, Richard Killmer, and Malcolm Smith. She also holds a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Rochester. Tsai is a Lorée Artist and plays exclusively on Lorée oboes and English horns. Her hobbies include spoiling her cats, food, video games, and exploring the outdoors.

Graeme Steele Johnson, clarinet

Praised for his "elegant and rounded sound" (Albany Times Union) and "effortless...unmatched" technique (The Clarinet Online), Graeme Steele Johnson is an artist of uncommon imagination and versatility. His diverse artistic endeavors range from a TEDx talk comparing Mozart and Seinfeld, to his reconstruction of a forgotten 125-year-old work by Charles Martin Loeffler, to performances of his own arrangements with such artists as the Miró Quartet, Valerie Coleman and Han Lash. Johnson’s recent and upcoming appearances include the Library of Congress, Morgan Library, Chamber Music Northwest, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Ravinia, Emerald City Music, Maverick Concerts and Yellow Barn, as well as solo recitals at The Kennedy Center and Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess series. Johnson is the winner of the Hellam Young Artists’ Competition and the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition. He holds graduate degrees from the Yale School of Music, and his major teachers include David Shifrin, Charles Neidich, Nathan Williams and Ricardo Morales.

Kara LaMoure, bassoon

Kara LaMoure approaches the bassoon as a performer, educator, and creative. She is a prolific arranger of chamber music for winds, and her interest in the creation and curation of music has led to premieres of works for solo bassoon by Akshaya Avril Tucker and Adeliia Faizullina. LaMoure is a founding member of the Breaking Winds Bassoon Quartet, a comedic crossover group known for its web presence and special connection with young musicians. A committed teaching artist, LaMoure has coached youth orchestras in the United States, Switzerland, Honduras, Mexico, and Brazil. She holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University, where she studied with John Hunt and Christopher Millard, and she is an alumna and current instructor in Eastman’s cutting-edge Institute for Music Leadership. Between performances, she likes to explore her New York City neighborhood on foot and feed her interests in writing and visual art.

Anni Hochhalter, french horn

Born in California and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Anni Hochhalter became interested in chamber music and innovation in the arts after touring as a young musician with ensembles across North America, Europe and Asia. Currently executive director and musician chair of WindSync, she oversees WindSync’s activities as a touring ensemble and as a nonprofit organization, including educational work, concert production, and the Onstage Offstage Chamber Music Festival. Hochhalter is a graduate of Stanford University’s Executive Program in Social Entrepreneurship. Outside of WindSync, she is principal horn of the McCall Music Festival in McCall, Idaho, and she performs on vocals, electronics, and horn with the band Late Aster. Hochhalter studied horn at the University of Southern California with leading studio and orchestral musicians Rick Todd, James Thatcher and Kristy Morrell, with additional summer training at Chautauqua Music Festival and Texas Music Festival. Based in San Francisco, she enjoys ultra running and backpacking in her spare time.

Source:Windsync Woodwind Quintet