Lobby Artists

KATHRYN SLEEPER

Kathryn Sleeper’s first bassoon was propped on a block while she played because she was too small to hold down the seat strap. It was the start of a long, rewarding relationship with a beautiful instrument. Reviewers write: “Kathryn Sleeper’s playing is every bit as exciting as the piece, and she manages to overcome the extreme level of difficulty of the work like a superhero.” —Jeffrey Lyman, The Double Reed. “…played with finesse and agreeably dark tone by the gifted Kathryn Sleeper.”—James Roos, Miami Herald ‘ “Bassoonist Kathryn Sleeper particularly shows her moto-perpetuo agility in the witty and litheyet-promethean closer.”—E. Agnew, Record Reviews. Kathryn has premiered over 25 works for bassoon, from solo pieces to concerti with orchestra, and has performed and recorded in the US, China, Argentina, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic. She is the recipient of several awards, including an American Cultural Specialist grant from the US Information Agency for performances in Beijing and Shang-hai. Kathryn holds degrees in Music Performance from Southern Methodist University and University of Miami, as well as an AMI diploma in Advanced Montessori Education from Fondazione Centro Internazionale Studi Montessoriani in Bergamo, Italy. Currently based in Central Florida, Kathryn is Bassoonist/Contrabassoonist with the Naples Philharmonic, Substitute Bassoonist/ Contrabassoonist with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and has been the Principal bassoonist of the villages Philharmonic Orchestra for 10 seasons. Kathryn is also a Music Specialist and Elementary Program Founder of Casa Montessori School in DeLand, and caretaker/tamer/home finder for the feral cat colony in her back yard. *Photo Credit: Nathan Hill

LORA MACPHERSON

Lora MacPherson has a Master's degree in oboe performance from Northwestern University where she studied with the renowned oboist and teacher Ray Still of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She has been the principal oboist of the Villages Philharmonic Orchestra for 11 seasons. She is also the principal oboist of the Brevard Symphony Orchestra and the Walt Disney Candlelight Orchestra. She has been a substitute oboe with every major orchestra in Florida over the last 25 years, and previously was a fifer in the "Spirit of America Fife and Drum Corps" from 2001 -2015 during their tenure at Epcot. Lora is also a member of the popular chamber music group "Nova Era," which performed at Epcot 1999-2001, and currently performs at Disney Springs (previously known as Downtown Disney-Pleasure Island,) Orlando.

JASON GIBBS

Jason Gibbs received his degrees in music from the University of South Florida and DePaul University in Chicago. His primary clarinet teachers were John Yeh of the Chicago Symphony and Brian Moorhead of the Florida Orchestra. He has been the principal clarinetist of the Villages Philharmonic Orchestra for 8 seasons and has performed with many other orchestras throughout Florida including: The World Disney Candlelight Orchestra, St. Petersburg Opera, Naples Philharmonic, Orlando Philharmonic, Brevard Symphony, Space Coast Symphony, Ocala Symphony and the Florida Orchestra. Jason is also an active music educator. His band programs have earned many superior ratings and accolades over the span of his 15 years as a teacher. In 2016, Jason was invited to become a Disney Performing Arts Teaching Artist and continues in that role today.

NORA LEE GARCÍA

Nora Lee García is the professor of Flute at the University of Central Florida. She is in demand internationally as a soloist, chamber artist, and teacher. Nora Lee is a Powell Flute Artist and has been featured as a guest artist in Carnegie Hall and at flute festivals such as the French Flute Convention, III Convención AFE Sevilla, Festival Internacional de Flauta Monterrey, Peru Flute Festival, as well as numerous National Flute Association conventions and the National Flute Association Summer Series. As an orchestral and chamber musician, Nora Lee has performed under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, Krystof Penderecki, and Karl Sollak, and with ensembles such as the Casals Festival, the Chautauqua Symphony, and the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra. She currently holds the position of principal flute with the Bach Festival Orchestra of Winter Park and the Florida Chamber Orchestra.

An active recording artist, Nora Lee most recently recorded various Bach Cantatas for the Bach Festival Society Winter Park Florida and will release her first solo album on the Centaur label in 2021. Most notably, she can be heard on the soundtrack for the Sony Pictures film, The End of the Spear. Nora Lee has served as a judge on the panels of the International Flute Competition in Mexico City and the National Flute Association’s Chamber Music and Young Artist competitions. She has premiered numerous pieces such as Prelude and Dance by Howard Buss (winner of the 2004 National Flute Association Newly-Published Music Competition) and Gary Schocker’s Under the Sultan at the 2012 Florida Flute Association Convention as a featured artist on the gala concert. An avid researcher

of flute pedagogy, Nora Lee has published several articles for Flute Talk Magazine and Flutist Quarterly. Nora Lee holds degrees from the University of Miami, the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, and the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico. Her primary teachers include James Galway, Michel Debost, Bernard Goldberg, Christine Nield-Capote, Carol Wincenc, Bonita Boyd and Peter Kern.

SERGEI KOSSENKO

Pianist and composer Sergei Kossenko hails from Moscow, Russia, where he began his professional musical training at age eight. Sergei earned a dual degree in Piano and Composition from Central Music School in Moscow and a Composer's "Red Diploma" with Honors from Moscow Conservatory of Music. While living in Moscow, Sergei composed incidental music for a Russian national radio network show, and worked as an arranger for various Moscow orchestras. Sergei also toured extensively in Russia and Eastern Europe performing classical works, as well as his own compositions. In 1993, Sergei was awarded a scholarship to Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and moved to the United States. Upon graduating from Dartmouth with a Master's Degree in Electro-Acoustic Music, Sergei utilized his music technology skills in his work for Kennedy Space Center Digital Media Lab and later for EA Sports. Since 2005 Sergei has concentrated on performing, composing, producing, and teaching in Central Florida. Sergei performs regularly with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jacksonville Symphony, and at Walt Disney World, University Club of Winter Park, as well as in many local live music venues and special events as a jazz/pop musician.