Meet the Studio
DMA
An active educator, Mr. Golovin has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music, at the University of Missouri in Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance as the Graduate Teaching Assistant and at Interlochen Arts Academy. His has given master classes at the University of Missouri in Columbia, at Wichita State University, University of Akron, University of Iowa in Iowa City, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Truman State University and others.
Artist Certificate
Originally from Fayetteville, Georgia, Laura Zitelli began playing the clarinet at the age of 9. Throughout high school, Laura was a member of the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony and participated in All State Band and Orchestra. She has an undergraduate degree in music education with a clarinet performance certificate from the University of South Carolina. During her time there, she competed and was a finalist in MTNA’s young artist’s competition and performed with the Piccolo Spoleto Festival Orchestra.
Her former teachers include Bruce Geyer, Mikhail Boguslavsky, and Joe Eller. Currently, Laura is studying with Dr. Jane Carl pursuing a master’s degree in clarinet performance at the University of Missouri Kansas City. She performs with the Conservatory Orchestra and Wind Symphony and is a member of the Midwest Chamber Ensemble. Always looking for more learning opportunities, Laura has participated and attended the California Clarinet Summer Clinic and performed in multiple master classes for clarinetists such as: Steve Cohen, Burt Hara, Anthony McGill, and Stephen Williamson. She currently is on faculty at the Northland Cathedral School of Music where she teaches clarinet and saxophone lessons.
A native of Arkansas, Trevor Stewart serves as principal clarinetist of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, with whom he was featured as a soloist in 2013. He has performed with the Missouri Symphony, the Fort Smith (AR) Symphony, the Conway (AR) Symphony Orchestra, the Interlochen (MI) Philharmonic.
As a current Artist Certificate student, he is the Graduate Teaching Assistant for Dr. Jane Carl’s clarinet studio at Conservatory of Music and Dance of the University of Missouri – Kansas City. He earned a Master of Music degree from the same university, where he held the Clarinet Fellowship in the UMKC Conservatory Graduate Fellowship Woodwind Quintet. Stewart graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, where he studied clarinet with David Carter.
As a member of the UMKC Graduate Fellowship Quintet, Trevor was a national finalist in the 2015 MTNA Young Artist Chamber Competition in Las Vegas, NV. The same year, the quintet was chosen as the winner of the St. Louis Artist Presentation Society competition. Stewart was the winner of the Arkansas state round of the MTNA Young Artist Woodwind Competition, and served as principal clarinetist of the Arkansas All-State and Intercollegiate Bands for five years. In 2013, he won the principal clarinet position of the College Band Directors National Association Small College Intercollegiate Band. He was a finalist in the University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium Young Artist Competition in 2006, the same year he attended the Interlochen Arts Camp, where he studied with Daniel Silver. His early mentors also include Kelly Johnson, Luc Jackman, and Kristen Denny. He was awarded the UAFS Academic Excellence Award for Music Education, and won the 2012 Undergraduate Research Symposium with his project “New Technologies for Viewing Beethoven’s Residences in Vienna.” Stewart was an adjunct clarinet instructor for several school districts in Arkansas, and is currently teaching private students and clinics in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Master’s
Brandon Crawford is currently studying under the direction of Dr. Jane Carl, and has been an active member in the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s large ensembles for the past five years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in clarinet performance at UMKC in 2014 and decided to stay and continue on to his master’s degree.
Brandon grew up in the relatively small farming town of Turlock, California, where he played clarinet for numerous churches and local musical venues. He also debuted with the California State University Stanislaus Wind Ensemble for most of his high school career, along with occasionally performing in the University of the Pacific Wind Ensemble. In addition to playing with local universities, Brandon was a member of the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra for three years, holding the position of “principal clarinet.” He was also a four-year member of the California All-State Band during his high school career.
Brandon currently is an active member of local chamber music organizations in Kansas City and continually performs with the UMKC Conservatory. Brandon also plans on graduating with a master’s degree in performance and aspires to play professionally in an American orchestra before eventually teaching at the university level.
Hannah received her undergraduate degree in Clarinet Performance at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, MI. During her time there she performed with the Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Wind Ensemble under the direction of John Williamson. As an avid fan of chamber music, Ms. Brown participated in multiple chamber ensembles, most notably And Then There Were Two a Flute and Clarinet Duo group invited to perform and the Central Michigan University Honor’s Recital. During her time at CMU, Hannah performed in multiple master classes, was a Finalist in the Delta Omicron Young Artist’s Competition and Competed in the Patricia A. Nixon Memorial Woodwind Competition. She also was a Campus Ambassador, and a College of Communication and Fine Arts Ambassador; a group which Hannah helped spearhead. She also held administrative positions with Delta Omicron as their treasurer, outreach chair, and director of musical activities.
Ms. Brown’s former teachers include Dr. Kennen White, Emmanuel Toledo, and Ryan Lohr. Currently, Hannah is working on her Master’s Degree in Clarinet Performance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory where she studies with Dr. Jane Carl and plays in the Wind Symphony. Hannah looks forward to a career of Arts Administration and Clarinet Performance.
Undergraduate
Originally from South Florida, Samantha Messina is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree at the University of Missouri—Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music and Dance with an emphasis in clarinet. All during her first year at the Conservatory, Samantha performed with the Conservatory Wind Ensemble and Conservatory Wind Symphony, was nominated by her directors to be one of six undergraduates selected to perform at the Missouri Music Educators Association in January of 2016 as a part of the All-Collegiate Band, and commissioned a unique sextet that was composed by a fellow classmate and is available on iTunes.
She regularly teaches lessons and master-classes to senior high and junior high school students throughout the state of Florida, and is a returning clarinet instructor at the annual Treasure Coast Summer Band Camp in Jensen Beach, Florida. Aside from clarinet, Messina is a member and executive board officer of the NAfME-C division for the UMKC Chapter. She also works as an Administrative Assistant for the Youth Symphony of Kansas City and has worked on both the logistical and educational sides to help run the UMKC Honor Band and Orchestra Festival.
Will Peak is currently in his third year pursuing a BM in saxophone performance at UMKC, and only recently joined the clarinet studio. Will is actively involved in the studio as a clarinetist, regularly playing clarinet with large ensembles at the conservatory. Will seeks to become an exceptionally versatile musician and accomplished multi-instrumentalist to further his skills as a woodwind repair specialist.
Will grew up in Parkville, MO, just north of Kansas City. In high school, Will studied under Tim Timmons (UMKC’s previous associate professor of saxophone), and Vince Gnojek (University of Kansas). He was a member of the 2012 and 2013 Missouri All-State Bands sitting first chair alto saxophone in 2013.
As a sophomore in high school, Will began apprenticing as a woodwind repair technician under the mentorship of Judi Dietz. Will currently maintains a modest repair practice based out of his home in Parkville, MO. He has cultivated a strong reputation among local musicians as well as many UMKC Conservatory students, and he is often entrusted with repairs on conservatory-owned instruments.
As a UMKC student, Will played soprano saxophone in the Saxonomics Quartet. The group competed in the MTNA chamber music competition where they received honorable mention. Saxonomics was also chosen to be featured in a chamber music master class with Michael Stern at the Kauffman Center for the Performing arts in the summer of 2014.
Will is also involved in the Jazz Studies program at UMKC, and currently plays baritone sax in the 3:00 jazz band under the direction of Bobby Watson.
Connor Myers is a freshman at the Conservatory and has played clarinet for seven years. Before coming to UMKC, Connor lived in Skiatook, Oklahoma. Connor was the principal clarinetist of the Tulsa Youth Symphony for the 2016-17 season. As part of the Youth Symphony, Connor won the TYSO Concerto Competition and performed Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto at their Spring Serenade in May 2017. In high school, Connor made the NCDA All-Region Band from 2011-2017 serving as principal clarinetist in 2016 and 2017. Connor also was selected to the OMEA All-State Wind Symphony in 2015, 2016, and 2017 and served as principal of that ensemble in 2016 and 2017. Connor has attended many summer music camps and festivals throughout his high school career including the University of Arkansas Summer Band Camp (2011-2014), Music For All Summer Camp at Ball State University (2014), Sewanee Summer Music Festival (2015), and Interlochen Arts Camp (2016). At these camps Connor has been able to work with many distinguished musicians including Chad Burrow (University of Michigan), Steve Davis (University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory), Daniel Silver (University of Colorado at Boulder), and Linda Strommen (University of Indiana and Juilliard School of Music). In February 2016, Connor was selected to be a part of the Honors Performance Series Symphony Orchestra in New York City where he served as associate principal of the ensemble which performed in Carnegie Hall. Connor’s past clarinet instructors include Steve Snider and Kristi Sturgeon (University of Tulsa).
Originally from Bellevue, Nebraska, Cathey Belcher began playing clarinet at the age of 9. Throughout high school Cathey participated in many honor bands, including the 2015 and 2016 Nebraska All-State Band, and the 2017 University of Missouri-Kansas City Honor Festival. During high school, she also received many awards, including the John Phillip Sousa Award. Cathey is now currently enrolled in the Conservatory at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, earning her Bachelors in Clarinet Performance.
A native of Overland Park, Kansas, Kyle Connolly is pursuing a BM in Clarinet Performance at the UMKC Conservatory. He has performed on both principal soprano clarinet and principal bass clarinet in his respective All-District and All-State honor bands multiple times, as well as with the National Association for Music Education’s All-National Honor Band in Grapevine, Texas. Kyle participated in UMKC’s Midwest Honor Band in 2017 under the baton of Mr. Steven Davis. He has received “1” ratings in the Kansas State Solo and Ensemble Festival with soprano and bass clarinet solos, a student-led clarinet choir, a woodwind quintet, and even a saxophone choir. In 2017, Kyle performed with his high school’s wind ensemble at the Kansas Music Education Conference as a soloist, one of 3 high school level ensembles selected to perform at the conference.
Kyle also enjoys arranging and composing works for clarinet ensembles. Notable accomplishments include an original three-movement composition for clarinet choir being performed at a studio recital, as well as composing and producing a full score for an independent film noir. The score contained drum set, keyboard, and saxophone parts, all of which he performed and recorded himself. Kyle also enjoys learning different instruments and finds that each one deepens his understanding of music as a whole. He regularly plays drum set, djembe, keyboard, and vocals with his church worship band and tenor saxophone in various jazz and classical ensembles.
A seasoned woodwind instrumentalist, Kyle has performed in various community and semi-professional pit orchestras with high school musicals, the Kansas All-State Musical, Musical Theater Kansas City, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Of these, the Kansas-All State Musical was selected to perform at the International Thespian Conference, where it received high acclaim from audience members from around the world.
Gabrielle Stanley is a freshman pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and Performance at the University of Missouri- Kansas City. A Kansas City native, Gabrielle has been an active member of the arts community. Through high school, she was a member of the 2016 and 2017 All State Bands, and the 2015 All State Honorable Mention band. Graduating a year early from high school, her achievements include three All District Band appearances, three State Solo and Ensemble superior ratings, two years performing with the Kansas City Youth Symphony, and winning the Northwinds Solo Competition. She was appointed as the Head Drum Major at Oak Park High School. Under the direction of Dr. Jane Carl, Gabrielle is a member of the UMKC Wind Ensemble, and aspires to continue her education to the Doctoral level.
Zoe Goodwin is currently a freshman at UMKC studying under the instruction of Dr. Jane Carl. Zoe is from Lee’s Summit, MO and attended Raymore-Peculiar High School. During her time there she participated in the Wind Symphony. She participated in All-District Honor Band all four years and All-State Band her senior year. At solo and ensemble contest Zoe received superior ratings every year with her clarinet solos and mixed Woodwind trios. Ms. Goodwin also participated in jazz band as a baritone saxophone and tenor saxophone player and soloed on clarinet for a piece her senior year. She was assistant drum major her junior year and head drum major her senior year. While she was head drum major she performed the opening solo in her marching show and won numerous drum major and soloist awards. Zoe also won the nationally recognized John Phillip Sousa award. Zoe is currently working towards a degree in music education.
Josh Mathews is a freshman at the University of Missouri-Kansas City pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Music Education. Originally from Wentzville, Missouri, Josh began playing clarinet in sixth grade and stayed involved with music throughout middle and high school. In high school, Josh was a member of the Timberland Symphonic Band, sitting principal clarinetist his final two years. Receiving numerous superior ratings, Mr. Mathews participated in District and State Solo and Ensemble Contest all throughout high school. During his four years in school, Josh participated in the SIUE Bi-State Honor Band Festival, St. Louis Suburban District Honor Band, Missouri All-State Honorable Mention Band, Missouri All-State Band, and Missouri Fine Arts Summer Academy. Josh was the first clarinetist from his high school to be recognized at the district and state level. Upon graduation, he received the “Quincy Jones Musicianship Award” to signify his musical accomplishments. Josh’s former teacher is St. Louis based clarinetist, Linda Phipps. Currently, he studies with Dr. Carl, and performs with the Conservatory Wind Ensemble.
Brianna Yacobozzi is currently an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is currently studying with Dr. Carl, after previously studying with various teachers and upperclassmen performance majors at University of Central Missouri. In addition to playing clarinet, Brianna also played tenor saxophone for her high school’s jazz ensemble. She has been involved in district events in her area as well as state solo and ensemble contest. Brianna is prepared to further her skills on the clarinet in the years to come, and to eventually become an educator for the next generation of young instrumentalists.
Grace Troesser is from Mexico, Missouri and is currently studying to become a Music Therapist. While attending Mexico High school Grace was the principal clarinet which lead her to receiving the nationally recognized, John Phillip Sousa Award while also receiving the Most Improved award in Symphonic and Jazz band. Each year Grace received a 1 rating on her solos at districts and 2 ratings at state. She has been a part of the Northeast Missouri All-District band the school years of 2015-16 and 2016-17. Grace has also been a part of the University of Missouri Junior Honor Band. Outside of clarinet, Grace also played piano in jazz band for two years and lead saxophone for two years. In the summer of 2016 she also attended the Missouri Fine arts Academy for three weeks at Missouri State University in which she says was one of the greatest things she has ever been a part of. Grace is excited to be studying at UMKC and cannot wait to help those in need through the power of music.
Alumni
Julia Janda is from Waynesville, MO and graduated the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a BME and BM (clarinet performance) in May 2015. She grew up in Coralville, IA and started playing the clarinet in 2002. During her time at UMKC, she performed with the UMKC Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra as well as the Heritage Philharmonic in Independence, MO.
Julia has performed with the Heritage Philharmonic in Independence, MO and Northland Symphony in North Kansas City. In 2016, Janda was a finalist in the UMKC Conservatory Concerto/Aria competition.
She has been a participant and member of the following festivals and honor ensembles: Masterworks Festival, Belgian Clarinet Academy, InterHarmony International Music Festival, 2012 Missouri Inter-Collegiate Band, 2014 CBDNA Inter-Collegiate Band, 2010 Bands of America Honor Band of America, and the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Marching Band.
Julia has worked at various band camps and given clinics at Farmington High School (Farmington, MO), Blue Valley High School (Stillwell, KS), Blue Springs High School (Blue Springs, MO), Grain Valley High School (Grain Valley, MO), and Waynesville High School (Waynesville, MO). In 2015, Janda worked for Blue Valley and Blue Springs High School marching bands as a part of their woodwind staff.
Julia served as the President for the UMKC chapter of the National Association for Music Education – Collegiate (NAfME-C) from 2012-2014. In 2013, she was elected to Vice President of Membership for the Missouri NAfME-C, and in 2014 she was elected President.
Julia has been a member of the Music for All Summer Symposium SWAG Team from 2011-2015.
Janda is a member of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). She has published articles in the Missouri School Music Magazine – NAfME-C Section.
Jennifer Murray received a Bachelor of the Arts in Music – General Concentrations, a Bachelor of Music in Performance and a Master of the Arts in Education from Truman State University, where she studied with Dr. Jesse Krebs. She is currently a second year Master’s student at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance where she studies with Dr. Jane Carl. Jennifer has also completed additional clarinet and bass clarinet study with St. Louis based clarinetist, Linda Phipps.
Jennifer has performed with a variety of local ensembles and chamber groups, including the Northland Symphony, Midwest Chamber Ensemble, and Northwinds (St. Louis). She has performed as a soloist at several music festivals, including the New Horizons Music Festival hosted by Truman State University, the Midwest Electronic Music Festival and the Collegiate Music Society: 35th Great Plains Regional Chapter Conference. Additionally, Jennifer has performed five times at the Missouri Music Educators Association Conference as a member of the UMKC Wind Symphony, Truman State University Wind Symphony I, Truman State Clarinet Choir, Missouri All-Collegiate Band and Missouri All-Collegiate Orchestra.
In addition to her love of performing, Jennifer also loves teaching young musicians and clarinetists. Upon completion of her degree, she hopes to teach music in public schools, while still pursuing performance opportunities.
During high school, Samantha Baldwin (Choi) enjoyed playing clarinet in many settings, such as the Symphonic Band, pit orchestra, full orchestra, jazz band, and Missouri All-State Band. Her favorite performance from that time was playing for the opening day of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts with the Youth Symphony of Kansas City. Upon finishing high school, Samantha began her undergraduate career at UMKC, where she completed a dual degree with a Bachelor’s in Music Education and a Bachelor’s in Music Performance. While attending UMKC, Samantha played regularly in both the Wind Symphony and the Wind Ensemble, two solo recitals, and many chamber concerts at UMKC. She also performed with the Midwest Chamber Ensemble and Classical Revolution KC. Samantha performed at MMEA with the Wind Symphony her final year at UMKC. She is the first student in UMKC’s history to graduate with the music education degree in four years, and now holds two degrees in music. She is teaching general music at Pleasant Hill at the Primary School, which includes over 400 students from grades Kindergarten through 2nd grade. Samantha directs a 1st grade choir and 2nd grade choir, and performs a program with each grade level every year. Samantha continues to play with chamber ensembles, including Classical Revolution KC.
<!– theexcerpt: Read about our current members of the studio, as well as our proud Alumni!