Mary Ashley Barret

Mary Ashley Barret is the Professor of Oboe at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and has been on the faculty since 1998.  A native of Charlotte, she holds the principal oboe position with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra in addition to being a frequent performer throughout the southeastern USA.  She has appeared as soloist with the Salisbury Symphony, the Florida State Wind Orchestra, the UNCG Orchestra, Symphonic Band, and Wind Ensemble, the Pottstown Symphony Orchestra, and has presented numerous guest recitals and master classes throughout the United States, Caribbean, Central America, Canada, Germany, China, New Zealand and Australia. Barret performs regularly with the Greensboro Symphony Wind Quintet, the EastWind Trio d’Anches, the EastWind Ensemble, and has spent several summers playing chamber music in the Adirondacks of New York.  

Some highlights of her career include co-hosting the International Double Reed Society’s 32nd annual conference in 2003, a Carnegie-Hall recital debut with the EastWind Trio d’Anches in 2005, a ten-day recital tour to China with the EastWind Quintette d’Anches in 2008, the Brevard Summer Music Festival of 2010, and as the headline master teacher for the NC Bocal Majority/Operation O.B.O.E summer camps since 2014.  Barret’s degrees include the Doctor of Music from Florida State University, the Master of Music from Baylor University, and the Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music.  She can be heard on Live from Luzerne recordings with the Luzerne Chamber Players (NY), Out of the Woods, French reed trio music with TreVent, The Russian Clarinet (with EastWind Trio d’Anches), EastWind Trio d’Anches Looks East (Reed Trios of Eastern Europe), Chamber Music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (pub. by Centaur Records).  Barret’s research focus has been recording music by women composers, the first CD of which was released Spring 2012, published by Centaur Records.  Currently she is working with the Women’s Wind Ensemble and will be producing a concert series promoting the winning composers from the Women of Note Composition Competition. Barret is an artist/clinician for Buffet Group USA.

Michael Burns

Hailed for his “exquisite artistry,” “stunning interpretations” and “flawless performances,” New-Zealand-born bassoonist Michael Burns enjoys a multi-faceted career as a performer, teacher and composer. 

An active performer, Burns enjoys roles as a soloist, in chamber groups, and orchestrally with numerous recent performances at International Double Reed Society conventions, recitals and masterclasses throughout North America, Germany, Italy, China and the South Pacific. He performs as principal bassoon with the Asheville Symphony and the North Carolina Opera and as bassoonist in the EastWind Ensemble and Blue Mountain Forecast. He also performs regularly with regional groups such as the Greensboro, Charlotte, and North Carolina Symphonies and as a guest with the Ciompi Quartet and Mallarme Chamber Players.

He has recorded for the Centaur, CAP, Telarc, EMI, Klavier, and Mark labels and his solo CD Primavera: Music for Bassoon and Piano by Bassoonists, was released to critical acclaim on the Mark Masters label. A new CD Glass Ghosts is scheduled for release in 2021. Burns is a Moosman Artist/Clinician and plays on a Moosmann 222CL 5SC Thin Wall bassoon.

Burns’ primary position is as Professor of bassoon at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In summers, he has been associated with several Festivals including the Clazz International Music Festival in Tuscany, Italy, Eastern Music Festival, The Summer Bassoon Extravaganza, Music for All/Bands of America Summer Symposium, the Affetti Festival, New England Music Camp and the Bocal Majority and Operation O.B.O.E. Prior to accepting the position at UNCG, he also taught at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory, Indiana State University and Midland College. He is an active composer with many of his pieces being published by TrevCo Music, Potenza Music and Effiny Music and frequently performed internationally. https://michaelburnsbassoon.com

Euridice Alvarez

Euridice Alvarez, is the Assistant Professor of Oboe at Baylor University. She is principal oboist with the Waco Symphony and performs with the Baylor Woodwind Quintet and Baylor Wind Trio. Dr. Alvarez has established herself as a teacher, orchestral musician, chamber musician and oboe soloist. Through performing, university teaching and master class presentations, both nationally and internationally, she is recognized as an outstanding musician and pedagogue. Her oboe studies began at the Victoriano López School of Music in her native Honduras, and continued at the University of Southern Mississippi (BM), Baylor University (MM) and Eastman School of Music (DMA). Her primary teachers are José Angel Abrego, Patricia Malone, Doris DeLoach, and Richard Killmer. She has performed in several orchestras in Alabama, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Texas, Wyoming and Washington, D.C. She has toured, performed and/or presented master classes in Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica, Thailand, Florida, Connecticut, Georgia, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, New Mexico and Texas. She formerly served on the faculty of the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Northern Colorado. Dr. Alvarez is the is the co-founder of Honduras Oboe Project Education, Inc. (HOPE), a non-profit organization that promotes the instrumental education of the oboe in Honduras. She is a Marigaux artist.

Ann Shoemaker

Ann Shoemaker, bassoonist, is highly regarded as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and music educator. She currently serves as Associate Professor of Bassoon and Coordinator of Woodwinds at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Her students have found continued success in professional orchestras, military bands, as freelance musicians, educators, and music administrators. Shoemaker serves as principal bassoonist with Shreveport Symphony Orchestra and Waco Symphony Orchestra. Declared “highly expressive, with a rich sound” and “technical prowess” by the American Record Guide, Shoemaker frequently performs guest solo recitals across the country and internationally. She is proud to be a Co-Executive Director of the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition and Symposium, which advocates for the careers of young women bassoonists and strives to contribute to a diverse and supportive community of bassoonists. Dr. Shoemaker completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, her Bachelor of Music degree from Furman University and her Master of Music degree from Yale School of Music, where she was awarded the Nyfenger Award for Outstanding Woodwind Performance. She is a Fox Bassoon performing artist. Her CD, New Standards: Music for Bassoon and Piano, is available through the MSR Classics label.