Dr. Courtney Miller is the oboe professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has previously served on faculty at the University of Iowa in Iowa, Boston College in Massachusetts, and Ashland University in Ohio. A highly regarded performer and pedagogue, Dr. Miller tours as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America. Her 2023 tour in Thailand promoted her newest album collaboration, “Hans Gál: Works for Viola, Piano, Violin & Oboe,” released in 2022. She has performed in many orchestras in the United States, such as the Chicago Symphony, Orchestra Iowa, and Quad Cities Symphony. She currently performs with the North Carolina Opera. In addition to collaborations within the field of music, Dr. Miller has a flair for interdisciplinary work. She has collaborated with hip-hop dancer Ernest “EKnock” Phillips, belly dancer Janelle Issis, and most recently, choreographer/dancer Kristin Marrs.

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

Since joining the North Carolina Symphony in 1989, Principal Oboe Melanie Wilsden has established herself as a performer and educator who is in great demand across the Triangle area. Wilsden has been a featured soloist with the Symphony on several occasions and has been a featured guest with the Brussels Chamber Orchestra as a part of that group’s U.S. tour. Born in Hatfield, England, Wilsden grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was a student of Elizabeth Camus of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Having received her bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she was a student of noted performer and pedagogue John Mack, Wilsden went on to earn her master’s degree at The Juilliard School where she studied with Elain Douvas, Principal Oboe of the Metropolitan Opera. Before coming to North Carolina, she held the position of Associate Principal Oboe with the San Francisco Symphony and was oboist and English hornist with the Savannah Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Mallarme Chamber Players, and Washington Square Music Festival Orchestra, as well as on William Peace University’s Manning Music Series. In addition to appearing on North Carolina Symphony albums, she has also been featured in collaborations with Raleigh news personality Bill Leslie. Passionate about teaching, Wilsden has served on the faculties of UNC-Chapel Hill, Meredith College, St. Mary’s School, and Cannon Music Camp at Appalachian State University. In addition to numerous master class appearances, Wilsden maintains a very active private music studio.

Joseph Peters first conducted the North Carolina Symphony in 2019. A frequent conductor of education, Summerfest, and Pops programs, he conducted the North Carolina Symphony in a classical performance in October 2023. In addition, he is Associate Principal Oboe and English Horn with the North Carolina Symphony. Joseph Peters is Music Director of the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra in Branson, Missouri, and serves on the conducting staff of Triangle Youth Philharmonic and as interim conductor of the Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra.  He was previously Music Director of the SUNY Buffalo State Philharmonia Orchestra and the Saybrook College Orchestra of Yale University. He is a frequent guest at the New World Symphony, where he has led diverse programs including children’s concerts, chamber opera, and a collaboration with the Miami City Ballet. Long committed to teaching, Peters was the oboe and conducting instructor at the SoBe Institute of the Arts and conducted side-by-side concerts for New World Symphony’s MusicLab program. Before joining the North Carolina Symphony, Peters held Principal Oboe chairs with the Minnesota Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed as guest principal with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and The Florida Orchestra, and for three years, he was a member of the New World Symphony. Peters first played with the Minnesota Orchestra at age 18, performing Mozart’s Oboe Concerto. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and New World Symphony, as well as the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, of which he is an alumnus. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree from Yale University.

A native of South Dakota, Aaron Apaza joined the North Carolina Symphony as Principal Bassoon in 2020. Previously, he held the positions of Principal Bassoon with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (2013–2020) and Lecturer of Bassoon at the University of Tennessee Knoxville (2016–2020) Additionally, he served as Acting Assistant Principal Bassoon with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Acting Assistant Principal Bassoon with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Aaron spent two years at the Interlochen Arts Academy, where he studied with the Cleveland Orchestra’s Assistant Principal Bassoon, Barrick Stees. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and his Master’s Degree from Yale University. His teachers include the Philadelphia Orchestra’s retired Principal Bassoon, Bernard Garfield, and Frank Morelli, bassoon soloist, chamber musician, and educator. After completing his studies at Yale, Aaron was invited to join Miami’s New World Symphony, where he performed under the direction of artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas. He has also performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Baltimore Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, and the Alabama Symphony, among others.

Wenmin Zhang joined the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra in 2016 as Assistant Principal Bassoon. Prior to his North Carolina Symphony appointment, he had been assistant principal bassoon of the Omaha Symphony Orchestra since 2013. He was also appointed as co-principal bassoon of the China National Center for the Performing Arts orchestra in 2015. Zhang was Acting Principal Bassoon of the Symphony in C Orchestra in New Jersey and a substitute player with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. He has also been accepted in festivals including the New York String Orchestra; National Orchestra Institute; Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland, under the direction of Charles Dutoit; and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, under the direction of Christoph Eschenbach. A native of Beijing, China, Zhang studied with Daniel Matsukawa and Bernard Garfield at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he received a bachelor’s degree. He also studied at Rice University for his master’s degree, where he studied with Benjamin Kamins.