Steve Stusek, saxophone, is Associate Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where he is a member of the Eastwind Quintette d’Anches and the Red Clay Saxophone Quartet. Originally from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, he received his Bachelor’s degree in saxophone performance from Indiana University. Before beginning a Master’s degree in saxophone and chamber music at Arizona State University, Steve spent a year in Paris studying at the Paris Conservatory (Conservatoire Nationale Superior de Musique de Paris) and the Conservatoire de le Région de Paris, where he was awarded the Prix d’Or à l’Unanimité in Saxophone Performance. After living in the Netherlands for almost eight years he returned to Indiana University and was awarded a DMA in Saxophone in 2001. He has served on the faculties of Ball State University, Middlebury College, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He has been on the UNCG faculty since 1999. As a soloist, Steve has appeared with the Eastern Music Festival and more recently with the University of South Carolina Wind Ensemble as part of the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial conference. He has been the principal saxophonist for the Eastern Music Festival and the Greensboro Symphony for the past ten years. In 2000, he won the prestigious Dutch Chamber Music Competition as part of the saxophone-accordion duo 2Track with accordion virtuoso Otine van Erp. Together they have performed throughout the Netherlands, the US and on Dutch radio. Steve teamed up with pianist Inara Zandmane and saxophonist Susan Fancher to produce the critically acclaimed recording Louder than Words – music for two saxophones and piano. Steve’s teachers have included Eugene Rousseau, Joseph Wytko, David Baker, Larry Teal, Daniel Deffayet, Jean-Yves Formeau, and Leroy Wolter. Steve is the Past-President of the North American Saxophone Alliance.

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 2020. He performed extensively with the Cincinnati and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and he held Principal positions with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and the Midland/Odessa, Richmond, and Abilene Symphonies. Burns 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. Additionally, he has published articles and reviews in the Double Reed (the journal of the International Double Reed Society), the TBA Journal (Texas Bandmasters’ Association), the NC Music Educator (journal of the NC Music Educators’ Association for which he served as Woodwind Notes Editor for over a decade), and Notes (the journal of the Music Library Association). His mentors include William Winstead, Sherman Walt, Leonard Sharrow, Sidney Rosenberg, and Colin Hemmingsen. He is archivist for the International Double Reed Society and was co-host for the IDRS 2003 Conference in Greensboro, NC.