Dr. Courtney Miller is the oboe professor at the University of Iowa where she teaches private oboe lessons, reed classes, master classes and chamber music. Prior to her position at the University of Iowa, Dr. Miller served on faculty at Boston College and Ashland University.

Dr. Miller made her solo debut with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra at age 17, and continues to be a devoted performer traveling throughout the United States and abroad as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician.  Dr. Miller’s recently album Modern Fairy Tales released on Centaur Records is readily available on ITunes, Amazon and Spotify. Fanfare Magazine hails Courtney Miller as “a performer of considerable skill, with an unfailingly lovely sound, abundant technical ability, and a special gift for turning notes into poetry.” In addition to her solo pursuits, she is a core member of the prestigious international chamber ensemble, Virtuoso Soloists of New York.

As an orchestral musician, Dr. Miller served as the English hornist with the Quad City Symphony for two seasons. She performs frequently with numerous orchestras around the country including Orchestra Iowa (IA), Portland Symphony (ME), the Jacksonville Symphony (FL), the Atlantic Symphony (MA), the Akron Symphony (OH), the Canton Symphony (OH), the Toledo Symphony (OH), the Erie Philharmonic (PA), the Cleveland Opera (OH), the Cleveland Pops (OH), the Wheeling Symphony (WV), the Youngstown Symphony (OH), and the Tallahassee Symphony (FL),

Professor Miller is published in the Double Reed Journal and is a frequent performer and presenter at the International Double Reed Society Conferences. This fall she is a featured artist of the Brazilian Double Reed Society at their 1st International ABPD Conference. Dr. Miller has also presented papers at the College Music Society’s Northeast Regional Conference.  In the summer Dr. Miller teaches and performs as faculty at the Nuevo Mundo Festival in Aruba.

Dr. Courtney Miller has a Bachelor of Music from Florida State University, a Master of Music from Cleveland Institute of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Boston University. Her teachers include John Ferrillo, John Mack, and Eric Ohlsson.

Dr. Courtney Miller is a Lorée Artist.

Benjamin Coelho, professor of bassoon, has been at the University of Iowa since 1998. He has appeared as soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician, teacher and clinician in several countries including the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Panama, Portugal, France, Romania, Australia, Canada and Czech Republic.

An avid chamber musician, he has performed with the Gramado Woodwind Quintet (Brazil), the Alaria Chamber Ensemble (New York) and the Contemporary Music Group of Minas Gerais (Brazil). As a founding member of the Manhattan Wind Quintet, Mr. Coelho performed numerous recitals and concert tours throughout the United States. The group won various chamber music competitions including Artists International, Coleman, and Monterey Peninsula Chamber Music Competition.

An enthusiastic proponent of new music, Mr. Coelho has commissioned, performed and recorded many works by European, American and Latin American composers. His recordings include, Bassoon Images from the Americas (2003), released by Albany Records; Bravura Bassoon (2005), Pas de Trois (2006) released by Crystal Records; and Explorations (2007), Dreaming in Colours (2011) and Agnus Dei (2012) all released by MSR Classics. The specialized media has continuously praised his recordings “…Ben has such a gorgeous sound, such impeccable technique, and such sensitive musicality, that it is a real pleasure to recommend this album very strongly to all of you!” (Ronald Klimko, IDRS Journal), “Coelho’s program is an international affair that shows the range of colors and character that the bassoon can explore in tandem with string colleagues. His playing is unfailingly sonorous, expressive and alert, and he champions the pieces on this recording as if he believed in them without reservation.” (Donald Rosenberg, The Gramophone), “Coelho is fantastic. His sound is brilliant, resonant, and strong, and he has a warm tone that blends superbly with the strings.” (Schwartz, American Record Guide). As a member of the group Wizards! A Double Reed Consort, Coelho has recorded two CDs released by Crystal and Boston Records in 2000 and 2003 respectively.

Mr. Coelho has written articles on bassoon performance and literature. His work has been published in the International Double Reed Society Journal, as well as the British Double Reed Society Journal. His article “Francisco Mignone and the Sixteen Waltzes for Solo Bassoon” has been translated into German, and published in the German double reed magazine ROHRBLATT.

Before his position at the University of Iowa, Mr. Coelho was the vice-dean and bassoon professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil). He also worked extensively as a performer in his native Brazil, including principal positions with symphony orchestras in Rio de Janeiro, Campinas, and Belo Horizonte.

In the United States, Mr. Coelho has played with the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony (Iowa), The Camerata Chamber Orchestra (Indiana), The Bloomington Pops Orchestra (Indiana), The Bronx Opera Company (New York), and Orchestra Iowa. Currently, he performs as the principal bassoon with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra (Iowa/Illinois).

Ben attended Indiana University, Manhattan School of Music, S.U.N.Y. at Purchase, and the Tatuí Conservatory in his native Brazil. His major teachers include: Clóvis Franco, Donald MacCourt, Arthur Weisberg, and Kim Walker.

Ben lives in Iowa City, IA, with his wife Karen and their wonderful daughters Liliana and Julia.

Honolulu-born violinist Patrick Yim has performed as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral violinist throughout the world, including performances in Carnegie Hall and David Geffen Hall (New York), the Seoul Arts Center, Hong Kong City Hall, Harpa Concert Hall (Reykjavík), Severance Hall (Cleveland), Orchestra Hall (Chicago), Teatro alla Scala (Milan), and the Musikverein (Vienna). He joined The Cleveland Orchestra on tours to New York City, Chicago, Miami, and major cities in Europe, including Paris, Milan, Brussels, Luxembourg, Cologne, Munich, and Vienna. He has performed chamber music with members of the Juilliard, Emerson, Pacifica, Ying, and St. Lawrence Quartets, and with members of The Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. As Guest Music Director of the Collegium Musicum Hong Kong, he collaborated with world-renowned pipa virtuoso Wu Man and performed at the Hong Kong City Hall as violinist and conductor. In 2018, he commissioned and premiered new works with Juilliard Quartet violinist Joel Smirnoff.

Yim is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music (BM, MM) and Stony Brook University (DMA). He is an Assistant Professor at Hong Kong University.

Deborah Moriarty is professor of piano and chair of the piano area at the Michigan State University College of Music. A Massachusetts native, she made her debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at age 11. She has also served on the piano faculty at the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Lowell. Moriarty attended the Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School, and the New England Conservatory of Music, where she received her Master of Music degree with honors. She has studied with Russell Sherman, Theodore Lettvin, and Beveridge Webster. An active recitalist and soloist with orchestras throughout the United States, she has also performed in China, Japan, Colombia, Mexico, and the Soviet Union.

James Forger is professor of saxophone and dean of the College of Music at Michigan State University. He has maintained an active role as a saxophone performer appearing regularly with the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra. He has performed as soloist and collaborative musician with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, and Grand Rapids Symphony. He has toured widely as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe, Asia, Russia, South America and the United States. A leader in the commissioning, performance, and recording of new works for the saxophone, he has commissioned or premiered works including those by Milton Babbitt, George Crumb, Donald Martino, Maureen Reyes Lavastida, John Anthony Lennon, David Liptak, Donald Martino, Charles Ruggiero, Morton Subotnick, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.

Kathryn Brown has appeared in recital at the Library of Congress , Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Series, Columbia Artists’ Community Concerts Series, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Pianist and co-founder of the Myriad Chamber Players, Ms. Brown has also performed at the Marlboro Music Festival with members of the Guarneri String Quartet and Beaux Arts Trio. She performed at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC with the Verdehr Trio, and has participated in Ravinia’s Rising Stars series and the USIA Artistic Ambassadours Program. She has been featured on the British Broadcasting Network, the PBS Artistry of… series, Chicago’s WFMT- Radio, and NPR’s Performance Today. An accomplished singer, Ms. Brown was featured in a title role at the Aspen Music Festival and performed in the Phyllis Curtin Seminar at Tanglewood. She currently Heads the Piano Department and Keyboard Division at the Cleveland Institute of Music.