Jodi Boeddeker (Flute)
Jodi Boeddeker is a performer and teacher in Dayton, Ohio. She earned her degree in music from Moorhead State University and her Masters of the Arts in Education from Lesley University in Boston, MA. She currently performs in several groups throughout central Florida, and Ohio, including Syrodesy Flute Trio, Miami Valley Symphony, Springboro Wind Symphony, Florida Teacher’s Orchestra, Space Coast Flute Orchestra, and the International Flute Orchestra. She specializes in low flutes including the contra base flute. Most recently she won an audition to play with the professional flute choir at the 2021 National Flute convention.
Katherine deGruchy (Oboe)
Katherine, a native of Bellbrook, Ohio, received her Bachelors and Masters in Music Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with the renowned oboist John Mack of the Cleveland Orchestra. She lived in Mexico City for 17 years where she played oboe and English horn with the Mexico City Philharmonic and other orchestras. Katherine performed the Mexican debuts of the Persichetti Concerto for English horn and the Honegger Concerto for English horn and Flute with the Mexico City Philharmonic. She also was a member of the award-winning octet Sinfonietta Ventus which recorded on the Urtext label and toured Mexico and the US including a concert in the Carnegie Hall recital hall in New York City. She also is an active member of the International Double Reed Society. In addition to being the Adjunct Instructor, Applied Oboe at Wright State University, Katherine also teaches oboe to younger students in several local schools.
Joe Hesseman (Bassoon)
Joe has over 30 years of experience performing in professional orchestras and bands. Some of his professional credits include performances with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Dayton Ballet Orchestra, Dayton Bach Society, Middletown Symphony, Whitewater Opera Company, Dayton Philharmonic Concert Band, Springfield Concert Band and 31 years as bassoonist with the Springfield Symphony (OH) Orchestra.
Haley Kendall (Clarinet)
Haley earned her Bachelor of Music Performance degree in Clarinet from Wright State University in 2000. She has been teaching clarinet in the Dayton area for over 20 years and performs regularly with many groups including Sinclair Community College Wind Symphony, Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra, Wright State University Symphony Orchestra, Kettering Praise Orchestra. Haley has worked at McCutcheon Music for many years and has often been a featured performer at McCutcheon Music recitals in the Renaissance Auditorium of the Dayton Art Institute. She enjoys working with students of all ages and ability levels.
Curtis Magee (Bassoon)
Hal Melia (Saxophone)
The energy and personality Hal Melia brings to both his teaching and his performing are contagious. Those who have experienced his workshops, classes, and performances never forget the tireless effort and positive aura he exudes in any setting. He is the epitome of the multi-instrumentalist – he plays soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, flute, piccolo, clarinets (Bb, Eb Soprano, and Bass), and EWI (electronic wind instrument). A consummate professional, Hal is noteworthy as a vocalist and scat singer, and has composed and arranged a body of work for a variety of settings.
Hal spent 1986 through 1991 in Los Angeles recording and arranging with top jazz and R&B groups (Tower of Power Horns, Buddy Rich Band, Billy Vera and the Beaters), and appearing in several major motion pictures (Bugsy, Dick Tracy, The Marrying Man, Mobsters, Parent Trap III, and others). He has also recorded with artists on several labels, including MCA Records and Positive Music Records, Inc.
In the fall of 1991 Hal and his family returned to Dayton, Ohio, where Hal was founder and director of Miami Valley Jazz Labs, a jazz school for kids from middle school through high school. He also taught jazz at various schools and privately in the Southwestern Ohio area, while maintaining a rigorous regional performing schedule. During this time he attained his Masters Degree in Saxophone Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
From 1998 – 2004 Hal was Visiting Assistant Professor of Music and in Jazz Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, where he resurrected a dormant Jazz Studies Program, working with jazz great Bobby Watson the last four of those years. During his time there, Hal became an integral part of the Kansas City jazz scene, performing and recording in a variety of venues, and serving as President of the Jazz Ambassadors, a jazz support organization in Kansas City.
Hal’s premier CD, WADUYATHINK, was released in 1993 on Positive Music Records and was a top 25 jazz CD. The recording features straight ahead jazz music, including both original compositions and original arrangements of jazz classics and standards. Along with Hal on Soprano, Alto, and Tenor Saxophones and Flute, the CD features Dayton area artists Jeff Hufnagle on Piano, Bob Bowen on Bass, and Steve Barnes on Drums. Special guest artist Kenny Drew, Jr. appears on Piano courtesy of Antilles Records.
Hal now resides in Dayton, Ohio, serving as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies at Central State University in Wilberforce, OH. In addition, Hal serves as Musical Director for the Miami Valley Summer Jazz Camp, teaches privately, and performs quite often both regionally and nationally. He maintains a high profile as a performer, serving as clinician, adjudicator and guest artist for numerous jazz festivals and concerts. In 2013 Hal started a popular horn band called Brass Tracks Band, in which he arranges and plays the music of Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, Earth Wind & Fire, Tower of Power, and many more popular bands from the 1970s to the current day. Hal is much in demand for concert and club performances and recordings, as well as educational and professional guest artist appearances.
Willie Morris (Saxophone)
Dr. Morris teaches Saxophone performance and is the director of the Dayton Jazz Ensemble. He has been a professor at the University of Dayton since 1993 and serves as the associate director of athletic bands and coordinates jazz studies. Dr. Morris has been active as a performer, educator, and clinician since he began in his college years. He has been a concerto/aria finalist at each university he attended and has performed as a soloist across the country and in South America. Dr. Morris is also active as a marching band clinician, drill designer, and color guard instructor.
Matt Snyder (Clarinet)
Matt Snyder received his Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance from Wright State University. Matt’s most memorable experiences in college include membership of the WSU Wind Symphony Leadership Council, serving as principal clarinet of the College Band Directors National Association, earning the Clark Haines “Most Outstanding Musician” award in the WSU Wind Symphony, receiving “Honorable Mention” in the Music Teachers National Association competition, and earning first place in WSU’s Honors Recital.