Benjamin J. Kim, soprano, currently in his first season with the Vienna Saxophone Quartet, is a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology and holds a B.S. in applied & engineering physics from Cornell University and Ph.D. in acoustics from Penn State University. As a student of Reginald Jackson, Dr. Kim was admitted into the prestigious University of Michigan saxophone studio and took First Prize in the 1993 Fairfax County Band Directors Association Solo Competition. At Cornell under Dr. Mark Scatterday (now Conductor of Eastman Wind Ensemble and Eastman Wind Orchestra at the Eastman School of Music), Dr. Kim led saxophone sections in all university performing wind groups as well as numerous saxophone quartets, and was a featured soloist with the Cornell University Wind Ensemble. At Penn State, Dr. Kim shifted his focus to the jazz idiom playing lead alto and lead tenor in the university jazz ensembles for which he was often a featured soloist. He also was a member of Saxophobia, the university’s premiere saxophone quartet led by Professor Dan Yoder. At present Dr. Kim is a senior scientist/engineer and consultant at BBN Technologies (formerly Bolt Beranek and Newman) and remains a student of music.
Yasuko Mohler, alto, began playing the saxophone in her native Japan, beginning music
study at age 5. She also plays the koto, a stringed instrument, and the bass guitar. She has
studied with saxophonist George Etheridge. Currently Ms. Mohler plays alto saxophone in
the Vienna Community Band and plays in taverns in Alexandria. She has appeared on the Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center with the koto. She came to the United
States for graduate study at George Mason University. She is an illustrator for medical
textbooks, and in the year 2000 became a mother.
John McNeil, tenor, graduated from Herndon High School and James Madison
University, where he played the saxophone. Mr. McNeil is a member of the Capital Wind
Symphony, the Fairfax Symphony Summer Band, and the Vienna Community Band where
he has been a featured soloist on alto saxophone and auto horn. He has played in many other
local musical organizations as well. His teachers include saxophonists Mike Redford, Cindy
Davis, and Martin Wilkes. He is a computer specialist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics
in Washington, DC.
Robert L. Carroll, baritone, graduated with a Ph. D. from the University of Connecticut in 1973. Dr. Carroll has played in a large number of musical organizations. He has played at Carnegie Hall, at the Kennedy Center, at the Concertgebouw Amphitheater in Holland, at Heidelburg University, and at the Yale University School of Music. He played in the premiere of Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis, and in actor/comedian Bob Hope’s stage band. Dr. Carroll has been on tour in western Europe, in China, and in Russia (the latter in 1998 with the American Youth Philharmonic). He is a student of saxophonist George Etheridge, and has studied with the noted tenor saxophonist James Houlik. Currently Dr. Carroll plays in the Capital Wind Symphony, the Riverside Saxophone Quartet, the Fairfax Symphony Summer Band, the Concordia German Band, and the Vienna Community Band. Dr. Carroll is Professor at George Washington University, and is founder of the Vienna Saxophone Quartet.
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Puttin' on the Ritz -- Goodwin House Xmas 2004 |
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