Orca Concerts: Romantic Winds

• Mark Salman, piano
• Paul Rafanelli, bassoon
• Mark Robbins, French horn
• Dan Williams, oboe
• Susan Telford, flute
• Sean Osborn, clarinet

About Orca Concerts

https://www.orcaconcerts.org/

About Mark Salman, piano

http://www.marksalman.net/

About Paul Rafanelli, bassoon

A member of the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera Orchestra since 1992, bassoonist Paul Rafanelli has performed frequently on the orchestra's Chamber Music Series; he has also performed with the Seattle Chamber Music Society, Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival and Seattle Chamber Players. Before joining the Seattle Symphony in 1992, Mr. Rafanelli was a member of the Charleston (SC) Symphony Orchestra, and played at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Italy and the Spoleto Festival USA.

For over a decade Mr. Rafanelli has served on the Board of Directors of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras (he is also an Alumnus from the 1980’s) and is a strong proponent of Arts in education. For 16 years he served on the faculty of the University of Puget Sound, where he was the Affiliate Artist in bassoon. In October of 2021 he joined the faculty of the University of Washington as Artist in Residence.

Mr. Rafanelli was born in Seattle in 1963 and received his training at the University of Washington, Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School. He is fluent in Italian and also speaks some German. His bassoon was custom made by the Wilhelm Heckel Co. in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1986.

About Mark Robbins, French horn

Mark Robbins is Associate Principal French Horn with the Seattle Symphony. He performs as Principal Horn with Seattle Opera, including playing the horn calls for Wagner’s Ring cycle. He is also a member of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, a summer orchestra in Upstate New York. Also a devoted chamber musician, Robbins has performed often with the Seattle Chamber Players and on the Seattle Symphony’s Chamber series. Formerly, he was a member of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra in Miami, and has played at the Spoleto, Tanglewood and Olympic music festivals. Also an active teacher, Robbins is on the faculty at Cornish College for the Arts and at the Chautauqua Music Festival. He is the horn coach for the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, and teaches horn in the Seattle area.

About Dan Williams, oboe

Dan Williams is one of Seattle’s most sought-after performers, as soloist, orchestral musician, teacher and recording artist. He is principal oboist of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, and has also served as principal oboist of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. He held the same positions in the Harrisburg (PA) and Binghamton (NY) Symphonies. He has also played principal oboe with the Seattle Symphony and the Seattle Opera. Of his 1996 performance of Bach’s Double Concerto with Joseph Silverstein and the Northwest Chamber Orchestra, the Seattle Times reported that "oboist Dan Williams poured out waves of beautiful tone with considerable musicality." In a 1999 review of the Vaughan-Williams Oboe concerto, the Bellingham Herald described Williams as "a consummate player, in easy command of those subtle shades of color and phrase that can let the oboe approach the expressive range of the human voice. It was a performance to melt your heart."

Mr. Williams currently teaches oboe at the University of Puget Sound, and has served on the faculties of Western Washington University and the University of Washington School of Music.

A native of Seattle, Dan Williams received his musical training at the Juilliard School and at Western Washington University, where he was voted most Outstanding Graduate by the music faculty.

About Susan Telford, flute

Flutist Susan Telford began her musical studies on violin and piano at the age of four, briefly studied cello, and then moved on to the flute when she realized that the long, hilly walk to and from school and even life itself would be much more pleasant with a smaller instrument in hand. She received degrees from the University of Washington (BM) and Northwestern University (MM and most of a DM), and studied at several summer festivals. She was the winner of the Northwest Young Artists Competition, the Farwell Award, Bushell Concerto Competition, and numerous other competitions, as well as receiving Program Honors at Northwestern. She has been a member of the Tacoma Symphony, Elgin Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, and several chamber groups, as well as a substitute with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Grant Park Symphony, among others.

As a member of the chamber ensemble Quake Susan recently performed at the Pacific Rim Music Festival in California, the CrossSound Festival in Alaska, and the Music Biennale Zagreb, and as a studio musician she has performed on countless movie soundtracks and various other projects. In addition to her private flute students, she has served on the faculties of several institutions, including the University of Evansville, Midsummer Musical Retreat, and Southern Illinois Music Festival. When not playing or teaching the flute, Susan can be found up to her knees in toys with her children Max and Lena.

About Sean Osborn, clarinet

Sean Osborn—clarinetist, composer, and pedagogue—was the youngest clarinetist to be appointed to the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He has since presented master classes across continents and performed as guest Principal Clarinet with leading American orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Seattle Symphony. With rave reviews from The New York Times ("…an excellent clarinetist,"), the Boston Globe ("…a miracle,"), and Gramophone ("…a master,") and over forty concertos in his repertoire, he has recorded dozens of CDs for London, Deutsche Grammophon, Sony, Albany, and others, as well as premiered works by Philip Glass, John Adams, John Corigliano, Chen Yi, and Jennifer Higdon.