Using traditional and non-traditional technique, I teach violin and viola privately to students age 4 to 75. I am former adjunct faculty for the University of Alaska, Anchorage and passionate about teaching, practicing and performing. I am an active member of SAA (Suzuki Association of the Americas), and I am an approved Suzuki method violin instructor.

As a section coach for the Anchorage Youth Symphony and Anchorage Youth Philharmonic, I enjoy working with students who are new to symphonic literature and orchestral etiquette.

I have been a member of the music community in Anchorage, Alaska for over 30 years. Outside of private teaching and coaching, I am the second violin principal for the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, Anchorage Opera, and Anchorage Concert Chorus and other local productions. In addition to performing chamber recitals, I also enjoy performing with my string quartet, ENSEMBLE in black & white.

Katie has played the violin since she was a 5 year old girl growing up in the Twin Cities. She graduated in 2018 and has a degree in Music Education from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She has been a tenured violinist at the Anchorage Symphony since 2015, and is currently holding the position of Assistant Principal Second Violin. Katie has enjoyed being the concert master of multiple organizations including the Anchorage Bowl Chamber Orchestra, UAA Sinfonia, Anchorage Civic Orchestra, and Kenai Peninsula Orchestra. She also enjoys performing with her folk band, the Shake City String Band, as well as many other groups in Alaska and the lower 48. In her spare time, Katie enjoys creating art, cooking, hanging out with her dog, and exploring the Alaskan wilderness.

Dr. Miriam English Ward grew up in Fairbanks and has performed chamber music and as a viola soloist throughout the United States and internationally including Canada, Japan, Singapore, Mexico, Spain, and Norway. In addition to numerous groups dedicated to performance of work by living composers, she has played in baroque ensembles at the University of North Texas, Portland’s Amadeus Chamber Orchestra and as a member of the Madison Bach Musicians (Wisconsin).

As an educator, Dr. Ward has taught and coached for the Preparatory Divisions of the Juilliard School and the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, Chiba Prefecture (Japan) Youth Symphony, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, the Eugene-Springfield (Oregon) Youth Orchestras, Portland Youth Philharmonic, and Metropolitan Youth Symphony (Oregon). She has taught at various colleges and universities, including Ripon College (Wisconsin), Lewis & Clark College, Multnomah University and Corban University (Oregon). She currently teaches at UAA and is the director of Alaska Resounding, coaching the Hiland Correctional Women’s Chamber Orchestra and bringing chamber music performances and coaching to Anchorage and beyond.

Biography coming soon!

Born and raised in Fairbanks, she graduated from Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University in 2013 with a B.M. in Double Bass Performance. She was invited to the University of Manitoba in Canada where she earned her M.M. in 2015 and Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in 2017. While in Canada, Avalon performed with the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra and as a substitute bassist in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. She has been the double bass instructor for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Summer Music Academy since 2016 and has been teaching, coaching, and conducting small and large ensembles since 2010. She has also been an adjudicator for the Alaska State Solo and Ensemble low strings division. Avalon lives in Anchorage, Alaska where she works, teaches, and volunteers in the community.

Laura Koenig teaches flute and music history at UAA. She received her Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Iowa as the first performer ever awarded the prestigious Iowa Fellowship. Laura’s performance expertise encompasses orchestral, contemporary, and jazz idioms as well as facility on both the modern and baroque, one-keyed flute. She has performed in CrossSound, as guest soloist with the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra and the UAA Wind Ensemble, and is principal flute of the Anchorage Opera Orchestra. In addition to serving as Artistic Director for the Anchorage Festival of Music, Laura directs Fair Weather Flutes, coaches and coordinates chamber music for the Alaska Youth Orchestras, and is a founding member of Jomala, an ensemble devoted to new jazz compositions. Laura was a guest soloist at the 2012 National Flute Association annual convention and was a nominee for the 2013 UAA Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

Biography coming soon!

Sandra Cox received both her bachelor’s degree with a Performance Certificate and her master’s degree in Music Education from the University of South Carolina where she also served as the Clarinet Graduate Assistant under Doug Graham. After two years teaching band in Fredericksburg, VA she won an audition and enlisted in the United States Air Force. While in the Air Force she was a member of the Heritage of America Band in Langley, VA, and then The USAF Band in Washington, DC, rising to the rank of Chief Master Sergeant before retiring after 20 years and moving to Alaska. Sandra can be heard on over 35 USAF recordings and was principal clarinet on a Grammy Award winning CD, PDG Bach Serenade for an Awful lot of Winds and Percussion. Shortly after moving to Alaska in 2010, she began playing with the Anchorage Symphony and most recently became the principal clarinet of the Anchorage Opera. Sandra enjoys hiking, fishing, and traveling with her husband, Dean. They have a daughter who is a nurse and plays drums and a son in college who plays bass and guitar.

Biography coming soon!

Biography coming soon!

Biography coming soon!

‭A native of southern Rhode Island, Michael began playing the trombone at the age of 10 when‬ he enrolled in the Chariho Regional Middle School band program. He earned a B.M. in music‬ performance from the University of Rhode Island in 2010, having studied trombone with Darren‬ Acosta and Gabe Langfur, jazz improvisation with Mark Berney, and composition with Joe‬ Parillo and Geoffrey Gibbs. He had his first taste of Alaska life spending the summer of 2011‬ living in Fairview before leaving to play trombone on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines for a stint.‬ He eventually found his way to a graduate program at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA‬ where in 2016 he earned a M.M. in trombone performance under the tutelage of Matt Neff and‬ Matt Niess. Michael then moved to Brooklyn, NY where he held the Principal Trombone chair‬ with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra while teaching instrumental music at schools in Queens‬ and on Staten Island. In the fall of 2020, Michael decided to relocate to Anchorage and has‬ spent the last few years establishing himself in the musical community here. He has recently‬ joined the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra’s trombone section and can be seen locally with‬ other groups including Hot Dish Bluegrass Band, The Tyson James Band, the Glacier Brass‬ Quintet, and playing sousaphone with the Park Strippers Marching Band. He is delighted to be‬ coaching our talented low brass students and looks forward to helping build our band and‬ orchestra communities here in Alaska!‬

As a Freelance Harpist and life-long Alaskan, Joanna Mergler Mayer has had the pleasure of teaching harp, performing as a soloist, and covering harp parts with symphonies and ensembles all over Alaska. Joanna’s only claim to fame is that she was the first harpist with the Anchorage Youth Symphony (1978-1984). Joanna began her harp adventure at the age of 9, under the instruction of Alaska’s Mother Harpist, Margo Britch. Today, Joanna is a classically and traditionally trained, specializing in solo performances, chamber music, Celtic harp, harp ensemble, and harp instruction. She maintains a private harp studio in her home and has students of all ages on both pedal (Classical) and “non-pedal” or lever (Celtic/folk) harps.

Joanna received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alaska, having studied music and visual art in both Fairbanks and Anchorage. She also studied mixed media art, jewel-making, and graphic design at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington.

Joanna is the creator and director of the Aurora Harp Ensemble, an Anchorage “Harp Circle”, forming together in 1999, to give local harpists of all ages and musical backgrounds opportunities to gain performance and ensemble skills, and to play with like-instruments. Joanna is a member of the American Harp Society and the International Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen. In her free time, Joanna enjoys playing harp/guitar duets with her husband, micro-managing the lives of her two adult children, gardening, making art, and playing with beads.

Kade Bissell is a freelance percussionist, solo hammered dulcimer performer, music manager, and educator. After acquiring his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance at Northern Arizona University, he returned to his home in Anchorage, Alaska. He has performed with a variety of professional ensembles including the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, The Five Flats, Vagabond (Lady Sol) and High Altitudes. Currently, he performs with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, the Anchorage Bowl Chamber Orchestra, The Youngman Project and in his solo project, Bard of the North. He is also devoted to educating the youth the importance of the musical arts, composing music, and providing Anchorage Farmer’s Markets with a plethora of local musicians.

Clarinet was one of Brad’s main hobbies through all of middle and high school. Although he was accepted in to university for physics and engineering, he found himself spending most of his time playing and practicing music. He switched studies to music education and is now a full-fledged band teacher! For advice for current students, he quotes the great Benny Goodman saying, “After you’ve done all the work and prepared as much as you can, you might as well go out and have a good time.”

Christopher Sweeney is an Associate Professor of Music, and Chair of the Music Department at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He received a B.S. in Music Education and a B.S. in Music Therapy from Duquesne University, and an M.M. and Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Miami. His trombone teachers have included Robert Hamrick, Glen Dodson and Timothy Conner. Prior to working at UAA, Dr. Sweeney served as Assistant Professor of Music at Limestone College, Gaffney, South Carolina. In addition, he is an active clinician, having adjudicated and rehearsed bands in New Mexico, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alaska. As a trombonist, Christopher currently serves as Principal Trombone for the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra and Principal Trombone for the Anchorage Opera and has performed numerous times with CrossSound, the avant garde music organization based in Juneau. With Linn Weeda and Cheryl Pierce, he is a founding member of the Chugach Brass.