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 Julia Neckermann
Violin
KSO Artist in Residence Julia Neckermann is currently the Associate Concertmaster in the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and also plays first violin in the Burdick-Thorne String Quartet. Previously the Principal Second Violin and Associate Concertmaster for the Louisville Orchestra, she was active in that orchestra’s Educational Chamber Program and played with the Louisville Piano Trio. She has held orchestral positions with the Bach Society, National Repertory, Houston Grand Opera, Galveston and Heidelberg Opera Festival orchestras. Solo appearances include performances with the Louisville Orchestra and National Repertory Orchestra. Ms. Neckermann holds degrees from Eastman School of Music and Rice University/Sheperd School of Music.
 Lisa A. Williams
Violin
KSO Artist in Residence Lisa A. Williams is currently Principal Second Violin with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and has been a featured soloist with the symphony. As a dedicated chamber musician, Ms. Williams has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Her performances include numerous recitals at the Garth Newel Music Center, the Fontana Festival of Music and Art, the International-Festival Institute of Chamber Music at Round Top, as well as at New York City ’s Lincoln Center. Ms. Williams has also performed with many symphony and chamber orchestras throughout the United States.
 Grace Byrd
Viola
KSO Artist in Residence Grace Byrd earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Eastman School of Music where she studied with George Taylor and also taught secondary viola from 1994 to 1996. She studied with Kim Kashkashian at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” – Berlin and was violist-in-residence with the Rogue Valley Chamber Players of Southern Oregon. She has performed with the Eastman Virtuosi, Kilbourn Concert Series “Bright Lights and Rising Stars,” the Heidelberg Schlossfestspiele Orchestra and chamber ensemble, and the Ohio Light Opera Company.
 David Peshlakai
Cello
David Peshlakai currently performs as a section cellist with the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra and as principal cellist of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with many orchestras across the state of Michigan including as principal cellist of Kalamazoo, Lansing, Flint, and Battle Creek Symphonies. In October and November, 2001, he toured with the American Sinfonietta in Germany. He has also been a soloist with the Jackson, Battle Creek, and Michigan State University Symphony Orchestras, the Hillsdale College/Community Orchestra, the Albion College Orchestra and the University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse Symphony Orchestra. He will be a soloist in the Central Iowa Symphony in 2006. David has performed in many chamber recitals across the state of Michigan – Detroit, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Jackson, and Hillsdale, as well as in Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Iowa. In England he has performed with the Arlington String Quartet which gave thirty concerts in a four week tour of England. In France he performed in recital in Marseilles. His coaches have included members of the Juilliard, Alban Berg, Concord, Vermeer, and Kronos Quartets.
Currently David teaches at Hillsdale College. He also has taught at Albion and Alma Colleges and Grand Valley State University. Mr. Peshlakai received his Bachelor of Music degree from Michigan State University in 1990 and his Master of Music from the University of Michigan in 1993. He studied with Owen Carman and Erling Blondal Bengtsson respectively. Other teachers include Louis Potter and Mario DiFiore.
 Gabriel Renteria
Principal Oboe
Gabriel Renteria started at Principal Oboe of the Kalamazoo Symphony and oboist of the Kalamazoo Symphony Woodwind Quintet in January 2007. He received his Masters of Music degree from the University of Washington where he was also winner of their Concerto Competition. He completed his undergraduate degree from Oberlin Conservatory. Mr. Renteria has played with the Seattle Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra and the National Orchestra Institute.
 Benjamin Seltzer
Principal Clarinet
KSO Artist in Residence Benjamin Seltzer joined the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra in 2001. In addition to his orchestral and chamber ensemble duties, he also is involved with Kalamazoo area schools through the KSO’s education programs. Originally from New York City, Mr. Seltzer attended the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Craig Nordstrom of the Boston Symphony. His other teachers have included David Weber and Yehuda Gilad. Mr. Seltzer has performed with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gardner Chamber Orchestra and Symphony Pro Musica. He has also attended the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany, the National Orchestral Institute, and the Banff Art of the Ensemble Festival in Canada, as a member of the Azure Trio. His chamber music and orchestra performances have taken him to thirteen countries, including Estonia and Zimbabwe. Recent projects include the world premiere recording of Malcom Peyton’s Suite for Clarinet and performances at Skidmore College and the Vail Valley Music Festival of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet with the Rembrandt String Quartet.
 Michael Wood
Principal Horn
KSO Artist in Residence Michael Wood earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Concordia College in Minnesota and his Master’s degree from Baylor University. His principal teachers include Jonathan Menkins of the Boston Symphony and Sylvia Alimena of the National Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Wood performs 60 concerts as Artist in Residence and hornist with the KSO Woodwind Quintet.
 Jonathan Kretschmer
Trumpet
KSO Artist in Residence Jonathan Kretschmer is 2nd trumpet with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra as well as Principal Trumpet of the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra. Originally from Lafayette, California, he graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor’s degree. He then went on to earn a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School, where he was a recipient of the F.H. Aronson Scholarship and a member of the Community Service Fellowship. Mr. Kretschmer has performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony, and the Aspen Festival Orchestra. He gave his solo debut with the National Repertory Orchestra during the summer of 2003, playing Copland’s “Quiet City.” He was invited to play Charles Ives’ “The Unanswered Question” with the Juilliard Orchestra during its 2004 Focus Festival. He performed as Principal Trumpet during the Juilliard Orchestra’s residency at the 2004 Festival dei Due Mondi (The Festival of Two Worlds) in Spoleto, Italy. Mr. Kretschmer is the instructor of trumpet at the Crescendo Music Academy in Kalamazoo, MI, and a member of the KSO Brass Quintet. He also maintains an active private studio.
 Edward “Kip” Hickman
Principal Trombone
KSO Artist in Residence Kip Hickman grew up in San Diego and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from UCLA. He then came to Michigan, earning his Master of Music in Trombone Performance at the University of Michigan. He came to the KSO in 2001 from the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, where he played second trombone for four years. Kip has also played with the Detroit Chamber Winds, the Michigan Chamber Brass, the Ann Arbor Symphony, and the Toledo Symphony. Kip maintains a private studio in Kalamazoo.
 Mark Guthrie
Principal Timpani
KSO Artist in Residence Mark Guthrie is Principal Timpanist of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Raymond Harvey. As soloist with the Kalamazoo Symphony, Mr. Guthrie has performed the Russell Peck, Glory and The Grandeur and William Kraft, Concerto for Four Percussionists. In 2003 he was featured with the Percussion section for Kalamazoo Symphony's Crazy Classics Series. At the College level, Mr. Guthrie serves on the faculty of Kalamazoo College and is the Director of the Kalamazoo College Percussion Ensemble. He has presented several Master classes and Clinics for various organizations around the country (i.e. Michigan Percussive Arts Society, The TAP Seminar in Atlanta). As Timpanist and Percussionist, Mr. Guthrie has performed with I Musici de Montreal at the Gilmore Festival, Michigan Bach Collegium, Bach Festival Orchestra, Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Indiana Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, Toledo Opera Association Orchestra, and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. During his tenure with the Kalamazoo Symphony, he has helped to establish the Kalamazoo Percussion Duo. This group tours, educates and performs concerts throughout the year for school age children and audiences around the Kalamazoo area. Mr. Guthrie's principal teachers are Paul Yancich, Timpanist - The Cleveland Orchestra; Cloyd Duff, Former Timpanist - The Cleveland Orchestra; and Robert Bell, Timpanist - Toledo Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Guthrie graduated with Cum Laude honors from the University of Toledo . He joined the KSO in July, 1982.
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