University Music Students Embark on Chamber Music Tour

The U of A Student Chamber Music Tour is embarking on its first season across the communities of northern Arkansas this coming May. The 2022 tour will feature three outstanding student ensembles: Hawksbill Winds, Loblolly Brass Quintet and Castalia Saxophone Quartet.

The tour pushes the envelope of student learning by allowing the participating students to experience performing in a variety of venues and communities while performing at the highest caliber. The community aspect of the tour is the driving force of its mission. Chamber music uniquely connects to audiences, allowing for conversation from performer to listener and encouraging accessibility to all. In its inaugural year, the participating ensembles will be traveling to Eureka Springs, Berryville, Bull Shoals and Mountain View over the course of three days.

Participating Venues:

• Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center
• Eureka Springs City Auditorium
• Berryville High School
• Berryville Middle School
• Berryville Public Library
• Center Stage Performing Arts Center
• White River State Park
• Ozark Folk Center State Park

This tour has been made possible through the Music75 initiative of the U of A Music Department, the U of A Band Program and the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center Student Success Grant. For more information, please contact Katey Halbert at katelynh@uark.edu. Donations to this program can be made here.

Group Biographies

Hawksbill Winds

The Hawksbill Winds is a student-based woodwind quintet at the U of A. Since its formation in the fall of 2021, the ensemble has performed numerous times on the campus and in the community of Northwest Arkansas. Hawksbill has performed standard works as well as original compositions and works by underrepresented composers.

The name of the ensemble comes from the well-known scenic landmark of Hawksbill Crag in Northwest Arkansas. They strive to portray the serene feeling associated with nature, through an ensemble setting. Hawksbill Winds hopes to provide the community with an access point to the world of chamber music through outreach and public performance. 

The group consists of members from the Northwest Arkansas area: Abigail Short (flute) from Greenwood, Lorilee Erdman (oboe) from Prairie Grove, Olivia Harrison (clarinet) from Bentonville, Josue Avelar (bassoon) from Lowell and Derrick Rassinier (French horn) from Eureka Springs. Members of the ensemble have performed with the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, the Fort Smith Symphony and Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as various ensembles around the campus.

The members of Hawksbill Winds are working towards various degrees at the U of A, including music performance, music education and psychology.

Loblolly Brass Quintet

The Loblolly Brass Quintet is a student-organized ensemble at the U of A. The mission of the quintet is to develop as professional musicians through diverse repertoire, mature performance opportunities and collaboration.

The group is named after the Arkansas state tree to symbolize the home and roots of the ensemble. This group currently consists of two trumpets (Megan Park, Kyra Brockhausen), horn (Rachael Breitenstein), trombone (Ray Lenhart) and tuba (Brady Callicott). Members of this ensemble have performed with the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, Fort Smith Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas. Members of this group have also performed in the Lincoln Center, the Meyerson Symphony Center, Chicago Symphony Hall and Washington, D.C.

The ensemble enjoys playing many genres of music spanning from Renaissance music to pop arrangements. Loblolly's diverse repertoire aids in their mission to develop as musicians by providing a wide range of style and performance opportunities. In the fall of 2021 Loblolly had the honor of performing for the iconic Stilleto Brass Quintet and has also regularly been featured on brass recitals at the U of A.

Castalia Saxophone Quartet

The Castalia Saxophone Quartet consists of two graduate students originally from Oklahoma and two undergraduate students from Arkansas. The graduate students, Dylan and Quintin, play soprano and baritone, and the undergraduate students, Tyler and Catherine, play alto and tenor. Formed this year, Castalia's goal is to perform saxophone chamber music at an exceedingly high level. Their repertoire focuses on works originally composed for strings that have been transcribed for saxophone including works by Antonio Vivaldi, Eugene Bozza, Caroline Shaw and Steve Reich.

The name Castalia has a double meaning. One comes from the Castalia subspecies of a plant from the family Nymphaeaceae, which is also commonly known as the water lily. The other comes from Castelia City, a location from the popular video game "Pokémon: Black and White," which is a coastal metropolis based on New York City. As several members of Castalia are avid gamers, the combined namesake of the delicate beauty of the water lily and a town is both memorable and relatable to members of Castalia. The name embodies what they hope to achieve in their performances — appreciation of beauty within the music being performed.

In addition to their time as chamber musicians, the members of the Castalia Quartet are also accomplished solo musicians. Their professional accolades include first-place finishes in two different categories at the Arkansas Music Teachers National Association solo competition, performing in the U of A Honors Recital and performing with guest artist Dave Liebman.