The Seattle Symphony has appointed seven musicians, effective with the 2017-18 season. They are Principal Flute DEMARRE McGILL, Principal Tuba JOHN DiCESARE, Associate Principal Clarinet EMIL KHUDYEV, Section Second Violin ANDY LIANG, Fourth Horn DANIELLE KUHLMANN, Second Trumpet CHRISTOPHER STINGLE, and Fourth/Utility Trumpet MICHAEL MYERS. The Associate Principal Clarinet and Fourth/Utility Trumpet appointments are newly created positions.
Demarre McGill, formerly the Seattle Symphony’s principal flute, returns to the orchestra following posts as principal flute at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and acting principal flute at the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. McGill, a native of Chicago, was a 2003 winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and is a founding member of the Myriad Trio. He received a bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and a master of music from the Juilliard School.
John DiCesare most recently was principal tuba of the Louisville Orchestra. He has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, and St. Louis Symphony, and at the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder. An active educator, he previously held positions at Campbellsville University, Indiana University Southeast, and Kent State University. He holds degrees from Duquesne University and Kent State University and is pursuing his doctorate of musical arts at West Virginia University.
Clarinetist Emil Khudyev goes to the Seattle Symphony from the Kansas City Symphony, where he was acting associate principal, second, and E-flat clarinet. He serves on the clarinet faculty at Michigan’s Interlochen Arts Academy. Born in Turkmenistan, Khudyev studied at the Moscow Conservatory and the Special Music School of Turkmenistan. He holds a bachelor’s degree in clarinet performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music, and an artist diploma degree from Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles.
Violinist Andy Liang has appeared on NPR’s From the Top program, and made his solo debut with the Oregon Symphony at age eleven. He has performed as a solo, chamber-music, and orchestral violinist and is also a member of the ensemble ALKALI, in which string players and composers present original compositions and music ranging from jazz to classical and pop. Liang holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, and recently received his artist diploma from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a member of the Cordova Quartet, the university’s young professional string quartet in residence.
Danielle Kuhlmann most recently performed for three seasons with the San Diego Symphony. She was previously principal horn of the American Composers Orchestra, and performs with the International Contemporary Ensemble. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the Juilliard School and pursued graduate studies at Rice University. Kuhlmann is a founding member of the all-female pop horn quartet Genghis Barbie, and has done volunteer work for the cultural diplomacy organization Cultures in Harmony, which works with professional and student musicians as well as indigenous tribal youth in the Philippines. In January 2011, she was a volunteer teacher and performer at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music.
Christopher Stingle joins the Seattle Symphony as second trumpet after eight seasons as assistant principal trumpet with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and four seasons with the Santa Fe Opera as principal trumpet. Stingle has also performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic, and Fort Worth Symphony. He is a 2009 graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music.
Michael Myers goes to the Seattle Symphony after posts with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic. Myers holds a bachelor of music degree from James Madison University, and a master’s degree in trumpet performance from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. In addition to maintaining a private teaching studio, Myers has served on the trumpet faculty at Alabama’s Samford University and at Lake Forest College in Illinois.
Posted August 28, 2017
