Angelo State University to Offer Free Woodwind Instrument Techniques Day to Aspiring Musicians

SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State University music program is inviting local and area high school and junior college students who play the flute, oboe and bassoon to participate in ASU Flute and Double Reed Day on Sunday, Jan. 29, in the Carr Education-Fine Arts (EFA) Building, 2602 Dena Drive.

The free event will run from 2-6 p.m. and will be led by Dr. Constance Kelley and Dr. Janelle Ott of the ASU music faculty, as well as guest musicians Dr. Douglas Bakenhus and Dennette Derby McDermott.

The schedule of activities includes:

• Masterclasses in flute, oboe and bassoon
• Ensemble sight reading
• Lectures and classes
• Mini-Recital featuring the guest musicians and ASU faculty

The public is also invited to attend the Mini-Recital that will begin at 5 p.m. in the Carr EFA Building's Eldon Black Recital Hall.

Then on Monday, Jan. 30, Bakenhus and McDermott will perform a special joint recital at 7 p.m. in the Eldon Black Recital Hall that will also be free and open to the public.

In addition to teaching at ASU, Kelley is director of the San Angelo Community Band and the founder and conductor of the Concho Valley Community Flute Choir. Ott has performed with symphony orchestras throughout Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas and Louisiana. They also perform as two thirds of the ASU Mesquite Trio.

Bakenhus is the music director and conductor of the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony at Northwestern State University in Louisiana, where he also teaches bassoon and conducting. He has also been music director of the Northeast Texas Symphony since 2002 and has made guest conducting appearances regionally and overseas, including in Honduras and Slovakia. He regularly performs with the Shreveport, Longview, Texarkana and South Arkansas symphony orchestras. He holds music degrees from the University of Texas and Texas A&M University-Converse.

McDermott is a retired professor of flute and coordinator of graduate studies at Northwestern State University, where she taught flute from 1990-2022. She currently plays flute for the Austin Baroque Orchestra that specializes in music from the renaissance, baroque and classical periods, and she recently recorded a CD of flute sonatas by 18th century Czech composer Jiri Cart. She has also performed throughout the U.S., as well as in Canada, the Czech Republic, England, Honduras, Russia, Slovakia and Spain. She holds music degrees from Michigan State University, University of Michigan and University of North Texas.