Ramona Douglas is an eclectic musician, native of Philadelphia, PA where she was born and raised by her mother and musician father. Surrounded by music constantly, she began her music training as a violinist at age 7. She later began the flute, and decided that was her true instrument. She graduated from Trinity Washington Univ. with a B.A. in Fine Arts & Music in 2009. She has performed on flute and piccolo with the Main Line Symphony Orchestra, Gateways Music Festival Symphony Orchestra, UMD Sinfonietta with Minnesota Ballet and most recently joined the "dynamic" chamber ensemble Adelante Winds. Ramona has also performed extensively for musical theater productions and in jazz and latin ensembles, doubling on clarinet and saxophone. She received her M.M. in Music Performance & Pedagogy from Texas State Univ. under the tutelage of Dr. Adah T. Jones in May 2019. In October of 2019, she joined the administrative team of Youth Orchestras of San Antonio (YOSA) as Office Coordinator. Her career continues to expand as she joins the faculty of Northwest Vista College as an Adjunct Professor in Spring 2020. She is enjoying her career as a performer, educator and clinician and is continuing to find new ways to move classical music forward with inclusion and diversity.
Mika Allison, oboe
Oboist Mika Allison is a Chicago-based performer and educator. Mika holds the 2nd oboe position with the West Michigan Symphony Orchestra and has performed throughout the United States with ensembles such as the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Peoria Symphony Orchestra, Texas Bach Festival, South Shore Opera of Chicago, and Regali Winds. She is a founding member of 5th Wave Collective, an organization dedicated to the performance and promotion of female composers. Devoted to arts education, Mika teaches with Sistema Ravinia, People’s Music School, Chicago Arts and Music Project, and maintains a private teaching studio in Chicagoland. Hailing from Texas, Mika completed an undergraduate degree at Texas State University studying with Dr. Ian Davidson. She completed a Master’s Degree in Oboe Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Post-Master’s Performance Certificate at DePaul University studying with John Dee, Grace Hong, and Alex Klein
Gary Fair, clarinet
Clarinetist Gary Fair is an active recitalist and symphonic musician who has been praised for his sublime tone and dazzling technique by audiences and critics across the country. He currently makes his home in the San Antonio area, where he is an active freelance musician and teacher. As an educator, Gary has served on high school and college faculties as both clarinet professor and director of bands, and currently maintains a studio of young and talented clarinet students across the San Antonio region. Gary completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in clarinet performance at the University of Kansas, where he was a Melik Fellow and graduate teaching assistant. He completed his master’s degree at the University of Northern Colorado, and undergraduate work at Calif. State University - Sacramento.
LaNetra Carther, horn
Ms. Carther is a professional French horn player, and has been highly involved with her craft for 29 years. She attended Indiana State University where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Music in 2004, and continued her studies at Baylor University where she received her Master’s degree in Music Performance in 2006. Originally from Gary, Indiana, she resides in San Antonio, Texas, where she continues performing as a freelancer for weddings, church services, and music festivals. She attended and participated in the 2016 Imani Winds Festival in Manhattan, New York; the 2018 Fresh Inc. Chamber Music Festival in Kenosha, Wisconsin; and the Summer Music Program in 2018 and 2019 at the Banff Centre for Creative Arts in Banff, Alberta, where she was a 2019 recipient of the Banff Artists’ Award. Ms. Carther is a private instructor and is the hornist for Adelante Winds; a professional, non-profit, multicultural woodwind quintet based in San Antonio that performs works by Latin, African American and female composers.
Sabrina Stovall, bassoon
Mrs. Stovall has enjoyed a diverse career of performing and teaching. She holds teaching positions at Schreiner University, Our Lady of the Lake University, Northwest Vista College, as well as a private studio. She holds the Associate Bassoon position with Symphony of the Hills and is a co-founder and executive director of the “dynamic” chamber ensemble Adelante Winds. Other performance engagements have included the Aspen Music Festival, Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, Fresh Inc. Music Festival, Round Rock Symphony, Brazos Valley Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de la UANL (Monterrey Symphony Orchestra) in Monterrey Mexico, Texas Chamber Winds, and White House holiday season tours. Mrs. Stovall holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Texas State University and a Master of Music degree from The Ohio State University. Notable teachers have included Daris Hale, Karen Pierson, Nancy Goeres, Per Hannevold, and Monica Ellis. Mrs. Stovall is native of Germany and moved to the United States with her family in the 1990s. She is married to one of her childhood friends who she met in sixth grade beginning band and they have two children together.
Patrick Dolan, Artistic Director
An active freelance clarinetist, Patrick Dolan currently resides in Austin, TX, where he performs with local ensembles and maintains a vibrant private studio. He has performed with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Density 512 (an Austin-based chamber orchestra), and the Midland-Odessa Symphony Orchestra. In 2017, Mr. Dolan joined Adelante Winds, a “dynamic” chamber ensemble that performs throughout the central Texas area. Today, Mr. Dolan serves as the Artistic Director to Adelante Winds. Having recently completed a Master of Music in Performance at the University of Texas at Austin, he toured with the UT Wind Ensemble in 2014, performing in Hawaii, Asia, and Europe. He finished his undergraduate degree at Rowan University where he performed Mendelssohn’s Konzertstuke No. 1 as a winner of the 2011 Rowan University Soloist Competition. He has attended and performed at several music festivals including Bear Valley Music Festival with conductor Michael Morgan, Texas Bach Festival, Fresh, Inc. Festival, Quinteto Latino’s Seminario, and the Miami International Music Festival. His previous teachers include Louis Colella, Rie Suzuki, Nathan Williams and Richie Hawley.