Originally from Abilene, Texas, Cheyenne Bland Cruz holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from McMurry University and a Master's Degree in Clarinet Performance from the Florida State University. Currently, Cheyenne is completing a Doctoral degree at the University of North Texas in Clarinet Performance with a related field in Music Education. She recently accepted a position as Adjunct Clarinet Instructor at Stephen F. Austin State University. In addition to her collegiate clarinet students, Cheyenne maintains a private clarinet studio in the DFW area. As a performer, Cheyenne has appeared with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, the San Angelo Symphony, the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra, and the Dallas Wind Symphony. She is presently a member of the Lone Star Wind Orchestra. In addition to her performing ventures, Cheyenne has been published in The Clarinet, journal of the International Clarinet Association. Her major clarinet teachers include Dr. Kimberly Cole Luevano and Dr. Frank Kowalsky.
Christian Gonzalez is an active performer and music educator in the Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex. Although primarily a clarinetist, he has studied, performed on, and taught all woodwind instruments. Aside from teaching as an assistant band director at Timberview Middle School in Keller, TX, Mr. Gonzalez performs as a freelance musician and teaches privately on flute. Mr. Gonzalez holds a Master of Music degree from the University of North Texas in Multiple Woodwinds. While at UNT, he studied clarinet with Dr. Kim Cole Luevano. Additionally, he taught chamber music and woodwind methods as a Teaching Fellow, and also performed and recorded with the Wind Symphony as a member of the clarinet section. Prior to attending UNT, Mr. Gonzalez received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Louisiana State University where he studied clarinet with Robert DiLutis.
Connor O’Meara is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Musical Arts in Clarinet Performance University of North Texas where he studies with Dr. Kimberly Cole Luevano. Mr. O’Meara completed his Masters of Clarinet Performance at the University of Texas At Austin and received his Bachelors of Clarinet Performance at the University of Northern Colorado in 2010. Primary teachers include Bill Jackson and Brad Behn (University of Northern Colorado), Richard MacDowell (University of Texas), Victoria Luperi (Principal of the Fort Worth Symphony). Mr. O’Meara has had additional study with Dr. Stephanie Zelnick (University of Kansas), Gregory Oakes (University of Iowa), and Joaquin Valdepenas (Principal clarinet of the Toronto Symphony). In addition to private study with a wide range of teachers, Mr. O’Meara has appeared in master classes with Mark Nuccio (Acting Principal, New York Philharmonic), Victoria Luperi (Principal, Fort Worth Symphony), and Jane Carl (Professor of Clarinet, University of Missouri Kansas City). Mr. O’Meara has also attended summer music festivals at Rocky Ridge Music Festival (2008) and Aspen Music Festival (Local Scholarship Student, 2005).
Mr. O’Meara has worked extensively with Brad Behn as a consultant and representative for Behn Clarinet Mouthpieces (http://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com/). Mr. O’Meara’s close association with Brad Behn has taken him a multitude of International Clarinet Association conventions including Austin, Texas (2010) Burbank, California (2011), Lincoln, Nebraska (2012) and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2014) as a mouthpiece consultant and sales representative. Behn Mouthpieces and Mr. O’Meara have also made appearances at the annual TMEA conference in San Antonio.
Since moving to North Texas, Mr. O’Meara has been an active member of the performance community. As a member of the UNT Wind Symphony, he can be heard on over ten professional recordings featuring the best of the wind ensemble repertoire as well as recordings for the Teaching Music Through Performance series. He has also had the privilege of performing with the San Angelo Symphony, the Allen Philharmonic, as well as a multitude of performances and regional tours with the Fort Worth Symphony. Mr. O’Meara has been a member of the Lone Star Wind Orchestra since 2013 and has performed with the Lone Star Wind Orchestra Clarinet Choir at the Oklahoma University Clarinet Symposium.
As a teacher, Mr. O’Meara is currently working for the Celina, Frisco, and Hurst Euless Bedford independent school districts. Many of his students have attended honor bands, All-State band and All-State solo contest. In addition to his private teaching studio, Mr. O’Meara has been a faculty member for UNT’s ClarEssentials in 2013 and 2014.
DFW-based clarinetist Kristen Thompson is noted for playing with “remarkable intensity” and “dynamic interpretation.” An enthusiastic teacher and performer, Ms. Thompson maintains a large private studio in Denton ISD, where many of her students have been selected to District and Region honor bands and have received high rankings at Solo and Ensemble Contests. As a performer, Ms. Thompson was selected as a Finalist at the 2014 International Clarinet Association Young Artist Competition in Baton Rouge, LA, a notable accomplishment. She has previously performed as Assistant Principal Clarinetist with the Odysseus Chamber Orchestra, as well as on clarinet and saxophone for Denton Community Theatre and Greater Lewisville Community Theatre.
Ms. Thompson holds a Master’s degree in Clarinet Performance from the University of North Texas, where she studied with Dr. Kimberly Cole Luevano and Dr. James Gillespie. At UNT, she performed with the Wind Symphony, Concert Orchestra, Symphonic Band, and in a variety of chamber ensembles. She also earned a Certificate in Arts Leadership while at UNT and was one of two recipients of the prestigious Priddy Scholarship in Arts Leadership in 2012. She gained experience in arts management as an intern with the Bradetich Foundation and Chamber Music International, as well as briefly serving as the volunteer Executive Director of the Odysseus Chamber Orchestra.
While a student at UNT, Ms. Thompson also worked as a Teaching Assistant for Dr. Kris Chesky’s course Occupational Health: Lessons from Music. She is actively involved in musician’s health research, having presented a poster on the role of the vocal musculature in wind performance at the 2013 Performing Arts Medical Association Conference in Aspen, CO. A Massachusetts native, Ms. Thompson graduated magna cum laude from Postdam (NY) State College with a Bachelor of Arts in Music, Performer’s Certificate, and a minor in Chemistry. Outside of performing, she enjoys spending time gardening and spoiling her boxer, Capi.