Ron Blessinger, Concertmaster

A native Oregonian, Ron Blessinger has been concertmaster of the Cascade Festival since 1994. He is Artistic Director of the acclaimed Third Angle Ensemble, and has recorded solo and chamber repertoire for Gagliano, Koch International, Arabesque, New Albion, and Albany records. Mr. Blessinger has been a member of the Oregon Symphony since 1990, and featured numerous times as a soloist with the OSO. He is married to the fabulous Ann Medellin, and has two children: Daniel and Erinn.

Frank Renk, Clarinet Principal

Frank Renk serves not only as the Principal Clarinet of the Sacramento Philharmonic, but he is also the Co Principal Clarinetist of the San Diego Symphony and the Principal Clarinet of the California Symphony

Frank has performed on many Movie and Commercial soundtracks. Mr. Renk continues to perform occasionally with the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, and the Oakland Symphony. He also performs numerous Chamber Music Concerts throughout the West Coast and has appeared as soloist.

Before the above positions Frank was a Member of the Sacramento Symphony and the San Diego Chamber Orchestra. Music Festivals attended include the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the La Jolla Summerfest Chamber Music Festival, the Carmel Bach Festival, the “Music From Bear Valley” Music Festival, and the Cascade Music Festival of Oregon. Frank completed his music education at San Francisco State University where he studied with Donald Carroll. He continued studying the Clarinet with Rosario Mazzeo, formerly of the Boston Symphony. Mr. Renk also teaches a large number of students in both the San Francisco and San Diego areas, and is on faculty at Stanislaus State University.

GeorgeAnne Ries, Flute Principal

GeorgeAnne Ries is Principal Flutist of the Portland Opera Orchestra, a position she has held since 1985. She also performs as Principal Flute with the Oregon Ballet Theater Orchestra, and frequently joins the Oregon Symphony as an extra flutist. As a freelance musician, Ms. Ries has played in a variety of musicals and touring shows, including performances with such diverse artists as Luciano Pavarotti and Mikhail Barishnikov. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Ms. Ries has been a member of Third Angle since 1989.

Mike Byrne, Oboe Principal

A native of Pasadena, California, Michael Byrne has been Principal Oboe of the Victoria Symphony since 1986. Since joining the orchestra, he has been featured as soloist on several occasions, most notably in critically acclaimed performances of works by Bach, Haydn, and Mozart. He has been Principal Oboe of the Cascade Festival Orchestra since 2002.

He holds degrees from both Michigan State University and The University of Michigan, and has studied and performed at the Interlochen Arts Academy, Aspen Music Festival and the Music Academy of the West. His major teachers have been Vito Susca, William Criss, Richard Killmer, Daniel Stolper and Harry Sargous.

Before coming to Victoria, Mr. Byrne was Principal Oboe of the Jackson (MI) Symphony and the Opera Company of Greater Lansing, and as English Hornist of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed as Principal Oboe with the Okanagan Symphony and the Galiano Ensemble of Victoria. As a chamber musician, he has performed with the Pacific Chamber Winds, The Zephyr Octet, The Island Chamber Players, Eine Kleine Summer Music and Chamber Music Victoria. He has also served on the faculty of the Victoria Conservatory of Music and the University of Victoria School of Music.

James Decker, Trombone Principal

Jim Decker is Principal Trombonist with the Honolulu Symphony, lecturer of trombone at the University of Hawai'i Music Department, member of the Honolulu Brass, trombone instructor at the Punahou School, and director of Manoa Trombones. He joined the Honolulu Symphony in the spring of 1988.

Originally from New Jersey, Jim's interest in the trombone took root in the fourth grade. He attended The Juilliard School, where he received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in four years, with honors. He was a student of Edward Herman Jr., then the Principal Trombonist of the New York Philharmonic. Jim also received a Master's degree in the Art of Teaching from Herbert H. Lehman College, part of the City University of New York.

His professional experience includes playing with classical and commercial ensembles in the New York/New Jersey area, including the New Jersey Pops, Eroica Brass, the Alan Quinn Big Band, and the National Orchestra of New York. He had performed with the Four Tops, Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Krall, Wynton Marsalis, and The Temptations, among others.

In addition to his duties with the Symphony, Punahou, and the University of Hawai'i, Jim Decker also serves as a member of the Musicians' Association of Hawai'i Board of Directors. He has also been an active member of several community organizations outside of music, including the Friends of Italy Society of Hawai'i and the RCIA team of Sts. Peter and Paul Church.

Philip Gottling, Bassoon Principal

Mr. Gottling has been Principal Bassoon with the Cascade Festival Orchestra since 2000. He has been a member of the Honolulu Symphony since 1986. During his varied career he has also played with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Orchestre de Paris and as Principal Bassoon with the Daejeon Philharmonic in South Korea. Mr. Gottling also performs on period instruments with ensembles from Scandinavia to Taiwan. He received his B.Mus. and M.Mus. degrees from Juilliard.

Matt Drumm, Timpani Principal

Matt is from the Seattle area and is a graduate of University of Washington, where he studied with Michael Crusoe. Matt has been Principal Timpanist for Tacoma Symphony since 1999 and Bellevue Philharmonic since 2001 and is one of the primary substitute timpanists for Seattle Symphony and Opera. As a freelance percussionist, he plays for other ensembles such as Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattlesticks Percussion Duo, Route 66 big band, Village Theatre, and can be heard on numerous movie and video game soundtracks, in addition to teaching percussion lessons. In 2004, Matt performed the Thärichen Timpani Concerto with Philharmonia Northwest.

Michael Grose, Tuba Principal

Michael Grose joined the UO music faculty in 2001 as associate professor of tuba. Prior to coming to Oregon, Grose was principal tubist of the Savannah Symphony Orchestra since 1986 and the Hilton Head Orchestra since 1990. He is currently the principal tubist of the Eugene Symphony. Grose received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Northwestern University, where he was a student of Arnold Jacobs. After graduating from Northwestern, he continued his private study with Mr. Jacobs until 1998. Before assuming his position in Savannah, Grose was tubist with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Illinois Philharmonic. He has performed with the Chicago, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Honolulu, Oregon, and Jacksonville Symphony Orchestras. An accomplished chamber musician, Grose was the recipient of the Sweepstakes Award at the Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition, making him the first tubist to receive that prize. Grose has also been a prize winner at the Coleman Chamber Music Competition in Pasadena, California. Both awards came while he was a member of the Chicago-based chamber ensemble, The Asbury Brass Quintet. A founding member of the Millar Brass Ensemble (Chicago), Grose has recorded on the London/Decca and Crystal Records labels. Formerly an adjunct faculty member at Armstrong Atlantic State University and Georgia Southern University, Grose spends several weeks each summer performing at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina.

Robert Johnson, Horn Co-Principal

Mr. Johnson, with his beautiful sound and heartfelt musicianship, has established himself as an outstanding artist with a promising future. A graduate of Rice University he recently accepted the position of Co-Principal Horn in Miami’s New World Symphony. Mr. Johnson has performed with symphonies and in summer festivals around the United States. He was personally invited by Itzhak Perlman as a featured guest artist at the Perlman Music Program’s New Years Eve Gala. This is his third summer with the Cascade Festival of Music.

Tamas Strasser, Viola Principal

In his 29th season with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, co-principal viola Tamás Strasser has performed frequently as a soloist with the SPCO. Strasser was previously a member of the Kansas City Philharmonic, the United States Army Strings, the New Art String Quartet, the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, and Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia.

He has served as associate principal viola of the Aspen Chamber Symphony and has recorded as a soloist on the Vox and Lifescapes labels. For several summers, Strasser was principal violist of the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder. He has performed with the Vienna Trio and the Muir and Moscow String Quartets, and performed complete cycles of the Beethoven, Shostakovich, Bartók, and Brahms quartets locally with the Bakken String Quartet. He has also performed works by several members of the American Composers Forum and recorded for the Forum’s Innova label. In 1999, he was soloist with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra of Minneapolis in György Ligeti’s Viola Concerto and reprised his role of “gypsy” violinist in the Santa Fe Opera’s production of Emmerich Kálmán’s Countess Maritza, a part Strasser first played in the summer of 1995.

Strasser has served as artist-in-residence for the North Carolina School of the Arts summer program and on the faculties of Madeline Island Music Camp and Macalester College. He developed the viola curriculum at Augsburg College and has taught master classes at the University of Minnesota and the Kansas City Conservatory, among others. Strasser went to school at the University of Colorado in Boulder and studied violin. He finished his undergraduate work at the Kansas City Conservatory in Missouri and received his Master’s degree at the Catholic University in Washington D.C. Strasser currently serves on the faculty at The University of St. Thomas and spends his summers coaching ensembles at the Chapel Hill Chamber Music Workshop in North Carolina.

This is Tam’s second year as principal violist of the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra.

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