Musician profiles are in alphabetical order.

Anne Aley trained as a performer in horn at the Royal Conservatory of Music, the University of Toronto and the Aspen Music Festival. She played in a number of Canadian orchestras and other ensembles in Toronto, Kitchener and Hamilton prior to living and performing in New York City and Madison. She has also performed at the Yale Summer School of Music and the Alexandria Festival of the Lakes. Anne is the outreach program manager for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Summer Music Clinic, as well as coordinating Winds of Wisconsin, a premier youth wind ensemble. As a member of the Oakwood Chamber Players she has performed for many years on their concerts series and in outreach performances and has particularly enjoyed being a part of commissioning new works and recording projects with them. Ms. Aley's photo was taken by Photo Express.

Principal trumpet with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, John Aley is the professor of trumpet at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music. He is a former member of the American Brass Quintet, with whom he toured extensively throughout the U. S. and internationally. He has performed with New York based ensembles such as Musica Sacra, American Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Ensemble and American Composers' Orchestra and has recorded with ensembles such as the American Brass Quintet, the PDQ Bach Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble, the American Composers' Orchestra, and the Wisconsin Brass Quintet. He has been a featured soloist with the English and Vienna Chamber Orchestras, the Composers' Brass Group, and on various public radio broadcasts throughout the U.S. He was faculty and principal trumpet with the Aspen Chamber Orchestra, and principal trumpet and soloist with the Wichita, Greenwich and Stamford Symphony Orchestras. He performed in concert in the Mediterranean and South America and was fortunate to have had formative experiences in orchestras under the batons of legendary musicians such as Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland. During the summer he is an artist/teacher-Valade Fellow- at the Interlochen Arts Camp, Michigan where he is also on faculty of the Interlochen Trumpet Institute. Aley has been teaching faculty and performer at the Aspen Music Festival, the Yale Summer School of Music, UW-Madison Summer Music Clinic, the New England Music Camp, Minnesota Festival of the Lakes and the Hot Springs Music Festival. He has been featured as performer, clinician and adjudicator for the International Trumpet Guild and the National Trumpet Competition. His CD, Autumn, features lyrical music for trumpet and piano in collaboration with Martha Fischer.

I started playing in the fifth grade. I actually wanted to play clarinet, but the guy at the music store said, "You look like you're going to have long arms--you should play the trombone." I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. Among other things, I met my wife Diann (another trombonist) playing in the pep band at a football game the first week of college. We've been married 30 years and have an adult son, Jeff. My day job is at UW-Whitewater, where I am Chair of the Music Department and teach Music History and Humanities courses. I came to Madison in 1982 for grad school in musicology--I hold a Ph.D from UW-Madison--and I began playing in the MSO the next season. In 1990 I became the orchestra's bass trombonist. I have also been writing our program notes for the last 25 years. For me, this combines my interests in performance and history--learning about and playing great music well with people you like...and getting paid for it. How cool is that?

Widely recognized as one of the Midwest’s most versatile trumpet players, David Cooper has performed with the New Breed Jazz Quintet, The Art Blakey Tribute Band, and The Tim Whalen Nonet as well as with Doc Severinsen, Adolph Herseth, Kurt Elling, Wayne Newton, Lynn Harrell, Orbert Davis, Ben Sidran, Andre Watts, Bob Mintzer, Joe Williams, Ed Shaunessy, Clyde Stubblefield, Bobby McFerrin, Armen Donelian, Lew Soloff, Bobby Shew, Bob Newhart, Marie Osmond and Robert Goulet, among others. His ensemble affiliations have included the Wisconsin Brass Quintet, the Milwaukee, Madison, Canton and La Crosse Symphony Orchestras, The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, The Dallas Brass, Walt Disney World, and the Aspen Jazz Ensemble. As part of a trumpet festival he hosted in 2005, Dr. Cooper presented a recital with himself, Adolph Herseth, Doc Severinsen, Charles Lazarus and members of the Minnesota Orchestra trumpet section. Currently professor of trumpet and jazz studies at the UW-Platteville, Dr. Cooper is in demand as a clinician, lecturer and performer as well as a composer and arranger with numerous jazz, rock and commercial ensembles large and small. Dr. Cooper received his Bachelor of Music from Lawrence Conservatory of Music in Appleton, WI, his Master of Music from the University of Akron in Ohio, and his Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He is endorsed by Eclipse Trumpets of the UK and plays Eclipse exclusively. Dr. Cooper's photography was taken by his wife, Kelly DeHaven.

Noteworthy: Doctorate degree from Ohio State University; Professor of Trumpet: UW-Whitewater; Principal Trumpet: WI Chamber Orchestra; member of Whitewater Brass Quintet. Oddest practice quarters: In a canoe in a lake in the Canadian Boundary Waters. Funniest concert experience: A trombonist lost control of his slide, which went sledding across the floor, under my chair and over the edge of the stage into the audience. What your colleagues don't know about you: I raced sports cars during college. Recurring musical fantasy: To perform the National Anthem as soloist before a Browns football game in Cleveland Stadium.

Noteworthy: Former principal tuba of the Nurnberg Philharmonic, Chicago Brass Ensemble and Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Currently play with Rockford, Green Bay and Milwaukee Festival City Symphonies. Performed as tuba soloist in Europe. Oddest practice quarters: On the shores of Horicon Marsh while surrounded by hundreds of geese. What your colleagues don't know about you: I'm more concerned about the future of endangered species than the future of the tuba or the symphony orchestra. Recurrent musical fantasy: Introducing the new dress code for orchestras world-wide (plaid flannel shirts, jeans and running shoes) during a musical extravaganza in Vienna with Karl Bohm conducting and Jenny Lind singing.

Noteworthy: Bachelor of Music, Lawrence Conservatory; Master of Music, UW-Madison; faculty horn at UW-Whitewater; Principal Horn: WI Chamber Orchestra, member of Artemis Horn Quartet, Whitewater Brass Quintet and Wingra Woodwind Quintet. Oddest practice quarters: On the beach in Alabama. Funniest concert experience: Playing a "Sunday Afternoon Live at the Elvehjem" concert with no audience. The museum was closed due to a blizzard, but we played the concert for radio broadcast anyway. What your colleagues don't know about you: I'm learning to play the violin with my 12 and 6-year old sons. Recurring musical fantasy: To play fiddle in a bluegrass band.

My brass instruction began on baritone horn with a hand-me-down instrument previously played by an older brother and sister. For my very first lesson, I attempted to play a major scale and very nearly succeeded to the amazement of my band director, a wonderful teacher. While attending the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Switzerland on full scholarship, I attended week-long master classes with John Marcellus, the Phillip Jones Brass Quintet and the New York Brass Quintet. I later received my BM in Music Education and MM in Trombone Performance from the UW-Madison School of Music. Since then, I have performed with several chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout the Midwest, including the Milwaukee Symphony. I currently play in a brass quintet, and I continue to teach privately. Several of my students have entered the music field, and one became an ethnomusicologist, serving as Founding Director of the American Center for Mongolian Studies, an academic non-government organization in Ulaanbaater, Mongolia. Principal Trombone of the MSO since 1978, I am the mother of two adult songs and live in Madison with my violinist husband, Mark, and our Labrador, who runs to find her bone whenever I practice at home. I guess you could say we are playing "bone" duets!

Noteworthy: B.A. in music education from St. Olaf College and M.M. in horn performance from UW-Madison; member of Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and Artemis Horn Quartet; building contractor and woodworker. Funniest concert experience: Playing "Christmas in July" with my horn quartet at a Jellystone campground. At any given time we had between zero and three people listening, mostly from golf carts. It was not a roaring success. Recurrent musical fantasy: To play all of the Mahler symphonies in order...hey, wait a minute - some fantasies do come true!

Noteworthy: M.M. University of Minnesota; B.M. University of Northern Colorado; Winner of the 2000 Rocky Mountain Concerto Competition and the 2000 Angie Southard Chamber Music Competition. Funniest concert experience: Playing a Led Zeppelin tribute concert with the MSO. They pulled a guy in a sleeveless t-shirt from the audience to conduct the next number. He was one of the most enthusiastic conductors I've ever played under. What your colleagues don't know about you: A few weeks before my first audition for college I got cold feet and almost didn't pursue music. Recurrent musical fantasy: To live in a time before TV and recorded music, when live music was the main source of entertainment. Playing any instrument was a virtue because you could entertain friends and family in your own home.How do you pronounce your name? Stish - it's a Polish name.