Musician Spotlights
Learn more about some of our amazing volunteer musicians.
Isabella Currie, Oboist
Isabella Currie is the principal oboist of the KC Civic Orchestra. Even though this is only her second season, she loves getting to make music with her friends and a group of amazing musicians!
Isabella grew up in Alpine, Wyoming. She has always loved music. In addition to band and orchestra, she also spent time playing mandolin in a bluegrass band! It wasn’t until her junior year that she settled on playing the oboe.
Jerry Old, French Horn
Jerry was born in Topeka, Kansas to parents who both had musical training, played various instruments, and had their own bands in high school. He began his own musical training at age 5, starting with piano lessons. After a stint on his mother’s saxophone and then his father’s mellophone, he switched to the French horn, which he has been playing for 70+ years.
Over the years, Jerry has played in multiple professional and community orchestras and other musical groups in Kansas City, Los Angeles, and Saudia Arabia and has played in over 150 operas, light operas, and musicals including 55 musicals at Shawnee Mission Theatre in the Park. He currently plays in four community orchestras and various musical groups in KC.
Musician Spotlight: Gay Lee Ludwig-Bonney
Gay Lee Ludwig-Bonney Gay Lee began playing double bass at age 12, when her 7th grade music teacher steered the already 5'10” flute-hopeful toward the bass. She studied with Lawrence Hurst, Oscar Zimmerman, and Gary Karr. After earning a full scholarship to the...
Charlie Jessup, Flutist
Charlie Jessup has been a flutist in the Kansas City Civic Orchestra since 1972. He grew up in the Boston/New York area. For most of his early life he and his parents lived in a rural part of Long Island. When it was time in school to think about playing a musical instrument his parents explained that since they lived in a trailer, he could not bring home a large instrument. When he heard the flute, it was like music from heaven – and it came in a small case!
Jennifer Mitchell, Violinist
My love for the violin began in Kindergarten after hearing a 1st grader perform “Twinkle, Twinkle”. We lived in Clay Center, Ks at the time, and were lucky to find a wonderful Suzuki teacher right away.
When my family moved to Kansas City in 1969, I began taking lessons from Tiberius Klausner and became a member of the KC Youth Symphony, eventually becoming the Concert Mistress.
Debbie Allen, Clarinetist
Debbie Allen is principal clarinet and woodwind section leader for the Kansas City Civic Orchestra. She is a music educator with experience teaching at all grade levels in vocal and instrumental music. Debbie also enjoys creating original music for school bands and orchestras, both to challenge and inspire kids as well as to give back and honor the inspiration and enlightenment she has received as an educator. Her recent compositions include music for string quartet.
Candace Roller, Cellist
Candace Roller was born and raised in Hays, a Volga-German community in west-central Kansas. Music has always been a part of her life. At age 2 her favorite activity was sitting in her highchair playing the family’s small organ for hours. At age 3 she picked out melodies on her brother’s acoustic guitar that only had 3 strings! At age 5 her mother decided to foster her interest and enrolled her in Suzuki piano lessons.
Keith Stanfield, Violinist
Keith Stanfield is KCCO’s Concertmaster and a featured artist for our September 28, 2019 concert. As a member of the Opus 76 Quartet, Keith performs over 40 Quartet concerts a year, and has recently recorded two Quartets by living composers David Izzard and Mike Moreland, as well as a quartet by Franz Josef Haydn. Recordings of quartets by Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn, as well as a complete cycle of Beethoven quartets will take place in 2019.
Michael Tolbert, Clarinetist
Michael Tolbert graduated with a Master’s degree in clarinet performance from Western Michigan University and plays clarinet all around Kansas City. For the last seven seasons he has served as principal clarinet of Kinnor Philharmonic, KC’s own Jewish orchestra, and since 2014 he has played with the Kansas City Civic Orchestra. He can also be heard in chamber music settings with the Midwest Chamber Ensemble and when he organizes and performs in chamber concerts benefiting AIDS Walk Kansas City.