Orchestra Biographies
Daniel Chouinard is a burgeoning jazz cellist currently in the Back Bay area. He is a student at Berklee, where he is working towards degrees in Cello Performance and Contemporary Writing. While at Berklee, Daniel has played in dozens of recording sessions for a wide array of genres, as well as performing on stage with legends such as Daymé Arocena and Tony Succar. He has also released an EP called Pebble Park under his artist name Danny Sea.
Carolyn Douthat is a passionate trumpeter and recent graduate from the Manhattan School of Music. She has performed in countless bands and orchestras, parades, church services and more across the NY Metropolitan Area, and her pit orchestra performances rank among her favorite. These span in genre from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella to the New York premiere of Gatsby: A New Musical at the Hudson Guild Theater. Carolyn is excited to be joining CLOC this year!
Axel Ferguson is a rising senior pursuing a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Oboe Performance at Carnegie Mellon University. In the past, he has won the Quad Cities Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and played with Pasculli’s “La Favorita” with the Quad City Symphony, and he currently plays in the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic Orchestra and Wind Ensemble.
Paul Gagliano is a violinist with a special interest in Musical Theatre, having just finished his first year studying it at college. He has performed in many local community orchestras, summer camps and at the All-State level in New York. He is ecstatic to be performing as a professional pit musician for the first time."
Cindy Kaiser is a dual degree student majoring in flute performance at Lawrence University. She studies with Erin Lesser and Suzanne Jordheim. Past accomplishments include being selected as one of the winners of the NFA Collegiate Flute Choir Competition (2020), receiving an honorable mention for the Best Out of State Piccolo Performance at the Utah Flute Association Sonata Competition (2021), and winning the Lawrence University Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition (2022).
Justin Laurenceau is a professional classical trombonist that resides in Brooklyn, NY. He has performed alongside some of the world’s most renowned musicians such as Wynton Marsalis, Gustavo Dudamel, and the Canadian Brass. Some of his most notable performances have been at Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Justin is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in Music Performance at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College.
Ryan Martin (Trumpetist) is a rising junior undergraduate at Brooklyn College, studying Trumpet Performance and Music Education. He plays principal trumpet in the Brooklyn College Conservatory Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, and Brass Quintet. His passion for Broadway musicals stems from playing in the pit for his school's production of Fame in sixth grade. Since then, he has participated in numerous school productions, such as West Side Story, South Pacific, My Fair Lady, and The Drowsy Chaperone.
Oved Rico was born and raised in Worcester, MA and now resides in Oberlin, OH where he will be taking a gap year after just completing his degree in Horn Performance. Oved has been playing the horn since his sophomore year of high school, switching over from flute after 6 years.
Lesley Rudin is a freelance violist from Buffalo, NY. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Viola Performance at Bowling Green State University, studying with Matthew McBride-Daline. Lesley is the violist in the Graduate String Quartet and principal violist in the Bowling Green State University Philharmonia Orchestra. She has performed with the BGSU Philharmonia, Graduate String Quartet, the Lima Symphony Orchestra, Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Toldeo Symphony.
Ben Schonhorn is a NYC based woodwind doubler pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree at New York University, studying clarinet with Dr. Christopher Bush and oboe with Matthew Sullivan and Toyin Spellman-Diaz. At NYU, Ben is an active member of the classical, chamber, and Broadway orchestras. He has played both clarinet and oboe in NYU01 and NYU02. He was a member of the NYU Wind Symphony and the NYU Saxophone Orchestra and NYU Broadway Orchestra.
Jack Smith will be entering his senior year at the State University of New York at Fredonia studying percussion performance. He currently studies with Dr. Karolyn Stonefelt and Dr. John Bacon. Jack has a vast background in Orchestral, Jazz, and Brazilian styles. The influence of these styles have allowed for him to find much success in various musical settings.
Henry Westgard is excited to be a part of the pit orchestra for his first year with the College Light Opera Company. Henry is from Orange, Connecticut, and has been playing bass for ten years with a variety of ensembles but has always enjoyed musical theater the most. He is going into his Junior year at Connecticut College studying music and education.
Lucille Yockey is a rising senior studying instrumental music education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A primary member of both the oboe and bassoon studios, Lucy performs as a multiple woodwinds artist in an eclectic assortment of musical theatre, concert, and jazz settings. She also plays flutes, clarinets, saxophones, recorders, and sarrusophones. Lucy would like to thank her fellow artists for their indispensable collaboration, as well as her enthusiastically supportive family and friends.
Carolyn Douthat is a passionate trumpeter and recent graduate from the Manhattan School of Music. She has performed in countless bands and orchestras, parades, church services and more across the NY Metropolitan Area, and her pit orchestra performances rank among her favorite. These span in genre from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella to the New York premiere of Gatsby: A New Musical at the Hudson Guild Theater. Carolyn is excited to be joining CLOC this year!
Axel Ferguson is a rising senior pursuing a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Oboe Performance at Carnegie Mellon University. In the past, he has won the Quad Cities Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and played with Pasculli’s “La Favorita” with the Quad City Symphony, and he currently plays in the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic Orchestra and Wind Ensemble.
Paul Gagliano is a violinist with a special interest in Musical Theatre, having just finished his first year studying it at college. He has performed in many local community orchestras, summer camps and at the All-State level in New York. He is ecstatic to be performing as a professional pit musician for the first time."
Cindy Kaiser is a dual degree student majoring in flute performance at Lawrence University. She studies with Erin Lesser and Suzanne Jordheim. Past accomplishments include being selected as one of the winners of the NFA Collegiate Flute Choir Competition (2020), receiving an honorable mention for the Best Out of State Piccolo Performance at the Utah Flute Association Sonata Competition (2021), and winning the Lawrence University Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition (2022).
Justin Laurenceau is a professional classical trombonist that resides in Brooklyn, NY. He has performed alongside some of the world’s most renowned musicians such as Wynton Marsalis, Gustavo Dudamel, and the Canadian Brass. Some of his most notable performances have been at Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Justin is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in Music Performance at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College.
Ryan Martin (Trumpetist) is a rising junior undergraduate at Brooklyn College, studying Trumpet Performance and Music Education. He plays principal trumpet in the Brooklyn College Conservatory Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, and Brass Quintet. His passion for Broadway musicals stems from playing in the pit for his school's production of Fame in sixth grade. Since then, he has participated in numerous school productions, such as West Side Story, South Pacific, My Fair Lady, and The Drowsy Chaperone.
Oved Rico was born and raised in Worcester, MA and now resides in Oberlin, OH where he will be taking a gap year after just completing his degree in Horn Performance. Oved has been playing the horn since his sophomore year of high school, switching over from flute after 6 years.
Lesley Rudin is a freelance violist from Buffalo, NY. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Viola Performance at Bowling Green State University, studying with Matthew McBride-Daline. Lesley is the violist in the Graduate String Quartet and principal violist in the Bowling Green State University Philharmonia Orchestra. She has performed with the BGSU Philharmonia, Graduate String Quartet, the Lima Symphony Orchestra, Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Toldeo Symphony.
Ben Schonhorn is a NYC based woodwind doubler pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree at New York University, studying clarinet with Dr. Christopher Bush and oboe with Matthew Sullivan and Toyin Spellman-Diaz. At NYU, Ben is an active member of the classical, chamber, and Broadway orchestras. He has played both clarinet and oboe in NYU01 and NYU02. He was a member of the NYU Wind Symphony and the NYU Saxophone Orchestra and NYU Broadway Orchestra.
Jack Smith will be entering his senior year at the State University of New York at Fredonia studying percussion performance. He currently studies with Dr. Karolyn Stonefelt and Dr. John Bacon. Jack has a vast background in Orchestral, Jazz, and Brazilian styles. The influence of these styles have allowed for him to find much success in various musical settings.
Henry Westgard is excited to be a part of the pit orchestra for his first year with the College Light Opera Company. Henry is from Orange, Connecticut, and has been playing bass for ten years with a variety of ensembles but has always enjoyed musical theater the most. He is going into his Junior year at Connecticut College studying music and education.
Lucille Yockey is a rising senior studying instrumental music education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A primary member of both the oboe and bassoon studios, Lucy performs as a multiple woodwinds artist in an eclectic assortment of musical theatre, concert, and jazz settings. She also plays flutes, clarinets, saxophones, recorders, and sarrusophones. Lucy would like to thank her fellow artists for their indispensable collaboration, as well as her enthusiastically supportive family and friends.
