This is the page for former Sooner Bassooners. I have pics from their time at OU, but it would be great if they would send me a current picture and information about their life, so I can post it here! I have had so many incredible people to learn from in my studio since 1981. I think the smiles on their faces say it best. In case you’re wondering, the original Sooner Bassooners are: Craig Cowley, Kathy Kuhlman, Susan Tejada, and Debby Blair!! Way back to the early 80s!! Scanner? Are you ready?

Susan Nelson, MM 2005, (left) is from Billings, MT, and studied with Susan Wadsworth. She received the BM in Bassoon Performance and the BA in Business from U. of Kansas in 2002 and 2003, respectively. She was a GA in Bassoon and Music Appreciation at OU. Currently, she is Principal Bassoon in the Great Falls (MT) Symphony.

Laura Smith, BM 2005, is from Edmond, OK, where she studied with Lori Wooden. Laura was the recipient of a 4-year Fine Arts College scholarship, plus a School of Music Tuition Waiver all four years. She is currently at Florida State University studying bassoon performance with Jeff Keesecker.

Derek Kolb, is fromTulsa, OK (Memorial HS) and earned two BA degrees in 2005: International and Area Studies, and Public Affairs and Administration (magna cum laude). He performed in the Bassoon Studio: 2000 - 2003

     I was never a music major at OU, but I always felt like part of the bassoon studio.  During my three years in the studio I played in the Symphony Band and then Wind Symphony, 2 woodwind quintets, and, of course, the Sooner Bassooners!  Although I started playing bassoon in high school and loved it, I never wanted to major in music.  Playing was always a great escape from the stress of the rest of my school work.

      Currently I am serving in the US Peace Corps in the People's Republic of China.  I teach English writing at the Chongqing University of Medical Sciences.  I live right on the Yangtze River in the largest metropolitan area in the world.  I have also lived in Quito, Ecuador, South America and Kibi, Ghana, West Africa.  I hope to find a bassoon over here someday and pick it back up!  I am still learning how to say it correctly in Chinese though!

Lori Clemmens, BME 1992 is from Grove, OK. Following graduation, she earned the MM in bassoon performance from Baylor U. She and her husband, Frank, lived in Pullman, WA for a few years, then out East, and are back in the state of Washington. She and her husband are avid dogsledders and have more recently added to the family, with Bjorn. Lori was a coubselor at the red Lodge Music Festival in 1994-1996. She is pictured here after her Senior Recital, with Mark Blackbird, fellow Bassooner.

Mark Blackbird, BM 1992, is from Billings, MT. Like Susan Nelson (above), Mark studied with me for several years at the RLMF. Mark won the OU Concerto Competition in 1990 as a sophomore, performing Mozart’s Concerto with the orchestra. In 1991-1992, he studied at Graz, Austria. He completed a MM in Musicology at the U. of Chicago. In 1998-1999, Mark was awarded Fulbright Student Fellow to study in Austria. His topic: “Music and the making of a bourgeois public: the suburban theaters of 18th C. Vienna”. At last report, Mark was working for the Northwest Translators and Interpreters Society. Mark was always surrounded by beautiful women during his OU career!!!

Mark is shown here after his Senior Recital, with fellow Poulenc Trio performers, Ingrid Dowdy (oboe; OU 1992, BM) and pianist Kim Hollingsbury.

You’d smile, too, if you had these beautiful people in your studio!!  A bittersweet day! Smiles and tears!

Melynda Ahl, BMA, will continue her studies in Physical Therapy school. TJ Blackburn, BM, is now at the University of Minnesota studying with John Miller. Erika Chiu, BM, was accepted into San Francisco Conservatory, Boston U, and New England Conservatory, but chose to stay at OU for the MM in bassoon performance!!