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Academy Wind Quintet
The Academy Wind Quintet presents a varied and colorful program of virtuoso chamber music for winds, featuring repertoire ranging from the late eighteenth century courts of Europe to the contemporary masters of the twentieth century. This ensemble comprises players from within the United States Military Academy Concert Band and carries on the great tradition of woodwind playing that has existed at West Point since 1815. The members of the quintet are committed to bringing a wide variety of musical styles to their programs, including turn-of-the-century waltzes, popular music and educational works like Peter and the Wolf. The Academy Wind Quintet performs music for official military functions, social occasions, formal concerts, public service and educational youth clinics and concerts. Sergeant MAJOR James Mullins - OBOE, is the principal oboist of the USMA Band and the Academy Wind Quintet at West Point, New York. He also performs in the Binghamton Philharmonic as well as the Cornwall and West Point chamber music series. SGM Mullins served with the Army Ground Forces Band in Georgia where he also played with the Augusta Symphony and Cobb Symphony orchestras. He has played with the Secret Garden National Tour, Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Bach Ensemble of Baltimore, Opera Roanoke, Richmond Ballet and Richmond Symphony Orchestra. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Masters degree from Peabody Conservatory and is a member of the American Federation of Musicians and the International Double Reed Society. MASTER SERGEANT JULIE DITZEL - FLUTE, received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, located in her native Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to joining the U.S. Military Academy Band in 1990, she worked as a free-lance musician and clinician. Since arriving at West Point, MSG Ditzel has performed as soloist with the band on several occasions, to include a solo performance at the National Flute Association Convention in 1996. Her teachers have included Jane Kirchner and Julius Baker, with whom she collaborates in coaching sessions and master classes on a regular basis. MSG Ditzel currently is principal flutist of the Highlands Symphony Orchestra and free-lances throughout the Hudson Valley region. MASTER SERGEANT CHRISTIAN EBERLE - BASSOON, principal bassoonist of the Concert Band, is originally from Kansas City, Missouri. He joined the Army in June of 1987 while finishing his Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. He has studied with Leonard Sharrow, Sherman Walt, Louis Skinner and Roland Small. MSG Eberle is a frequent soloist with the Military Academy Band and is a founding member of the Academy Wind Quintet. He has been a regular performer in numerous ensembles throughout the tri-state region, including the Pone Ensemble for New Music, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Newburgh Symphony Orchestra, Rockland County Choral Society, Orange County Classic Choral Society and Nutmeg Opera Company. Highlights of his career include two performances at International Double Reed Society conferences (2001 & 2003) and a performance of the new Concerto for Bassoon by Eric Ewazen with Dr. Ewazen in attendance. SERGEANT FIRST CLASS TROY MESSNER - HORN, who hails from Lakeland, Florida, began playing the horn at the age of twelve. Soon after his graduation from high school in 1986, he joined the United States Marine Corps. After a tour in the Fleet Marine Forces Pacific Band located in Marine Barracks, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, SFC Messner left the Marines to pursue studies in horn performance. Before and after graduating from the University of South Florida in Tampa, SFC Messner was principle horn with the Imperial Symphony of Lakeland, fourth horn with the Florida West Coast Symphony and fourth horn with the Brevard Symphony. He substituted with the Naples Philharmonic, the Southwest Florida Symphony and the Orlando Symphony. He also performed with the touring Broadway shows Miss Saigon, Sunset Blvd, Buskers, Carousel and Beauty and the Beast among others. In 1998 SFC Messner returned to the Marine Corps, but soon after, joined the United States Military Academy Band in September of 1999. SERGEANT FIRST CLASS JOHN PARRETTE - CLARINET, Concert Band principal clarinetist and section leader, received his Bachelor of Music degree with honors from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Peter Hadcock. Originally from Kansas City, he began his studies with his father, who also served with the U.S. Military Academy Band. SFC Parrette has been with the Military Academy Band since 1987 and assumed the position of principal clarinetist in 1996. He has made over 50 solo appearances with the band, including the 2001 North American premiere of Martin Ellerby’s Clarinet Concerto. He has also performed many of his own arrangements with the band, including solo works by Mozart, Rossini, Ponchielli and Cahuzac. SFC Parrette is a founding member of the Academy Wind Quintet.
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