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West Point Clarinet Quartet The United States Military Academy Band's Clarinet Quartet is one of a handful of clarinet quartets that is dedicated to exploring and performing the literature written and transcribed for this unusual ensemble. The group was formed in the fall of 1992 and has since evolved into an integral part of the Military Academy Band Chamber Music Series. The quartet has performed at several colleges and universities throughout the United States, including Ithaca College, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory and New Mexico State University, Las Cruces. Additionally, the quartet offers numerous recitals and performances throughout the Hudson Valley and the United States. In October of 2000, the quartet premiered Three Utterances for Clarinet Quartet, written especially for the group by British composer Paul Harvey. The West Point Clarinet Quartet was recently featured on the Northeast Public Radio show Performance Place. All of the performers in the quartet are members of the Military Academy Concert Band's clarinet section. This multifunctional group serves to educate through clinics and master classes, as well as to entertain in the formal concert setting. SERGEANT MAJOR CHRISTOPHER D. JONES - CLARINET, from Fairhope, Alabama, has been a clarinetist in the Military Academy Band since September of 1992. He has a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from the University of North Alabama, Florence and a Master of Music degree in clarinet performance and conducting from New Mexico State University, Las Cruces. In addition to being a member of the clarinet quartet, SGM Jones serves as the publicity division chief and as an assistant drum major. He is also adjunct teacher of clarinet at Nyack College. SGM Jones continues to study with the distinguished clarinetist Kalmen Opperman and he attended the 1999 Kalmen Opperman/Richard Stoltzman "Clarinet Summit" at the New England Conservatory in Boston. MASTER SERGEANT RACHEL GRASSO - CLARINET, is from Houston, Texas and came to the Military Academy Band in 1988. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston and a master’s degree from Indiana University. Her teachers have included Chester Rowell, Jeffrey Lerner and Kalmen Opperman. In addition to the Quartet, MSG Grasso serves as the E flat clarinetist in the Concert Band. Additionally, she has been an adjunct professor at the State University of New York at New Paltz and a free-lance musician in the Hudson Valley. STAFF SERGEANT JEFFREY GELLER - CLARINET grew up in Rome, NY and began studying the clarinet with his father, Herb Geller, a former member of the USMA Band. He continued his studies with Gerald Zampino, former principal clarinetist of the Syracuse Symphony. Jeff attended The Juilliard School of Music and was a student of David Weber. He joined the Army in 1988 and was a member of the U.S. Army Ground Forces Band at Fort McPherson, Atlanta, GA. He has been a member of the West Point Band since 1991 and is a member of the West Point Clarinet Quartet. STAFF SERGEANT KRISTEN MATHER - CLARINET, clarinet, earned a Bachelor of Music from Youngstown State University in 2005. There she studied with Robert Fitzer. In 2006, she attended DePaul University in Chicago and studied with Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal clarinetist and former USMA Band clarinetist, Larry Combs. SSG Mather has a varied musical background, performing with the Warren Philharmonic, the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, the Ohio Light Opera Orchestra and with renowned jazz bassist Dave Holland. She joined the Academy Band in October of 2007.
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