Evelyn Andresen-Chen is a first-year performance student at Arizona State University (ASU). She is from Chandler, Arizona, and graduated from Basha High School (BHS). While at BHS, Evelyn played principal bassoon and participated in the All-Region and All-State ensembles for three years. Additionally, she participated in BHS’s premiere choir, varsity jazz band, indoor percussion ensemble, color guard, and indoor winds for several years. Within the ensembles, she attended the Highland Jazz Festival, competed at the Manhattan Beach Regional Competition, and won four state championships.

Beyond high school, Evelyn attended the Interlochen Summer Music Camp under the Bassoon Intensive program and was a Phoenix Youth Symphony (PYSO) member for two years. Recently, she has begun playing second bassoon for the Scottsdale Philharmonic. Besides music, Evelyn enjoys shopping, playing volleyball, and tabletop games.

Lucas Lyum is a freshman Music Learning and Teaching major from Las Vegas, Nevada. He started his musical Journey at Pinecrest Sloan Canyon and will continue through college. He participated in his band's top wind ensemble and the top choral ensemble at his high school.

Lucas Lyum is Primarily a vocalist and decided to take up the challenge of bassoon late in his junior year of high school. He is a dedicated musician who helps with his Conservatory’s events and concerts. In his first full year of playing bassoon, he shocked himself by making it into the 2024 Nevada Music Education Association (NMEA) All-state Band Festival, sitting in the 4th chair bassoon. (That might not seem impressive to you, but to him, it was a significant achievement.) Not only that, he is also one of the few students to be able to participate in 2 NMEA All-State ensembles, for he also made it into the NMEA All-State Choir festival.

In addition, Lucas was a leader in his choral ensemble, a section leader for the bass, baritone, and tenors, and a student conductor for his Intermediate and beginning choirs. Lucas was also the first person at his school to finish the Conservatory program and received an award for it.

In his free time, he listens to music, watches videos, and also attempts to compose and arrange music for fun.

Aviel Martinez-Mason is a third-year undergraduate bassoon performance major from Tempe, Arizona. He graduated from Marcos de Niza High School’s Fine Arts Academy in May of 2022. At ASU, he has performed with the Sun Devil Marching Band, the ASU Wind Symphony, and the ASU Philharmonia. During the 2024 school year, Aviel is performing with ASU Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra.

Aviel hopes to pursue a Master's in Performance and eventually join a symphony orchestra, although he is quite interested in playing in pit orchestras. In his free time, he likes to sing and play other instruments. He is also pursuing a certificate in vocal pedagogy at ASU. He sang with the Phoenix Children’s Chorus for 10.5 years, traveling to New York City’s Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House in Australia. In his free time, he loves to cook and play tabletop games.

Nicholas “Nich” Muir is a sophomore at Arizona State University (ASU) pursuing an undergraduate degree in Music Learning and Teaching (MLT). Nich was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, into a military household.

After moving to Washington in 5th grade, Nich joined the elementary school band and chose to play the saxophone. In 6th grade, his middle school band director brought in a bassoonist to showcase the instrument, and Nich immediately fell in love with the sound and decided to try the bassoon. After only paying bassoon for one year, Nich and his family moved to Alabama during his 7th-grade year, where he stayed until his move to Arizona in 2023. Nich made the first chair in the top band for the Southeastern United States middle school honor band and later auditioned for the Alabama district band, where he made the first chair in the ensemble.

When auditioning for his high school the following year, Nich made his high school’s top ensemble and later made the Alabama All-State band while auditioning for district band all four years of his high school career. In his sophomore year, he and other bandmates applied and made it to perform at the annual MidWest Conference in Chicago.

While at ASU, Nich attended the College Band Directors National Association(CBDNA) conference with the ASU wind Symphony, Traveling to Las Vegas in March (2024) of this year to perform multiple pieces for wind symphony. He also spent the summer in Flagstaff, Arizona, volunteering at the International Double Reed Society Conference and watching several world premiere performances.

Besides music, Nich loves to travel; he has seen both coasts of the United States and walked on a glacier in Alaska! In his spare time, he loves to hike and play games with family and friends, whether online video games or role-playing fantasy games (he has a very active imagination!).

Caroline Sanders is a freshman at Arizona State University studying Music Therapy and a member of the Sun Devil Marching Band, playing tenor saxophone. Caroline is from Frisco, Texas, and graduated from Frisco Centennial High School, where they played in the Wind Symphony. During their time in high school, they were a part of several All-region ensembles, including the Symphonic Band (2023), the Wind Ensemble as principal bassoon (2024), The Region Orchestra as principal bassoon (2024), and the TMEA All-State Philharmonic Orchestra (2024).

Caroline also participated in the University Interscholastic League Solo and Ensemble competition and received superior ratings for all four years. Caroline was also a Centennial High School Marching Band member and a saxophone section leader their senior year. Outside school events, they also played in the prestigious Greater Dallas Youth Orchestras' top ensemble for one year, performing at the Meyerson Symphony Center.

During the summer, Caroline taught masterclasses at Bocal Majority Bassoon and Oboe summer camp and their local middle school. Aside from music, Caroline enjoys drawing, reading, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Aaron Sheppard is a freshman at Arizona State University majoring in Bassoon Performance. Aaron is originally from Vail, Arizona, and graduated from Cienega High School. He has been playing bassoon for the past 4 years. During high school, Aaron was heavily involved in his music program, being principal bassoon in his school’s symphonic band and the drum major for his school’s marching band. He also participated in AMEA regionals three times. Additionally, he was president of his school’s United Sound chapter, a club devoted to teaching students with physical and intellectual disabilities musical instruments. Aaron also played in the Tucson Philharmonia Youth Orchestra (TPYO) for his senior year.

In addition to the bassoon, Aaron has played the piano for the past eleven years, performing regularly in recitals. Outside of music, Aaron enjoys reading, learning languages, and playing video games.

Siraj Soliman is a freshman from Tempe, AZ who is majoring in animation. He is currently playing in the Scottsdale Community College Woodwind Quartet and has participated in many years of the All-State and All-Region festivals, as well as marching band and Wind Ensemble at his high school, McClintock High. On the side he loves art, creating, blacksmithing, lifting weights, and watching TV shows and movies.

Cooper Taylor is a sophomore bassoon performance major at Arizona State University. Born in Glendale, Arizona, Cooper began bassoon lessons in 2018 and has since traveled across the country and the world to cultivate his musical knowledge, most notably performing in the 2023 Music For All Honor Band of America, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) Bassoon Workshop under Margaret Phillips (2023), and UNCSA’s Chamber Music Academy of Southern Germany under Saxton Rose (2022).

During the 2024 International Double Reed Society conference, Cooper presented the world premiere performances of two new bassoon quartets by Sergey Khvorostianov and Kincaid Rabb. He was also selected to participate in performance classes by Gina Moore and Kristin Wolfe Jensen.

At ASU, Cooper has enjoyed performing with the AZ Musicfest Orchestra and the Scottsdale Philharmonic. While in high school, Cooper performed in the Phoenix Youth Symphony Orchestras (PYSO) for four years, performing principal and second bassoon for their large orchestral works and ballets. During his participation in PYSO, Cooper placed third in their concerto competition, receiving the opportunity to attend the BUTI festival for free.

Outside of music, Cooper frequently lifts weights, reads nonfiction books, and plays ultimate frisbee. In the Spring of 2024, Cooper ran a Spartan 10k and finished in the top 15 percent of racers. He is an early-morning person and loves to be outdoors!

Sonya Viquesney is a junior at Arizona State University, pursuing a degree in Bassoon Performance. As a lifetime Phoenix resident, she has experience working in several large and small ensembles around the Valley of the Sun. An Arizona School for the Arts graduate, she has played bassoon for eight years and was the principal bassoonist in the Phoenix Youth Symphony Orchestra for four years. During this time, she also collaborated with the School of Ballet Arizona in their productions of Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.

Sonya participated in the AZ All-State Festival for four years and was a first bassoonist for three years. At ASU, she had performed with some of the top ensembles in only her first year. In March 2024, she was the principal bassoonist representing ASU’s Wind Symphony at the College Band Directors National Association Western/Northwestern Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. This group was one of few from many Western ensembles hand-selected to perform during the four-day conference.

Outside of bassoon, Sonya engages in other forms of art and creation. She often draws or arranges music. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games or Dungeons and Dragons with her friends.

In the future, she plans to pursue the bassoon as a career. Her dream job would be to stay local and join the Phoenix Symphony as their principal bassoonist.

Travis Williams is a senior undergraduate student studying music therapy with a focus on bassoon. Travis is originally from Bushkill, Pennsylvania, and moved to Arizona to study with Dr. Albie Micklich at Arizona State University (ASU). Before moving to Arizona, Travis made top ensembles in Pennsylvania, including the Pennsylvania Music Education Association’s (PMEA) All-State Band, the PMEA All-State Orchestra, and the National Association for Music Education’s (NAfME) All-Eastern Orchestra.

Since attending ASU, Travis has played in the ASU Wind Symphony, ASU Philharmonia, ASU Symphony Orchestra, ASU Wind Ensemble, and multiple chamber groups, including the ASU Flute Choir, the “Breakfast Club” woodwind quartet, and the “Meraki” wind quintet. In addition to performing in large ensembles, Travis has also given elective recitals and performed at ASU and around Arizona.

Travis plans to finish his Bachelor of Music at ASU and become a board-certified music therapist with the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). When not learning new repertoire, Travis enjoys hiking and exploring the world.