Woodwinds Area

The woodwinds area at Colorado State University provides talented flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone students with world-class training in the areas of performance and pedagogy. The woodwind experience at CSU enhances our student's passion for music by providing a solid foundation for a lifetime of creative activity. The objectives of the curriculum are to develop professional perceptions and skills in the art of music as it is needed by performers, teachers, therapists, and those interested in other possible careers where a high level of music-making is maintained. Expectation levels are consistent with those of university study in preparation for a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, and Master of Music. Areas of concentration within these degree programs include music education, music therapy, music performance, composition, and conducting.

 

Study With

Ysmael Reyes

  • Instructor of Music
  • Undergraduate Flute Professor

Ysmael.Reyes@colostate.edu

Cayla Bellamy

  • Assistant Professor of Music
  • Bassoon
  • Coordinator of Woodwinds

Cayla.Bellamy@colostate.edu

Peter Sommer

  • Professor of Music
  • Saxophone, Chamber Music, Jazz Studies
  • Director of the Department of Music

Peter.Sommer@colostate.edu

Michelle Stanley

  • Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, Liberal Arts
  • Professor of Music
  • Graduate Flute Professor

970-491-4350

Michelle.Stanley@colostate.edu

Perform With Us

Fall 2023 Student Recitals FREE

September 7, 2023 - December 9, 2023 at 12:00 AM
Please join us in celebrating the recital performances of our CSU music students. Student Recitals are FREE and open to the public. Note: Dates, times, and locations are subject to change, please check back to confirm performance details. Saturday, October 7, 2023: 5 p.m., Organ Recital Hall, Rachel Richardson, Horn Friday, October 20, 2023: 5 [...]

Graduate String Quartet

December 4, 2023 at 7:30 PM
The Graduate String Quartet will be performing Dimitri Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 8 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet. The Shostakovich is a powerful work composed in Dresden in 1960 that is dedicated to the victims of fascism and war. The piece uses the composer’s initials as the motif in each of the five movements. The Mozart [...]

Piano Studio Recital

December 6, 2023 at 6:00 PM
A recital presented by piano students from the studio of Bryan Wallick. CONFIRMATION OF TIME: Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m.

2023 CSU Honor Band

December 7, 2023 - December 9, 2023 at 12:00 AM
The annual CSU Honor Band Festival brings together the finest high school musicians in the Rocky Mountain Region, selected from hundreds of applicants throughout the western region; the three-day festival takes place at the University Center for the Arts at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. Guest clinicians and conductors enhance the student’s experience, providing invaluable insight and expertise. In addition to rehearsals, students enjoy several concerts given by CSU faculty and student ensembles. The experience is capped off with a performance by the Honor Wind Symphony and the Festival Concert Band in the beautiful, world-class Griffin Concert Hall.

Symphonic Band Concert: Arecibo to Orion

December 7, 2023 at 7:30 PM
The Symphonic Band, conducted by Dr. Jayme Taylor, performs a concert featuring the amazing musical talents of three of our CSU Faculty. First a consortium premiere of CSU composer James David’s Message from Arecibo, followed by the performance of The Orion Concerto: Double Oboe and Bassoon Concerto featuring oboe professor Pablo Dos Santos Hernandez and [...]

Wind Symphony Concert -The Music of Kevin Day

December 8, 2023 at 7:30 PM
The Music of Kevin Day With John McGuire, Horn and Drew Leslie, Trombone Colorado State University and the CSU Band Program welcomes composer Kevin Day to Fort Collins for a week of performances and lectures. An American whose music has been characterized by "propulsive, syncopated rhythms, colorful orchestration, and instrumental virtuosity," (Robert Kirzinger, Boston Symphony) [...]

CSU Spur Music Lab Dec. 9, 2023

December 9, 2023 at 11:00 AM
CSU Spur MusicLab is a free, community-based, and culturally relevant music outreach program that provides elemental music education workshops and performance opportunities for learners of all ages with a focus on beginner and amateur musicianship. Doors are open to all levels of musicians, but no previous music experience is required to enjoy this musical community.

Voice Area Recital / FREE

December 10, 2023 at 7:30 PM
Performances by students from the voice studios of Nicole Asel, Tiffany Blake, and John Lindsey.

Spring 2024 Student Recitals / FREE

January 16, 2024 - May 6, 2024 at 12:00 AM
Please join us in celebrating the recital performances of our CSU music students. Student Recitals are FREE and open to the public. Note: Dates, times, and locations are subject to change, please check back to confirm performance details. Friday, February 16, 2024: 5 p.m., Organ Recital Hall, James Scott, Bassoon Friday, March 1, 2024: 5 [...]

MUSIC THERAPY MAJOR Q&A / WEBINAR

January 16, 2024 at 5:30 PM
Please join us at our online music therapy degree Q&A. During the webinar, you will receive an overview of our undergraduate music therapy program, meet music therapy faculty, find out about the audition process and options, and have an opportunity to ask questions.

Music Therapy Webinar – Master’s Plus Equivalency Information Session

January 16, 2024 at 6:30 PM
We hope you'll join us at our Master’s Plus Equivalency information session and Q&A. During the webinar, you will receive an overview of our graduate music therapy program, meet music therapy faculty, find out about the application process, and have an opportunity to ask questions.

Jan. 2024 Music Therapy Ph.D. Information Webinar

January 23, 2024 at 5:00 PM
We hope you’ll join us at our Music Therapy Ph.D. information session and Q&A. During the webinar, you will receive an overview of our program, meet music therapy faculty, find out about the application process, and have an opportunity to ask questions.

Classical Convergence Series: Cuarteto LatinoAmericano

January 23, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Cuarteto LatinoAmericano is one of the world's most renowned classical music ensembles and a leading proponent of Latin American music for string quartet for more than thirty years. Founded in Mexico in 1982, the Cuarteto has toured extensively throughout Europe, North and South America, Israel, China, Japan and New Zealand. They have premiered more than [...]

MUSIC THERAPY MAJOR Q&A / WEBINAR

February 6, 2024 at 5:30 PM
Please join us at our online music therapy degree Q&A. During the webinar, you will receive an overview of our undergraduate music therapy program, meet music therapy faculty, find out about the audition process and options, and have an opportunity to ask questions.

Music Therapy Webinar – Master’s Plus Equivalency Information Session

February 6, 2024 at 6:30 PM
We hope you'll join us at our Master’s Plus Equivalency information session and Q&A. During the webinar, you will receive an overview of our graduate music therapy program, meet music therapy faculty, find out about the application process, and have an opportunity to ask questions.

Classical Convergence Series: Vitamin String Quartet

February 6, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Long before Bridgerton broke the Netflix algorithm, Vitamin String Quartet had helped establish classical crossover as a genuine force in contemporary music. Fresh off high-profile placements in Seasons 1 and 2 of the aforementioned streaming smash, VSQ has “reached a mainstream, global audience” (Variety) and “charmed the world with their classical covers” (Nylon). New York [...]

Classical Convergence Series: Gilbert & Sullivan in Concert

February 28, 2024 at 7:30 PM
A sextet of New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players stars will entertain with many selections from the full repertoire of Gilbert & Sullivan's comic operas. Hear your favorites from The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Mikado and more! Followed by their signature section—impromptu audience requests! Building on the foundation of the classical music tradition, [...]

2024 CSU Trumpet Day

March 2, 2024 at 8:00 AM
The event is designed for trumpet players of ALL AGES AND EXPERIENCE who are looking for an in-person event that inspires their love of music and all things trumpet. Trumpet students, teachers, performers, and band directors in Colorado are invited to attend this annual event hosted by CSU trumpet professor, Dr. Stanley Curtis, and features special guests to talk about their career and ideas on trumpet playing.

2024 BassoonaRAMa

March 23, 2024 at 8:00 AM
Since 2006, BassoonaRAMa and OboeRAMa have brought together bassoonists and oboeists of all ages! The day-long event features today's multifaceted bassoon successes who explore what it means to have a life and success in and around music. Guest clinicians include chamber and orchestral musicians, college professors, music researchers, and professional reed manufacturers.

Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck

April 4, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Presented by the Ralph Opera Program The classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale comes to life with the Ralph Opera Program's performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel". Humperdinck’s sister, Adelheid Wette, wrote the libretto of the Märchenoper or fairy-tale opera Hänsel und Gretel, which is considered a key work of the German genre. The Märchenoper [...]

Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck

April 5, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Presented by the Ralph Opera Program The classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale comes to life with the Ralph Opera Program's performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel". Humperdinck’s sister, Adelheid Wette, wrote the libretto of the Märchenoper or fairy-tale opera Hänsel und Gretel, which is considered a key work of the German genre. The Märchenoper [...]

Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck

April 6, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Presented by the Ralph Opera Program The classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale comes to life with the Ralph Opera Program's performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel". Humperdinck’s sister, Adelheid Wette, wrote the libretto of the Märchenoper or fairy-tale opera Hänsel und Gretel, which is considered a key work of the German genre. The Märchenoper [...]

Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck

April 7, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Presented by the Ralph Opera Program The classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale comes to life with the Ralph Opera Program's performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel". Humperdinck’s sister, Adelheid Wette, wrote the libretto of the Märchenoper or fairy-tale opera Hänsel und Gretel, which is considered a key work of the German genre. The Märchenoper [...]

2024 Colorado Harp Seminar

June 9, 2024 - June 15, 2024 at 12:00 AM
Colorado Harp Seminar is a one-week intensive harp program for high school and undergraduate pedal harpists. Directed by faculty member Kathryn Harms at Colorado State University, it is designed to support, nurture, and inspire excellent musicianship. In addition to private lessons, students will participate in harp ensemble, masterclasses, and workshops on various topics such as [...]

2024 Organ Week

June 9, 2024 - June 14, 2024 at 12:00 AM
Organ Week is designed for high school students interested in expanding (or beginning) their organ study. Led by a faculty of prominent concert and church organists, the program features one-to-one instruction, masterclasses, and recitals on the finest pipe organs in northern Colorado, including CSU’s Casavant organ.

Woodwinds News

The American Prize Logo

2023 American Prize Winners Announced and CSU Music Faculty Make the List

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Three of CSU’s music faculty received 2023 American Prize recognition in the Instrumental Performance professional division. The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is the nation’s most comprehensive series of contests in the classical arts. The prize is “nonprofit, unique in scope and structure, and is designed to evaluate, recognize and reward […]

Ysmael Reyes

Announcing Ysmael Reyes as CSU’s new flute professor

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Join the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance in welcoming Dr. Ysmael Reyes, the new Instructor of Flute at Colorado State University. Dr. Reyes is no stranger to the Front Range, where he has performed in numerous organizations over the past 14 years, including the Cheyenne Symphony and the Colorado Bach Festival Orchestra. He has […]

Rachel Waddell headshot

Announcing Dr. Rachel Waddell as the new director of orchestras at CSU

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The School of Music, Theatre, and Dance is thrilled to introduce Dr. Rachel Waddell as the next conductor of the University Symphony Orchestra and director of orchestras at Colorado State University. Dr. Waddell comes to CSU from the University of Rochester where she has served as the director of orchestral activities. She is the co-founder […]