Alumni Profiles
Berwick Academy alumni profiles are one of the many ways we are celebrating our 170 alumni and the incredible careers they have gone on to accomplish. We’re always looking for regular news updates and showcasing our incredible HIPP community. If you are an alum, or know someone who is, please email berwickacademy@uoregon.edu. We would love to connect with you!
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Heather Beaty (2019)
Freelance Flutist
Heather is a multi-faceted performing arts professional who lives and works in Vancouver BC on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples–Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. Heather enjoys a fulfilling performance career as a freelance flutist with a number of regional symphony orchestras in British Columbia. She also performs as a Health Arts Society Artist and regularly presents chamber music concerts in hospitals and care centers with her flute and guitar ensemble Duo Trovador. For more info – http://www.heatherbeaty.com/
Lydia Becker (2018), Julia Connor (2018), Sarah Bleile Douglass (2017, 2018)
Berwick Fiddle Consort
BFC was formed in the summer of 2018 at the Oregon Bach Festival when Lydia, Julia, and Sarah began a nightly tradition of meeting after rehearsals to play fiddle tunes on baroque violins well into the night. At these nocturnal jam sessions, they quickly found that performing 17th and 18th century music from the British Isles and Canada opened up new dimensions of sound, rhythm, and musical expression. BFC presented their debut concert at the 2019 Boston Early Music Festival Fringe, and have since been featured as Pegasus Rising Artists and NYS Baroque Young Artists, as well as the Society for Historically Informed Performance (SoHIP) Summer Concert season in both 2020 and 2021. Other performances include appearances at the Beacon Hill Friends House in Boston, the Sudbury Historical Society, and the Shutesbury Athletic Club. BFC has also been an ensemble-in-residence at Avaloch Farm in Boscawen, NH. For more info – https://www.berwickfiddleconsort.com/
Dr. David Wells (2018)
Musicologist and Bassoonist
David plays period and modern bassoons in a wide variety of ensembles and styles. On Baroque, Classical, and Romantic-era bassoons, he has performed with the Carmel Bach Festival, American Bach Soloists, Sacramento Baroque Soloists, Capella Antiqua, Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Musica Redemptor Orchestra, and is a founding member of Sinfonia Spirituosa. In addition to his performing career, David serves as co-executive director of Meg Quigley, an organization focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion within the bassoon world. He is also on faculty at California State University, Sacramento, where he teaches bassoon and music history. For more info – https://davidawells.com/
Sarah Bleile Douglass (2017, 2018)
Baroque Violinist
Sarah is a versatile baroque violinist who has charmed audiences in North America and Europe in both her fields of baroque music and traditional fiddling. In November 2021, she and her duo partner Shelby Yamin (also a BA alum – 2018, 2019) released their debut album as the premiere recording of the violin duets by Maddalena Sirmen Lombardini. Respected for her dedication, fiery energy and attention to detail, Sarah serves as Co-Artistic Director of Chamber Muse Historical Music Society, and performs with Rosa Barocca in Calgary and Arion Baroque Orchestra in Montreal. She is also a founding member of the Berwick Fiddle Consort. In May 2020, she received her Master’s degree in baroque violin from McGill University, studying with Olivier Brault and with Kati Debretzeni at The Hague Conservatory. She also earned a professional diploma in baroque violin and a Bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the San Francisco Conservatory, studying with Elizabeth Blumenstock and Ian Swensen.
Keiran Campbell (2017)
Professional Cellist
Keiran is based in Toronto, ON, and is a core member of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Keiran has performed with orchestras including The English Concert, NYBI, Philharmonia Baroque, The Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, and Mercury Baroque. During the summer, Kieran plays in NYC with Teatro Nuovo, an opera company dedicated to performing bel canto opera on period instruments, and he also performs at Lakes Area Music Festival in Minnesota. Keiran has given lectures and masterclasses at UNC-Chapel Hill, RNCM Manchester, Western University, and the National Academy Orchestra of Canada. For more info – https://keirancampbellcellist.com/
Sarah Huebsch Schilling (2017)
Period Oboist
Sarah Huebsch Schilling, DM, is in demand as a period oboist and performance practice specialist. Recent performances include Staunton Music Festival, Chatham Baroque, Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Bourbon Baroque, Washington Bach Consort, Montana Early Music Festival, and Festival Internacional de Música Sacra. Sarah is also director of outreach at Forgotten Clefs and directs the Interlochen Early Music Workshop. When she isn’t performing, Sarah works as Music Administrator for VPM Music (NPR Affiliate) in Richmond, Virginia. For more info – https://sarahhuebsch.com/about-2/
Derek Tam (2017)
Professional harpsichordist
Praised not only for his “deft” conducting (San Francisco Chronicle) but also as a “a master of [the harpsichord]” (San Francisco Classical Voice) and “the fortepianist of the beguiling fingers” (Bloomington Herald-Times), Derek appears regularly throughout the Bay Area and beyond as a conductor and historical keyboardist. He is the executive director of the San Francisco Early Music Society and serves as the artistic director of the biennial Berkeley Festival & Exhibition. Derek is also the president of the board of Early Music America. Thank you, Derek, for your many contributions to the world of early music! For more info – http://www.dereksaihotam.com/
Alejandro Gómez-Guillén (2017)
Conductor and Violinist
Alejandro Gómez-Guillén has been artistic director and conductor of Bloomington Symphony Orchestra since 2016, associate conductor of Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and Freeman Conducting Fellow with the Chicago Sinfonietta. He is also artistic director of Denver’s Sphere Ensemble, acting concertmaster and principal second violin of Midland-Odessa Symphony & Chorale and member of the Permian Basin String Quartet and Chasqui String Quartet. Alejandro holds DMA and MM degrees in conducting and violin performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. His doctoral research includes a critical edition of Colombian composer Jorge Pinzón’s violin concerto as well as bringing selected dances from Bach’s orchestral suites to developing orchestras with a historically informed approach to playing on modern instruments. For more info – https://www.alejandrogomezguillen.com/
Sarah Elizabeth Cranor (2016, 2017)
Professional Violinist
Violinist Sarah Elizabeth Cranor is passionate about the freedom of sonic possibilities found in both historical and contemporary music. She is acting concertmaster / principal second violin with the Midland-Odessa Symphony, a member of the Permian Basin String Quartet and the Chasqui Quartet. Sarah directs Tonos del Sur: a historically-informed ensemble that explores the intersection of European music with the colonization of the Americas, whose aim is to bring music of lesser-known, anonymous, and indigenous composers, and music in indigenous languages to today’s audiences. Recently released recordings include “The Colorful Telemann” with Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra for NAXOS Music, the “Fair and Princely Branches: Music for the Jacobean Princes” with Renaissance violin band, and the world premiere of Kurt Vonnegut’s “Requiem” with Voces Novae. For more info – https://www.sarahcranor.com/
Yvonne Smith (2016)
Professional Violist
Yvonne is originally from upstate New York and currently runs and performs with La Speranza, the historically informed string chamber ensemble based out of the Greater Houston area. Yvonne enjoys a full schedule as a performing and teaching artist on both modern and baroque viola. She has performed with La Follia Austin Baroque, Lyra Baroque, American Bach Soloists, Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, and the Gateways Orchestra. In addition, she coaches chamber music at American Festival for the Arts and has a thriving viola studio of private students ranging from age 8 to adult. For more info – https://www.yvonnesmithviola.com/
Andrew Goodlett (2015, 2016)
Professional Bassist
Andrew Goodlett is the assistant principal double bass of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Andrew, together with his wife Natalie, run their teaching studio F-Clef Strings, offering cello, bass, and musicianship lessons. He is also the double bass instructor at the Douglas Kuhl School of Music in the Morden and Winkler area. As a performer, he has played a wide variety of musical styles, from baroque and renaissance music on period instruments to country, rock, and jazz, as well as the more traditional orchestral, chamber, and solo repertoire. Andrew is a strong believer in encouraging students to explore the versatility of the double bass in a variety of musical styles.Professionally, he has performed with ensembles such as the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chorus, Milwaukee Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW series. For more info – https://www.rosamunde.ca/andrew-goodlett.html
Justin Bland (2015)
Historical and Modern Trumpet
Applauded for his “gleaming trumpet work” (Hyde Park Herald) and “dazzling virtuosity” (Grunion Gazette), Justin is a versatile musician, performing on both historical and modern trumpets. Now living in Denmark, Justin continues to perform as both a soloist and ensemble musician in many ensembles throughout Europe. As a modern trumpeter, Justin has experience performing in orchestras, wind ensembles, jazz ensembles, pit orchestras for opera and musical theater, British brass bands, and numerous chamber ensembles. In addition to being a trumpeter, Justin is also a countertenor and has sung with Apollo’s Fire and Opera Cleveland. For more info – https://justinblandtrumpet.com/