Versatile and vibrant, the musicians of WindSync “play many idioms authoritatively, elegantly, with adroit technique, and with great fun” (All About the Arts), showing off the uniquely wide-ranging sounds of the wind quintet. WindSync’s charismatic and personal performance style, combined with a three-pronged mission of artistry, education, and community-building, lends the group its reputation as “virtuosos who are also wonderful people, too” (Alison Young, Classical MPR).
WindSync has enjoyed an international touring career since winning the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition and the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. The group has regularly appeared on notable chamber music stages throughout the United States and abroad, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress, Ravinia, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Phoenix Chamber Music Society, Rockport Music, and Emerald City Music. Building a new repertoire, WindSync’s recent premieres include works by Viet Cuong, Marc Mellits, Ivan Trevino, Mason Bynes, Nathalie Joachim, and Pulitzer finalist Michael Gilbertson.
WindSync has also served in residencies with the Grand Teton Music Festival, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, and the Lied Center, and they work with local partners to craft musical events for cities out of range of large arts organizations. Winner of the 2022 Fischoff Ann Divine Educator Award, the ensemble regularly coaches at training programs nationwide, collaborates with youth orchestras, and performs for thousands of young people each year.
On the heels of “All Worlds, All Times,” WindSync’s 2022 release that “will make you want to get up and dance” (The Whole Note), the quintet’s second commercial album, recorded with composer Miguel del Aguila at Abbey Road Studios, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Albums chart in 2024. This year, the ensemble began a partnership with legendary American label Delos upon the release of “Nadia.”
Garrett Hudson, flute
Garrett Hudson is a founding member of WindSync. The Canadian flutist’s roots lie in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he made his solo debut with the Winnipeg Symphony at the age of 16. During his training, Hudson performed with the National Academy Orchestra of Canada and l’Orchestre de la Francophonie in Montreal, Quebec. He earned degrees from the University of British Columbia, under Scottish flutist Lorna McGhee, and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he studied with renowned flute pedagogue Leone Buyse. A sensitive communicator both on stage and off, Hudson has coached woodwind students at the Eastman School of Music, Northwestern University, University of Iowa, and University of Texas. He lives in Houston, Texas, where he maintains a teaching studio at the beginner through professional levels.
Noah Kay, oboe
Noah Kay, a New Jersey native, began playing the oboe at age fifteen. In 2017, he joined the Colorado Springs Philharmonic as Principal Oboe, and in September 2022, he was appointed Principal Oboe of Symphony in C in Camden, NJ. Kay has performed and toured Japan, Europe, and the US with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He has also performed with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Rochester Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, Princeton Symphony, and ProMusica Columbus. Festival appearances include Viva Bach Peterborough; the Sebago-Long Lake Music Festival; Manchester Music Festival; Norfolk Chamber Music Festival; Sarasota Music Festival; Cape May Music Festival; National Repertory Orchestra; and Chautauqua Symphony, with whom he was appointed 2nd oboe in August 2023. Kay received his Bachelor of Music degree at the Eastman School of Music and his Master of Music degree at Yale, and he is currently a doctoral candidate at Stony Brook University.
Graeme Steele Johnson, clarinet
Praised as “technically and interpretively impeccable and passionately communicative” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), Graeme Steele Johnson is an artist of uncommon imagination and versatility. The clarinetist, arranger and “musical detective” (New York Classical Review) recently garnered widespread attention for his rediscovery and reconstruction of a 125-year-old Octet by Charles Martin Loeffler, profiled in a full-page spread by The Washington Post. Johnson’s recent appearances include the Library of Congress, Chamber Music Northwest, Ravinia, Emerald City Music, Morgan Library, and the Bridgehampton, Rockport, Orcas Island and Phoenix Chamber Music Festivals, as well as solo recitals at The Kennedy Center and Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess series. His debut album Forgotten Sounds earned critical acclaim from The Times, BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, The Strad, Musical America, Limelight and many others. Dr. Johnson earned degrees from The University of Texas at Austin, Yale School of Music and CUNY Graduate Center. His major teachers include David Shifrin, Charles Neidich, Nathan Williams and Ricardo Morales.
Kara LaMoure, bassoon
Kara LaMoure approaches the bassoon as a dynamic performer, educator, and creative. Her interest in the creation and curation of music has led to premieres of works for solo bassoon by Akshaya Avril Tucker and Adeliia Faizullina, and she is a prolific arranger of chamber music for winds. LaMoure is a founding member of the Breaking Winds Bassoon Quartet, a comedic crossover group known for its web presence and special connection with young musicians. A committed teaching artist, LaMoure has coached youth orchestras in the United States, Switzerland, Honduras, Mexico, and Brazil. She holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University, where she studied with John Hunt and Christopher Millard respectively, and she is an alumna Eastman’s cutting-edge Institute for Music Leadership. Between performances, she likes to explore her New York City neighborhood on foot and feed her interests in writing and visual art.
Anni Hochhalter, horn
A maverick French horn player, Anni Hochhalter is a founding member and Executive Director of WindSync. Hochhalter has performed in North America, Panama, the United Kingdom, Italy, Taiwan, and extensively in China. Winner of the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Competition and the 2016 National Fischoff Chamber Music Competition with WindSync, Anni has worked collaboratively to set a new standard of virtuosic wind performance practice and build a new repertoire for the wind quintet. Outside of WindSync, she is principal horn of the McCall Music Festival and performs on vocals, electronics, and horn with the band Late Aster, praised as a “very cool collision of brass and electronics” (San Francisco Chronicle). Hochhalter studied horn at the University of Southern California with leading studio musicians Rick Todd, James Thatcher, and Kristy Morrell, with additional summer training at Chautauqua Music Festival with Roger Kaza. Based in San Francisco, she enjoys ultra running and backpacking in her spare time.
More information:
www.windsync.org
www.youtube.com/windsync
www.facebook.com/windsync
Instagram: @windsync
