Aeolian Winds of Pittsburgh






"A fine young Pittsburgh wind ensemble."

since 2003

››› Press release

Associate Musicians

The associate musicians play an important role in the operation of the Aeolian Winds of Pittsburgh. They not only join us to present larger works for winds but are also available as reliable substitutes in emergencies. This ensures the quality of the music performance at your event.

Rob Frankenberry, piano and coach

Rob Frankenberry

Robert leads a multifaceted career as a singer, pianist, and conductor. Last season, he sang the tenor solo in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Akron Symphony and Mario Cavaradossi with the Erie Opera Theater. At the piano, he has worked for such organizations as the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Pittsburgh Opera, the Pittsburgh Ballet, and the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, and is a charter member of the Music On The Edge ensemble. This season, he is singing a Lieder Abend in Vancouver, performing Don Jose in Carmen, and conducting The Tales of Hoffmann at Mercyhurst College, where he teaches conducting.

Allison Hill, flute

Allison Hill enjoys playing the piccolo in addition to the flute. She studied the piano in the first grade, and chose to study the flute once she reached the fifth grade. During high school, she studied at the Eastman Preparatory School in Rochester, NY. She went on to earn a B.Mus. in Music Performance and Education from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam.

Allison has performed with various community bands and orchestras in upstate New York, northern New York, Pittsburgh, and Arizona (where she even played the alto saxophone with the White Mountain Big Band). She is currently the Group and Corporate Sales Manager for the Pittsburgh Symphony.

Albert H.C. Manders, flute

Albert Manders

Albert Manders attended the Pittsburgh High School for Creative and Performing Arts majoring in flute. He has performed with the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony and the University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in addition to the Aeolian Winds of Pittsburgh. Albert earned first place in the chamber music division of City Music Center's 2002 Young Artists Competition and has worked with the Pitt Repertory Theatre during productions of Much Ado About Nothing and Everything in the Garden. A holder of degrees in anthropology and business from the University of Pittsburgh (2006), Albert currently resides in Amsterdam.

Torin Olsen, flute

Torin Olsen Torin Olsen, a graduate of the University of Southern California, currently lives and works in Pittsburgh, PA. At USC he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Flute Performance under the tutelage of Jim Walker. He is in the process of finishing a Master's of Music in Flute at Duquesne University where he works with Damian Bursill-Hall. His former teachers include Robert Langevin, Geralyn Coticone and Jennifer Connor.

Torin's love of chamber music has had him performing diverse genres of music with a variety of ensembles. He considers it a privilege to be playing with the Aeolian Winds of Pittsburgh.

In addition to being a flutist, Torin is a professional photographer and a classical recording engineer. Among the groups he has recorded in live performance are the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, Misha Dichter and The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra.

Torin continues to freelance as a flutist around Pittsburgh and maintains a private flute studio.

Sharlotte A. DeVere, oboe

Sharlotte A. DeVere Sharlotte DeVere is a Leechburg, PA native and graduate of Seton Hill University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music. She served four years with the the US Marine Corps field bands in Pearl Harbor, HI and Quantico, VA. She has played oboe, oboe d’amore, English horn and bass oboe with numerous musical groups. She was a founding member of the Loudoun Symphony, Leesburg, VA and continues to perform with them as English hornist. In the local area, she plays with the Kiski Valley Community Band, the Westmoreland Symphonic Winds, the Edgewood Symphony and Zephrys, a woodwind chamber ensemble. Sharlotte teaches oboe privately and is an active church musician, a needlework designer and professional picture framer.

Michelle Jones, clarinet

Michelle Jones Michelle Jones has a B.S. in Biology with a minor in music from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. She was a member of the Sinfonicron Light Opera Orchestra in Williamsburg, Virginia from 1995-1999 and rotating Principal clarinetist from 1998-1999. She was a member of the William and Mary Symphony Orchestra in Williamsburg, Virginia from 1997-1999 where she was a clarinetist and Principal bass clarinetist. She was a member of the William and Mary Concert Band from 1995-1998. Michelle played in the Radford University Concert Band from 1994-1995. From 1993-1995 she was a member of the Virginia All District VI honors bands, and played with the Roanoke Youth Symphony Orchestra in 1993.

She was an invited and featured soloist with the Radford High-School Symphonic Band in 1995. She was elected to the Virginia Governor’s School for Music in 1994. She has received the John Philip Sousa Award. As a chamber musician, she is currently a clarinetist for the Aeolian Winds of Pittsburgh.

Michelle Jones received her Ph. D. in Biology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2005.

Mark Dalyrmple, bassoon

Mark Dalyrmple

Mark is a professional software developer who does music on the side, as a way to keep sane. Currently he plays in the Zephyrs woodwind quintet, is the principal bassoon of the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra, and is a peripatetic contrabassoon player. In his spare time he plays bass trombone for several local concert bands, and is a proficient balloon twister.

Jim Kunz, bassoon

Jim Kunz

Jim Kunz is a local bassoonist and composer. He studied bassoon under the tutelage of PSO bassoonist David Sogg while at Duquesne University. As a bassoonist he has performed in many venues, including Carnegie Hall in NY and with many artists ensembles and productions, including Attack Theatre’s “This Ain’t the Nutcraker” were he was featured as an Experimental Rock Bassoonist. Jim is currently pursuing artistic endeavors in the composition and sound sculpture mediums.

Meredith Lotz, horn

Meredith Lotz Meredith Lotz, originally from Sioux City, Iowa, graduated in May 2004 from St. Olaf College with degrees in Psychology and Statistics. Though she was not a music major, she still spent most of her time in the music building, as she played principal horn in the St. Olaf Orchestra, substituted with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and participated in many other smaller chamber ensembles such as the world-renowned Royal Dundas Brass Quintet. She is now studying to get her Ph.D. in biostatistics from the University of Pittsburgh, but is always looking for musical outlets through which to continue playing her horn.