BAE Woodwind Quintet at BronxArtSpace | Beyond the Artifact: Modern Takes on Traditional Dance Music

DAVID WECHSLER is the founder and Music Director of The OMNI Ensemble, with a vision for a versatile group performing diverse music styles for 43 years. He has held roles as Principal Flute and Personnel Manager for the Connecticut Grand Opera and Second Flutist for the Brooklyn Philharmonic. His orchestral experience includes various symphonies and renowned productions, such as King Lear and Broadway shows like Peter Pan. David is also active in recording for film and TV, and as an electronic musician, he has composed works for live and electronic instruments. He has served on the board of the New York Flute Club and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the CUNY Graduate Center. Currently, he teaches at several institutions and resides in Brooklyn with his family.

DAVID SAPADIN is the principal clarinetist of the New York Pops and is a New York City based freelance musician known for his lyrical clarinet playing and engaging teaching style. He has played with the Metropolitan Opera, American Ballet Theater, The American Symphony Orchestra, The New York City Opera, The Knights, The Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, Albany Symphony, Princeton Symphony, Stamford Symphony, and internationally with the Hong Kong Philharmonic. Mr. Sapadin’s recording of the Brahms Sonata for Clarinet and Piano is available on all streaming platforms. David considers teaching central to his work as an artist. He is on the faculty at Montclair State University, The Mannes School of Music, and Kinhaven Music School. As a pedagogue, he has led masterclasses across the country and teaches clarinetists from 1st grade to graduate school.

WILLIAM MEREDITH, oboist, made his debut at the age of thirteen as a soloist with the Kansas City Philharmonic, and subsequently moved to New York City to study with Harold Gomberg at the Manhattan School of Music.  Bill has played with the Westchester Symphony, Virginia Opera Company, New Jersey Symphony, Long Island Symphony and new music group North-South Chamber Orchestra.  He has as well performed as principal with the American Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Connecticut Grand Opera and Grand Opera of New York. In demand as a chamber musician, Bill is a member of the Andiamo Ensemble and Linden Woodwind Quintet, as well as Bronx Arts Ensemble. A busy commercial musician, he has recorded with Queen Latifah and in the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie Blackwater Lighthouse. Bill has also been oboist for many Broadway shows, including My Fair Lady, Ragtime and Beauty and the Beast.

Horn player WILDEN DANNENBERG is active in the New York area as hornist, conductor, arranger and organist. Recent highlights include the premiere of Silver, Blue, a Carnegie Hall-commissioned quintet for horn and strings by T.J. Cole, multiple collaborations as conductor and performer with composer Tania León, and a performance of Schumann’s Konzertstücke for four horns and orchestra.  A native of South Georgia, Wilden holds degrees from Florida State University and SUNY Stony Brook, and is an alum of Ensemble Connect, a fellowship program of Carnegie Hall and the Juilliard School.  He is a member of the New York-based quintet Connect Five, Artist Member of the Bronx Arts Ensemble, teaching artist for Carnegie Hall and faculty member at Adelphi University.

Bassoonist ATSUKO SATO is a graduate of the Toho School of Music in Japan and Juilliard School of Music in New York.  A former member of the Detroit Symphony, she is a member of the Queens Symphony.  Active as a freelancer in the Tri-State area, Atsuko is an original member of the orchestra for The Phantom of the Opera, Broadway’s longest running production.  Her playing can be heard on the Emmy Award-winning television show Wonder Pets.  A notable chamber music musician, she performs with a variety of groups including Grammy-nominated Englewinds and Double Entendre, as well as with the Bronx Arts Ensemble as Artist Member.