Brad Whitfield, clarinet, native of Birmingham, Alabama, is currently the Assistant Principal/second clarinet of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. Prior to joining the orchestra, he was a clarinet fellow with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida, under the musical direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. During this time, he performed chamber music with artists such as Garrick Olhsson and toured with the orchestra to Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Harris Theater.
Mr Whitfield has performed on four different continents in five different countries including the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, and New Zealand. In the United States, he has performed with professional orchestras including The Cleveland Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, and Jacksonville Symphony. In the summer of 2019, Brad performed as Guest Principal Clarinet of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in Auckland, New Zealand. In previous summers he has also performed with the Verbier Festival Orchestra (Verbier, Switzerland), Tanglewood Music Center, Pacific Music Festival (Sapporo, Japan), Spoleto Festival USA, National Repertory Orchestra, Lakes Area Music Festival, and the Central City Opera among others.
Brad received his Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University and his Master of Music from the University of Southern California. His primary teachers include Yehuda Gilad, Steve Cohen, and the late Daniel Granados.
B.M. Clarinet Performance, Northwestern University
M.M. Clarinet Performance, University of Southern California
ASO Member since 2015
Jackson Scott, guitar, is the worship leader for our Trinity West Homewood campus and Element Student Ministry.
Ms. Lexie Dishroon, saxophone, ukulele, piano, believes that music is a wonderful gift from God that has the potential to take you many amazing places throughout your life. She wants to share this gift with others and empower them to experience new and wonderful things through music. Her teaching philosophy centers on this belief while mixing in the practical elements that every musician needs. During saxophone lessons, you’ll encounter heavy focus on fundamental skills to ensure you begin with a solid foundation and work on concepts designed to improve your playing. Ms. Lexie will also tailor the lessons to your needs and interests. Lexie Dishroon serves in many capacities as a music educator throughout the Birmingham area, including teaching private saxophone lessons, serving as a graduate assistant for Samford University Bands, and teaching band and saxophone in multiple schools. Additionally, she is receiving her Masters of Music Education at Samford University. She plans to use every ounce of knowledge and experience to invest in the growth of her students.
Linda Warburton, trumpet, majored in trumpet performance at the University of Alabama, and the University of Kentucky, where she studied with Vince DiMartino. She received her BA in Social Sciences, Summa cum laude, with a concentration in education, from Ashford University. Her area of special interest was benefits to the brain and the whole person from structured music lessons.
Helping other trumpet players improve began when Linda was only 13 years old. Her teaching experience now spans 35+ years with private, group/section, and full band instruction (including concert, marching, and jazz band, and brass ensembles) in Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky. Linda has helped many students find the band instrument for which the individual was best suited. She has judged individual tryouts for All-County/All-District/All-State honor bands in Alabama and Georgia. She has worked with beginners through college music majors, children through adults, tailoring teaching methods and resources to individual needs. Students of hers have achieved all-county, all-district, all-state, and honor bands, solo performances, and enjoyment of playing their instruments. Linda is currently teaching in the Birmingham area with private students, and middle and high school band programs.
Linda’s performance experience includes: churches, orchestras, jazz bands, brass ensembles, praise team, weddings, funerals, Elvis tribute band in Georgia, Burt Reynolds Dinner Theater in Jupiter, Florida, and Walt Disney World.
Lucy Dulguerov, piano/violin/viola, began playing the violin at the age of 5, piano at the age of 7 and the viola at age 16. During her early musical studies Lucy earned Grade Eight piano with Distinction from the Royal College in London, and Grade Eight Violin from Trinity College in London. She subsequently earned her undergraduate degree in viola from the University of Auckland, followed by a Master’s Degree from Penn State University, and completed the Performance Residency Program at Carnegie Mellon University where she studied with renowned violist Toby Appel. In addition to her formal education Lucy was awarded an internship with the Auckland Philharmonia, a post which she held for a year and a half.
Since moving to the United States in 2002, Lucy Dulguerov has maintained an active career as an orchestral musician, chamber musician, recitalist, and teacher. She is a member of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, and serves as an extra musician for the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, a group with which she performed in Carnegie Hall in 2012. Past experience includes a tenured position with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, and frequent appearances with the Pittsburgh Opera, Auckland Philharmonia, Auckland Chamber Orchestra, Chattanooga Symphony, Westmoreland Symphony, Wheeling Symphony, and Altoona Symphony. She was also the violist with Westminster College Faculty String Quartet from 2007 to 2008.
Lucy has also performed with several prestigious festival orchestras, including Principal Viola with the Spoleto Festival, USA. She has also participated in the American Institute of Music Festival in Graz, Austria where she gave chamber music recitals and served as Assistant Principal Viola. Additional engagements include Music of Penns Woods Festival, Ohio Light Opera, Festival de Musique Pontlevoy, France and Cours International de Musique, Switzerland.
Lucy has over 20 years of teaching experience, including a post as Teaching Assistant at Penn State University where she also taught undergraduate string classes. Lucy has taught private violin, piano and viola lessons in the greater Birmingham area for more than 10 years. She resides with her husband Viktor and their two young children in Hoover, Alabama.
Dr. Michael Johnson, trombone, is currently an adjunct instructor of music at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, AL, teaching music appreciation. As a private instructor, his students have had numerous accomplishments in all-state band, all-state orchestra, and various regional honor bands and music festivals. Dr. Johnson is also a sought after brass instructor, working with band programs all over Alabama and several areas in Austin and San Marcos during his time in Texas. Recently, he was on staff with the Million Dollar Band as a tuba instructor.
As a performer, Dr. Johnson is currently a member of the Alabama Winds, an all-adult professional wind ensemble based in Tuscaloosa. A member since 2017, Michael has performed at Midwest, AMEA, and various state honor bands with the group. An avid jazz musician, he has performed with several jazz bands across Alabama and Texas such as the Republic of Texas Big Band, Gabriel Santiago Orchestra, NOW Jazz Orchestra, Rocket City Big Band, Jazz Inc., Silvery Moon Big Band, and several others. Michael was a guest soloist with the Austin Civic Orchestra in 2018 and has performed with orchestras such as the Laredo Philharmonic, Tuscaloosa Symphony, and Meridian Symphony Orchestra. In 2017, he was the Division III winner of the American Trombone Workshop Bass Trombone Solo Competition and a finalist for the Big 12 Trombone Conference Bach Bass Trombone Solo Competition (a finalist in 2018 as well). Michael has also been selected as a member of the Performer's Class at the Southeast Trombone Symposium twice and as a participant in the Mulcahy Masterclass. Recently, Dr. Johnson founded the AL About All-State Project, an education initiative to help music students in Alabama connect with local professional musicians as they prepare for their all-state auditions.
As a composer, Dr. Johnson has a broad portfolio of works for trombone choir, solo trombone, trombone quartet, wind band, and solo with fixed media. He has had pieces performed at conferences such as Midwest and AMEA, as well as several premieres by collegiate trombone choirs. Michael has also composed for a few commercial projects including special music for Texas State University's submission to the 2016 Global News Relay.
Dr. Johnson holds degrees from the University of Alabama (DMA, BM) and Texas State University (MM). His primary instructors include Jonathan Whitaker, Martin McCain, Peter Ellefson, and Billy Bargetzi. He has received secondary instruction from James Markey, Demondrae Thurman, Gerry Pagano, Steve Lange, and several other top players in the field.
Nancy Lewis, cello. Born and raised the Washington D.C. area, Nancy Lewis started playing the cello at the age of ten, when the instrumental music teacher made the rounds of all fourth-grade classrooms to recruit students who wanted to begin cello or violin. Nancy’s grandmother was a Juilliard trained cellist, which is why one instrument was chosen over the other. It couldn’t have been a better match. Over the years, Nancy studied with Glenn Garlick of The National Symphony, Franz Vlashek, also of The National Symphony and Thea Cooper, a prolific and talented cellist in the Washington, D.C. area.
There is something magical about introducing music to young people. Nancy thoroughly enjoys teaching beginners and helping them fall in love with an instrument frequently larger than its player, coaxing them towards a lifelong love of all music.
If Nancy isn’t playing in the pit orchestra for local theatre companies, she’s singing with the ASO Symphony Choir, The Iron City Singers, the Trinity UMC Choirs and playing weddings all over Alabama.
Nancy is the proud mother of 2 fabulous young men, Hunter and Taylor Stricklin, has been married to Walt Stricklin for 32 years. Birmingham has been called home for the past 23 years.
Rebecca Danner Remley, flute, received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition from the University of Alabama, the Master of Music degree in composition with a theory related field from North Texas State University and the Bachelor of Music degree in theory/composition from Ouachita Baptist University. She has done further studies at the University of North Texas and Louisiana State University. She has taught theory, composition, music technology and flute at the University of Alabama; the University of Alabama at Birmingham; Birmingham-Southern College: Judson College; Samford University in Birmingham, AL; and Howard Payne University in Brownwood, TX.
She studied composition with W. Francis McBeth, Newell K. Brown, Cindy McTee, Martin Mailman, Dinos Constantinides Craig First, Marvin Johnson and Peter Westergaard. Her flute teachers were Ralph Rauch, Judith Mendenhall and Mary Karen Clardy.
She has presented flute master classes on the local, regional and national levels and has written compositions and arrangements for all levels of performers. She wrote the “Flute and Piccolo, “ chapter in the book, The Instrumental Resource for Church and School.
Richard Lisenby, voice. A native of Southeast Alabama, Richard is passionate about singing in both classical and musical theater styles. He earned a BA in music and communication studies from The University of Montevallo, an MM in Opera/Musical Theater from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and studied Italian at Scuola Leonardo da Vinci in Milan. In his time living in NYC he performed in six Off-Broadway productions including the operetta, Di Kishefmakherin (The Sorceress) performed fully in Yiddish with the Drama Desk Award winning National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. He was a semifinalist in New York Musical Theater Festival’s Next Broadway Sensation and has performed extensively with regional theaters. He was most recently seen in The Virginia Samford Theater’s production of Company.
R. Scott Robertson, tuba, is recognized by many as one of the finest Tuba/Euphonium instructors in Alabama. He studied tuba under the legendary, Arnold Jacobs, Chicago Symphony. At the age of 17, Robertson became the youngest to perform with both the Atlanta Symphony and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus. He performed as a tubist on the Grammy Award winning recording of the Berlioz Requiem in 1986. During his professional playing career, Robertson was Principal Tubist in the US Army’s Special Band, “US Army Forscom’s Own.” On one tour with the band, he was fortunate to have played under the direction of conductor and composer, James Curnow. He performed as Principal Tubist at Northwestern University in the NU Wind Ensemble under famed conductor’s, Frederick Fennel and John Paynter. Robertson also taught tuba at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Samford University where his students have advanced to become band directors all over the United States and members of prestigious military bands. In 2007 Robertson lead an acclaimed musicians tour of the Baltic States (Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania) where his musicians performed for audiences of 5000+ as a brass quintet and a Dixieland Band. The musicians were invited back later as the University of Alabama at Birmingham Brass Quintet for another round of performances and masterclasses. He specializes in preparation for Alabama All-State Band. He has a multitude of past students who won positions in the AASB. Several years his students occupied first chair positions in the Red, White and Blue Bands. Sometimes all three bands the same year. R. Scott Robertson is now Director of Music Emeritus at Trinity United Methodist Church, Birmingham, AL where he served for 16 years.
Dr. Siobhan Ciulla, oboe, is an active Oboe/English Horn performer and educator based in Birmingham Alabama. She has performed with numerous orchestras throughout the US including the Jacksonville Symphony, Albany Symphony, Ocala Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony, Southwest Florida Symphony, Sinfonia Gulf-Coast, the North Charleston Pops Orchestra, Brevard Festival Orchestra, the Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival Orchestra and the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra. Siobhan earned her Bachelors of Music Therapy from Baldwin-Wallace University, her Masters of Music Performance from Kent State University and her Doctorate of Music from Florida State University. Her principal teachers include Jeffrey Rathbun, Danna Sundet, and Eric Ohlsson.
Valerie Sly, french horn,
currently serves as principal horn of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. She previously held positions as principal horn of the West Virginia and Adrian (Michigan) Symphony Orchestras, and in summer 2021, joined the Des Moines Opera Orchestra as third horn.
Valerie has appeared twice as a featured soloist for the Vermont Mozart Festival, performing Mozart’s second and fourth concertos with the festival’s chamber orchestra. She has also frequently performed with the Colorado, Virginia, Richmond, and Memphis Symphonies, as well as the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. In summer 2022 she performed as guest principal horn with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in Auckland, New Zealand. In addition, Valerie has performed in several other countries including Switzerland, Germany, Italy, China, and Singapore.
Summer orchestra fellowships include Spoleto Festival USA, Lucerne Festival Academy, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and Colorado College Summer Music Festival. In September 2021 she returned to Lucerne as a member of the festival’s alumni ensemble.
Outside of the orchestra Valerie enjoys baking bread, delving into complicated cooking projects, and spending time with her husband Everett who is also a professional horn player. Ms. Sly is currently completing a Doctorate degree at the University of Colorado Boulder under the tutelage of Michael Thornton. She also holds a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music where she studied with William Purvis, and a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin Conservatory where she studied with Roland Pandolfi.
Viktor Dulguerov, violin/viola. Originally from Sofia, Bulgaria, Viktor started playing the violin at age five. After graduating from the National School of Music, Viktor moved to the US where he received his undergraduate degree in violin performance from the Harid Conservatory of Music at Lynn University, studying with Sergiu Schwartz. He continued his studies with Andres Cardenes for his graduate degree in violin performance from Carnegie Mellon University. He has attended the Musicorda Festival, Lancaster Festival, Music at Penn’s Woods, Academia Chigiana in Sienna, Italy, and the National Repertory Orchestra. Viktor has participated in master classes with Yfrah Neaman, Kevork Mardirossian, Conrad Muck, James Buswell, Masuko Ushioda and St. Petersburg String Quartet. He has played with Miami Symphony, Southwest Florida Symphony, Johnstown Symphony, Youngstown Symphony, Pittsburgh Opera, Christchurch Symphony NZ and Auckland Philharmonia NZ. Viktor has been playing in the first violin section of the Alabama Symphony since 2008. In addition to performing, Viktor is also a dedicated teacher who’s past teaching positions include violin faculty at Musik Innovations School of Music, Noteworthy School of Music, and Washington Music Centre in Pennsylvania. Viktor has taught violin in the Greater Birmingham Area since 2010.