Led by Christopher Jewell, Assistant Principal Bassoonist of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra and bassoon faculty at George Mason University, and Alex Garde, Percussionist and Staff Sergeant with “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, this workshop offers WMPI seniors the opportunity to perform and receive personalized feedback on their college audition repertoire. The session will conclude with a discussion on effective strategies for preparing and succeeding in live college auditions. This event is closed to an audience.
Learn more about the guest artists here:
Christopher Jewell is the Assistant Principal Bassoonist of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. An active performer in the Washington, DC area, Mr. Jewell also regularly performs with the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, Post Classical Ensemble, Wolf Trap Opera Company, and the Chesapeake Chamber Orchestra. He has previously served as Principal Bassoonist of the Missouri Chamber Orchestra and has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, New World Symphony, and Aspen Festival and Chamber Orchestras. Mr. Jewell has appeared as a soloist with the American Youth Symphonic Orchestra as well as with ensembles at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago and at the Missouri Music Educators Association Convention.
As a clinician and adjudicator, he has served as a judge for the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Woodwinds Competition and has presented masterclasses for the DC Youth Orchestra and at schools throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area. He has additionally taught masterclasses at James Madison University and the University of Missouri, and was honored to coach students at the Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony in Caracas, Venezuela, under Gustavo Dudamel. Mr. Jewell coaches woodwinds for the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras and at Bishop Ireton High School and has led sectionals at American University and Georgetown University. He also maintains a vibrant private studio in Northern Virginia.
An avid chamber musician, he has performed at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Georgetown University’s Friday Music Series, and the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, and has been featured on WETA’s Front Row Washington. He has also performed with ensembles at the International Double Reed Society and Texas Music Educators Association Conventions. Mr. Jewell earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia where he studied with Barbara Wood and Edward Dolbashian. He continued his studies at the Manhattan School of Music with Patricia Rogers, Principal Bassoonist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
Alexander Garde is a multi-disciplinary percussionist based in Washington, D.C., where he is a member of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. He earned a Bachelor of Music Degree with Academic Honors as well as a Minor in Liberal Arts from the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he was the recipient of the 2020 George Whitefield Chadwick Medal. Alex pursued additional graduate studies at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.
Alex’s passion for both contemporary and orchestral music has allowed him to not only serve as a founding member of Boston-based new music ensemble Alinéa, but also to perform with orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the New World Symphony while earning fellowships to world-class music festivals including the Tanglewood Music Center and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.
As an educator, Alex has been honored to present masterclasses at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music and at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He currently works with Yorktown High School and the Arlington Public School District in Arlington, VA as a percussion specialist. An advocate for community outreach and education, Alex has proudly worked with DaCamera of Houston, the Houston Youth Symphony, and NEC’s Preparatory School to inspire the next generation of musicians.