Music Ancestry

It’s Music Ancestry’s BIRTHDAY! 1 year already?! 🥳
Thank you to everyone who has supported and donated so far!

Our fundraiser to grow the database capacity is still on going, so the best way to celebrate with us is to support us!

https://www.gofundme.com/music-ancestry-expansion

Shoutout to our growing research team who has support and stick with me this far:
Chris Allpress
Sophie Caplin
Joey Lavarias
Victoria Deutsch
Sydney Scherer
Tyler H Goodwin-Souffront
Seth Dempsey
Lance D. Morrison
Lupita Ramos
Jonah Zimmerman
Cameron Tubbs
Lorenzo Nigrelli
Libby Roberts
Daniel Deutsch
David Ian Fazekas
Juan Jo Cal
Rachael Keplin
Ryan Matejek

It’s our BIRTHDAY! 1 year already?! 🥳
Thank you to everyone who has supported and donated so far!
Our fundraiser to grow the database capacity is still on going, so the best way to celebrate with us is to support us!

https://www.gofundme.com/music-ancestry-expansion

We are so excited and thankful at the huge response Music Ancestry has received! The very first question we get is "How can I join the database?" Well, that's where we need your help because our first little database is FULL! With over 6,000 musicians and even more connections, we need to upgrade! Help us so we can meet our goal of connecting you to your musical family tree!

https://gofund.me/baadfd34

Meet the people behind MusicAncestry.com!
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Andrés (b.1993) (he/him) is a Mexican-American percussionist, improviser, and sound artist whose resolve has been to highlight works that are looking to push the envelope on what music is capable of being. Specializing in compositions that utilize electronics elements such as live processing, playback, and live software, Andrés aims to create immersive listening experiences that feature new music.
Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Andrés has grown up around music all his life spanning from playing in church groups, rock bands, marching ensembles, and concert groups. Moving to Lafayette, Louisiana for his undergraduate degree, Andrés was later exposed to the rich Cajun culture of southern Louisiana along with several musical collaborations as a resident of the Acadiana area. All these experiences have helped Andrés form his own identity as he develops his sound as a performer.
Andrés believes in creating an equitable setting for all who want to enjoy music, both in the education and performance realm. His belief of taking “the concert out of the concert hall” has led to performances at venues such as contemporary galleries, interdisciplinary art spaces, coffee shops and outdoor common spaces. From an educational perspective, Andrés advocates for increased accessibility to specialized instrument instruction for financially underprivileged music students. Collaborations with local university professors and musicians have resulted in events such as all state masterclasses and high school percussion festivals.
More recently, Andrés has participated in several music festivals such as the UNT Keyboard Percussion Workshop, Sō Percussion Summer Institute, and the Nief Norf Summer Festival. The latter two being very formative as a performer in regards to what can be sonically possible within the realm of percussion. Andrés also spent the 2022 Drum Corps International season as a sound technician with the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps.
Andrés currently holds a B.A. from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette in Music Education and a Masters in Music in Percussion Performance from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Andrés is proud to be an educational artist with Innovative Percussion. Andrés currently resides in Austin, Texas and likes to spend his free time with his partner and their pets, watching movies, biking, and works part time as a barista.

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Help us meet our fundraising goals today to grow the tree! https://www.gofundme.com/music-ancestry-expansion

Meet the people behind MusicAncestry.com!
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is a bassoonist based out of North Carolina and bassoon researcher for the Music Ancestry Project
A well-rounded chamber performer, Christopher has served as the bassoonist for the Bear Lake Wind Quintet, was a founding member of the Weldwinds Reed Quintet, the University of North Carolina Greensboro Woodwind Quintet, and is the bassoonist for the Silverwood Woodwind Trio. Orchestrally, he has performed with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Asheville Symphony, Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, Western Piedmont Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Boulder Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Dance Theater, and Greeley Chamber Orchestra. Christopher has also served as a clinician for the Western Kentucky University Honor Band Festival and the Colorado All-State Band Festival. Christopher also had the honor of serving as Guest Principal Bassoon for the Denver Young Artist Orchestra’s European tour.
Christopher received his BA at Western Kentucky University and his MM at the University of Northern Colorado. Christopher is currently completing his dissertation for a D.M.A. in bassoon performance at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. His principal teachers include Michael Burns, Tristan Rennie, Andrew Witherington, and Larry Long.
When Christopher is not bassooning, he can be found serving as a vegetable butler to his five rescue guinea pigs, reading a book, or rooting for Norwich City Football Club.

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Help us meet our fundraising goals today to grow the tree! https://www.gofundme.com/music-ancestry-expansion

Meet the people behind MusicAncestry.com!
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Bassoonist Joey Lavarias is pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, studying with Dr. Michael Burns. He is the recipient of a UNCG Graduate Fellowship and was designated as a Minerva Scholar, two of the university’s highest academic honors. He received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School in New York City, studying under Dr. Frank Morelli. At Juilliard, Joey was a recipient of the Jerome L. Greene Graduate Fellowship. Other teachers include Dr. Ashley Heintzen, former bassoon professor at Stetson University in Florida. He has participated in masterclasses led by Billy Short, Kristin Wolfe Jensen, and Barrick Stees.

Joey maintains a strong interest in music theory, with a particular emphasis in Ear Training. Currently, he is a Aural Skills Graduate Assistant at UNCG, working in the Music Theory Department. For four years, Joey was a Teaching Fellow for the Juilliard Ear Training Department, working under Mrs. Rebecca Scott and Dr. Wayne Oquin. He has worked as a guest teaching artist across the country, and has been on the teaching staff at the stArt Summer Arts Intensive of Osceola County, FL, the Central Florida Road to College Workshop, and the Bocal Majority Northern California Summer Camp.

Outside of music, Joey is an active member of the competitive trivia circuit. He appeared on Jeopardy! in March of 2022, and participates in several national trivia leagues.

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Help us meet our fundraising goals today to grow the tree! https://www.gofundme.com/music-ancestry-expansion

Meet the people behind MusicAncestry.com!
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Elisabeth (Libby) Roberts is a multidisciplinary scholar and artist with strong interests in music cognition. She has over twenty years of experience as a solo and collaborative pianist, as well as a B.A. and M.M. in music composition. She earned a second master's in musicology, a field she continues to pursue at the doctoral level as a Ph.D. student at the University of Western Ontario. Her current research focus deals with autobiographical memory, narrative, and music technology. In her free time, Libby enjoys training as a strength athlete and spending time with her partner, Cameron.

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Help us meet our fundraising goals today to grow the tree! https://www.gofundme.com/music-ancestry-expansion

Meet the people behind MusicAncestry.com!
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Lupita Ramos is a California native currently residing in North Carolina where she is an active oboist in the Piedmont-Triad area. She has performed with numerous orchestras around the country including the Union Symphony Orchestra, Opera Southwest, the New Mexico Philharmonic, the Sacramento Philharmonic, and the Stockton Symphony. She has been a part of music festivals such as the Darkwater Women in Music Festival, as well as Music in the Mountains. As principal oboist of UNCG’s Wind Ensemble during her graduate studies, she played for the premier recordings of Solar Testimonies: Symphony for Band, by James Lee III, as well as Hilary Purrington’s as firmament to fin. Most recently, she had the wonderful opportunity of premiering a new work for the oboe, al filo del agua, by Mexican composer Maria Granillo at her final DMA recital in April of 2022.
Lupita graduated from the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music with a Bachelors of Music in 2017 and received her Masters of Music from the University of New Mexico in 2019. She is currently ABD for a Doctor of Musical Arts in Oboe Performance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. As a graduate assistant at UNCG, she was a member of the university’s Graduate Wind Quintet and served as a Teaching Assistant for both the oboe studio and the Ethnomusicology department. During her graduate studies at UNM, she developed a passion for Ethnomusicology and it led to the completion of UNCG’s Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Ethnomusicology. This, coupled with her desire to connect her Mexican heritage to her identity as a classical musician, culminated in her dissertation project, an ongoing annotated compilation of solo and chamber works for the oboe by Mexican composers.
Lupita’s mentors include Tom Nugent, Kevin Vigneau, and Ashley Barret. Outside of music Lupita is an avid reader and loves nothing more than to curl up under a blanket and watch a movie on a rainy day.
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Help us meet our fundraising goals today to grow the tree! https://www.gofundme.com/music-ancestry-expansion

Meet the people behind MusicAncestry.com!
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Ryan Matejek is the Instructor of Tuba at Arkansas Tech University, where he teaches applied tuba and directs the BassTech Tuba-Euphonium ensemble. Prior to moving back to Arkansas, Ryan was an avid tubist and educator in the Phoenix area. There, he performed with local groups including the Phoenix Symphony, the Phoenix Brass Collective, and the Salt River Brass Band. He also taught low brass lessons and master classes at several area high schools and colleges.

A native of Arkansas, Ryan began his undergraduate studies at Arkansas Tech University. After earning his Bachelor of Music Education degree, he went on to teach general music, instrumental music, and vocal music classes for the Western Yell County School District. Ryan also holds a Master of Music degree in Tuba Performance and a Graduate Certificate in Music Entrepreneurship from the University of Missouri. While at Mizzou, Ryan was responsible for playing tuba in the faculty brass quintet, Mizzou Brass, as well as assisting in the band area as a graduate teaching assistant. Active as a performer, he performed with various ensembles around the Missouri/Arkansas area including the Missouri Symphony, the Southside Philharmonic, Big Bang Brass Quintet, Arkansas Musicworks Brass Band, and the 106th Arkansas Army National Guard Band.

Ryan is currently working on his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Tuba Performance at Arizona State University, where he is a graduate assistant in the tuba/euphonium studio.
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Help us meet our fundraising goals today to grow the tree! https://www.gofundme.com/music-ancestry-expansion

Meet the people behind MusicAncestry.com!
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Rachael is a viola artist and educator based in Greensboro, North Carolina. She completed a Master of Arts in string pedagogy from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Music in viola performance from Kennesaw State University. Rachael enjoys being an active soloist, chamber, and orchestral performer. She serves as the assistant director and viola artist for Chamber Brews and performs regularly with local arts organizations in both Columbus and North Carolina. Rachael also performs as a studio-recording artist and has worked in studios in both Atlanta and Columbus areas. She serves as a teaching assistant at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and enjoys studio teaching through Moore Music. Her passion for youth outreach has lead her to serve as an chamber and orchestral coach for local Greensboro community schools, Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Rachael is currently attending the University of North Carolina Greensboro to receive her Doctoral of Musical Arts in viola performance. She studies under the direction of Dr. Scott Rawls and is exploring research in contemporary string techniques pedagogy and free improvisation.

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Help us meet our fundraising goals today to grow the tree! https://www.gofundme.com/music-ancestry-expansion

Meet the people behind MusicAncestry.com!
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American clarinetist Dr. Victoria Deutsch is an avid performer, researcher, and teacher who has taught and performed internationally and throughout the United States. Her performances have been described as "innovative" and "infectious."
Victoria has appeared as a soloist with the Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Lyceum Theatre Company, Missouri Symphony, and University of Missouri Philharmonic. Internationally, she has been featured as a soloist and chamber musician in both Belgium and Canada.
Alongside her performance career, she is committed to outreach work and musical knowledge for all. Zenith Reed Quintet, of which she is a founding member, has created a free "Grow-With-You" Music Educational Video Series that has expanded accessibility to teaching artists and emphasized the impact of virtual residencies. She also aids single-reed players in finding their setup for success through The Single-Reed Box, a quarterly subscription box curated precisely for clarinetists and saxophonists, of which she is the owner and founder.
Victoria holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University, a Master’s in Music Performance from the University of Missouri, and a Bachelor’s in Music Performance from Columbus State University. Her principal instructors are Dr. Lisa Oberlander, Dr. Mingzhe Wang, and Dr. Wesley Warnhoff.

Victoria holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University, a Master’s in Music
Performance from the University of Missouri, and a Bachelor’s in Music Performance from Columbus
State University. Her principal instructors are Dr. Lisa Oberlander, Dr. Mingzhe Wang, and Dr. Wesley Warnhoff.
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Help us meet our fundraising goals today to grow the tree! https://www.gofundme.com/music-ancestry-expansion

www.MusicAncestry.com is here! Back in 2019, Music Ancestry started as an idea to solve a frustrating problem, what is my "music family tree?" Today it is a reality! Not only does it navigate the past, Music Ancestry is guided to the future by showcasing the diverse musicians of today.

But this is just the beginning! In order to fulfill our mission to create a database of music pedagogical lineage available to the entire online music community for free, we need your help!

To ensure our website can be accessed by musicians, scholars, and hobbyists across the globe, we need to expand the variety of services we offer. If you enjoy our website or want to include more amazing musicians to our database, please consider sharing and support us through our GoFundMe page. Find your Music Ancestry today!

https://www.gofundme.com/music-ancestry-expansion

We are undergoing site maintenance right now but will be back soon!! Get ready for cool things coming your way!

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