What We Do
Silent Voices Project is a large-scale project initially funded through a Bemidji State University New Faculty Scholarship and Innovation Fund grant. Members Sarah Elizabeth Lee (bassoon), Miriam Brack Webber (bassoon), and Hilary Lowery (clarinet), seek to raise awareness of womxn composers through commissions, performances, education and other research venues.
- Project Collaboration
We will build a collaborative group of performers interested in diversifying the current representation of composers in the classical music repertoire. - Commission
We will continually seek new funding for emerging women-identifying and non-binary composers. - Performance
We will perform select works each year, and we will seek out to perform together as much as possible. - Scholarship
We will seek out performance and academic scholarship in conferences, journals and other professional and academic settings, so we create awareness for others interested in the project and in performing the music.
Who We Are
Sarah Elizabeth Lee is second bassoon with the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra. She received her A.D. and M.M. at the University of Cincinnati/College-Conservatory of Music with William Winstead and her B.M. with Keith Sweger at Ball State University. She also spent two summers studying with Nancy Goeres at the Aspen Music Festival. Passionate about outreach, she founded and directed an outreach program called the Whiz Kids Music Program in Cincinnati during her studies, and created a yearly, long-term residency in Erie, PA that partners the Erie Philharmonic and PNC’s Grow Up Great grant program to reach underserved early education centers in downtown Erie. Sarah is originally from Wichita, Kansas and was taught to love arts and culture from an early age under the influence of her music-loving family. She currently lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, two daughters, and favorite rescue terrier, Londie.
Dr. Miriam Brack Webber is currently Assistant Professor of Music at Bemidji State University where she teaches classes in music theory, music technology and bassoon. She holds a Bachelor’s of Music from Ball State University in Bassoon Performance, and Master’s of Music from McGill University and the University of Kansas in Bassoon Performance and Music Theory, respectively, and a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in Music Theory. Her research interests include pedagogy and performance studies. Currently principal bassoonist of the Bemidji Symphony and Heartland Symphony Orchestras, Webber is an active bassoonist and has performed with orchestras across the country, including the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, and St. Joseph Symphony, Fort Hays Symphony, Southeast Kansas Symphony, Springfield Symphony, Kokomo Symphony, Muncie Symphony, and Springfield-Drury Civic Orchestras. She has also published an article in the International Double Reed Society’s The Double Reed.
Dr. Hilary Lowery is the Assistant Professor of Single Reeds at Bemidji State University. She holds performance degrees from the University of Oklahoma and the University of Kansas. Dr. Lowery has a passion for exploring a wide range of new music and exposing her students to a variety of musical styles and composers, especially those from diverse backgrounds. She is set to release her first album, entitled “Conjuring the Numinous,” this spring.
As a performer, Dr. Lowery has performed in Belgium, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, and throughout the United States. She has recently performed with the Classical Beat Festival 2019, touring in cities across Germany. Dr. Lowery worked considerably as a chamber musician, performing with the Virago Quartet and Trio Soave. She is looking forward to her performance at ClarinetFest 2022 in Reno, Nevada where she will be premiering multiple works.
As a teacher, Dr. Lowery has given masterclasses at universities throughout the Midwest, such as the University of Kansas and the University of Oklahoma. She enjoys working with students on a variety of topics, ranging from reed care to performance anxiety. Dr. Lowery has a passion for new music and enjoys exposing her students to music and composers from diverse backgrounds. This love for discovering new works has inspired her to expand upon her research of “Conjuring the Numinous – New and Lesser Known Works for the Clarinet,” published in 2020.
Previous instructors include Dr. Stephanie Zelnick, Dr. Suzanne Tirk, Dr. David Etheridge, Bradford Behn, and Dr. Jane Carl.
Visit Dr. Lowery at: http://www.hilarylowery.com
Dena Orkin is a clarinetist who is passionate about performance and education. She holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Rutgers University, where she was a teaching assistant, a Master’s degree from The Eastman School of Music, and a Bachelor’s degree with concentrations in Music Performance and Music Education from the University of California, Los Angeles where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Latin Honors. Orkin has taught privately and for outreach organizations in New York, New Jersey, and Los Angeles and freelances throughout the tri-state area. She has performed under such conductors as Leif Segerstam, Marin Alsop and Leon Fleisher and has worked with artists including members of the New Jersey Symphony, musicians of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, Dick Van Dyke, and J.C. Chasez of NSYNC. Her passions include auxiliary clarinets, new music, and folk music that includes clarinet. In her free time, she is completing an MBA.
silentvoicesproject.org 