Musicians
Hunter O'Brien, Flute
Hunter O’Brien, a freelance flutist hailing from Shepherd, Michigan, engages audiences with solo recitals and chamber music concerts which foster deep emotional connections. His passionate and artistic outlook on music has garnered him considerable success in performance and competition settings, including top prizes in the International Friedrich Kuhlau, James Pappoutsakis, Yamaha Young Performing Artists, New York Flute Club, and Ervin Monroe competitions. Musically, he interacts with an array of Houston communities as a DACAMERA Young Artist while maintaining a bustling studio of private flute students. Hunter began his flute studies with Dr. Joanna Cowan White of Central Michigan University. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music as a Presidential Scholarship student of Paula Robison and a Master of Music degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music as a student of Leone Buyse. Visit his site hunterflute.com to learn more.
Ian Daugherty, Oboe
From North suburban Chicago, Ian Daugherty is the principal oboist of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. He received extensive chamber and orchestral experience as a member of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory (MYAC) for eight years. During his time earning a Bachelor of Music at Kent State University under Danna Sundet, Ian won the Kent State Concerto competition and the Dan Rains Concerto Competition, as well as receiving the Gleason/Rea Scholarship through Tuesday Musical Association’s competition. As a freelancer, Ian has performed across the country in venues such as Millennium Park in Chicago and Carnegie Hall in New York City. As an orchestral musician, he has also been an auxiliary oboe for the Bellingham Festival of Music, while, from separate orchestras, finding himself under the baton of world-class conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Jerry Junkin, Alistair Willis, and Christian Knapp. Ian has also had the opportunity of receiving valuable guidance in master-classes and lessons from Dale Clevenger, Mathieu Dufour, Larry Combs, and Eugene Izotov. Ian received his Master of Music at Rice University’s Shepherd School of music under Robert Atherholt.
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Keeheon Nam, Clarinet
Korean-American clarinetist Keeheon Nam cooks up his musical appetite as an innovative performer and teacher. His performances have taken him from dive bars in Minnesota to improvising in Carnegie Hall. Keeheon is a prize winner of the 2022 International Clarinet Association Young Artist Competition, a 2017 winner of the Eastern Music Festival’s concerto competition, and was the 1st prize winner of the 2017 Tennessee MTNA Young Artist Competition. As a founding member of Kodan Quintet, he has received prizes and recognition from the Coltman, MTNA National, Fischoff, and New Orleans ChamberFest competitions. While not performing on stage, he is a passionate teacher and is Adjunct Instructor of Clarinet at West Virginia University. Keeheon previously attended the Shepherd School of Music, The Juilliard School, and the Blair School of Music, where he was a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar, and his principal teachers include Richie Hawley, Jon Manassee, and Bil Jackson. Keeheon is an avid home cook, and is, unexpectedly, a ServSafe certified food safety manager. Visit his site keeheon.com to learn more.
Corbin Krebs, Bassoon
Corbin Krebs is an American bassoonist from Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2024, he was appointed Principal Bassoon of the Las Vegas Philharmonic. He graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in 2016, where he studied with Dr. Eric Stomberg. In 2015 and 2016, he served as principal bassoonist of the National Youth Orchestra USA, where he played under the batons of Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, and Valery Gergiev, and toured Europe and China. In 2017 and 2018, Corbin attended the Aspen Music Festival, where he studied with Nancy Goeres. In 2019, he won the bronze medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition with the Cleveland-based wind quintet, Catharsis Winds. Corbin graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2020, where he studied with Barrick Stees. Corbin received a master’s degree at Rice University under the tutelage of Benjamin Kamins.
Lauren Anker, French Horn
From Fredericksburg, Virginia, Lauren Anker was recently appointed to the position of third horn with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada. She holds degrees from Oberlin College and Conservatory in Horn performance and history, where she studied under former St. Louis Symphony principal horn Roland Pandolfi. In 2021, she completed a master’s degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music studying with William VerMeulen.
Anker has spent previous summers at Idaho’s Sun Valley Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, among others across the United States. She has joined the horn sections of the Houston Symphony and Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and has performed in venues such as Chicago’s Symphony Center, Carnegie Hall, Toronto’s Roy Thompson Hall, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the Cleveland Art Museum. At the Shepherd School, she is a founding member of Kodan Quintet and was named a 2021 Young Artist in Residence with American Public Media’s Performance Today radio program.
Lauren first began studying horn with Washington D. C. area freelancer Jeremy Cucco. Other notable teachers include James Nickel of the National Symphony Orchestra, former principal horn of Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal John Zirbel, and Andrew Bain of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Apart from horn, she loves hiking, biking, skiing, and spending time with her bunny, Dr. Seuss.