Striving to bring joy in all she does, Haley Houk is an active performer and educator in Houston, Texas. She has performed with Houston Grand Opera, Theatre Under The Stars, and serves as principal bassoonist with local symphonies. She also collaborates in the Ladies’ Reeding Society, a chamber collective dedicated to works by women and marginalized composers. Haley is pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts with a minor in Arts Leadership at the University of Houston, studying with Elise Wagner. She is the Adjunct Professor of Bassoon at Lone Star College–University Park and owns TheJoyousBassoon, a small business offering functional art for the double reed community.
Haley earned her Bachelor of Music Education at Texas Christian University in 2015 and her Master of Music in Bassoon Performance from Baylor University in 2020. She has performed at PASIC, CBDNA, toured Europe, and participated in the Texas Music Festival, Fresno Opera Academy, and Akropolis Chamber Music Institute.
A versatile oboist, Julia Bobell made her solo debut with the Southern Adventist University Orchestra in 2020 and earned third prize in the Cleveland Orchestra of Tennessee Concerto Competition. In 2021, she was featured in Lee University’s Senior Honors Concert and won their concerto competition.
Julia holds a Bachelor of Music in Oboe Performance from Lee University, studying with Robert Burks, and a Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she is now pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts with Titus Underwood. She has also studied with Dwight Parry and Chris Philpotts of the Cincinnati Symphony.
Dedicated to education, Julia teaches a private studio and assists with reed making and technique classes. She is a teaching assistant in music theory at CCM and is pursuing a theory cognate alongside her DMA. She also enjoys instrument repair and plans to launch a repair website while exploring future academic roles.
