The members of The Cardinal Collective are all alumni of the Ball State University bassoon studio. Now residing all over the country and performing and teaching in various spheres including university and college teaching, studio lessons, and orchestral performing. Members include Miriam Brack Webber (Bemidji State University, Bemidji Symphony, University of Missouri-Kansas City), Kirsten Kennedy (Billings Symphony, Helena Symphony, Washington-Idaho Symphony, Oregon East Symphony), Jacob Fernandez (Woodland Winds), Susan McCardell (Lawrence University, Lawrence University Community Music School, University of Wisconsin- Green Bay, St. Norbert College, The Weidner Philharmonic), Cameron Keenan (La Crosse Symphony, Dubuque Symphony), and Lindsey Wiehl (The University of Maine at Augusta, The Middle C Collective).
Lindsey Wiehl is a songwriter, performer, and music scholar. She believes that the brainy and complex side of music can and should co-exist with the enjoyable and fun side of music, and works to spread her love for music as an Assistant Professor at the University of Maine at Augusta. Lindsey encourages others to unapologetically pursue their interests while ignoring stereotypes and preconceived notions of what it means to be a musician. Her research includes digging into musical analysis, composition, and creating opportunities to bring typical classical instruments into varying genres. You can learn more about her art at www.lindseywiehl.com.
Susan Lawrence McCardell is principal bassoon in the Weidner Philharmonic at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where she has been a faculty member since 2015. McCardell is a part-time lecturer in music at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music and bassoon teacher at the Lawrence Community Music School in Appleton, WI, and adjunct teacher of bassoon and bassoon techniques for music education majors at St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI. She looks forward to joining fellow former grad students of Keith Sweger in performing a new piece by Lindsey Wiehl.
Mr. Jacob Fernandez, a native of Oklahoma, has been studying and playing the bassoon for over 15 years. In that time, he has developed into a versatile artist, performing works in every genre from Classical standards to new, contemporary works. He previously performed with The Sierra Vista Orchestra (AZ), the Muncie
Symphony Orchestra (IN), The Woodlands Symphony Orchestra (TX), Symphony North of Houston (TX), and for the premiere of “Ataraxis 2.3 for bassoon and electronics” by Isaac Mayhew at the 2017 International Double Reed Society’s annual conference.
Mr. Fernandez holds bachelor of music degrees in both
education and performance from Lawrence University, a master of music from the University of Arizona, and an Artist Diploma from Ball State University. Residing now in the greater Houston, TX area, he has established himself as an expert,
often-sought pedagogue and has built a robust studio of over 60 students.
Kirsten Kennedy is an active bassoonist in the Inland Northwest of the United States. She received her Bachelor of Music from Central Washington University and Master of Music from Ball State University. Kirsten studied bassoon with Daniel Lipori and Keith Sweger. She performs with the Billings Symphony, Helena Symphony, Great Falls Symphony, Wenatchee Valley Symphony, Oregon East Symphony, Mid-Columbia Symphony, and Washington-Idaho Symphony. In addition to orchestral playing, Kirsten has also performed with the Billings Symphony Woodwind Quartet and the Billings Symphony Wind Quintet.
Miriam Brack Webber is currently Associate Professor of Music and Director of the Honors Program at Bemidji State University. She holds a Bachelor’s of Music from Ball State University, and Master’s of Music from McGill University and the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. Currently principal bassoonist of the Bemidji and Heartland Symphony Orchestras, Webber is an active bassoonist and has performed with orchestras across the country, including the Duluth-Superior, St. Joseph, Fort Hays, Springfield, and Muncie Symphony Orchestras. She was named a 2022–2023 Region 2 Arts Council Artist Fellow for her work with Silent Voices Project. Her research interests include narrative processes within Shostakovich’s works and her monograph Bakhtin and the Music of Dmitri Shostakovich: Analysis as Dialogue is forthcoming from Routledge Press.
Bassoonist Cameron Keenan (he/him) is a performer and educator based in Madison, Wisconsin. A transplant from rural Indiana by way of Chicago, Cameron has enjoyed a varied performance career across the midwest as a chamber and orchestral player. He is currently the principal bassoonist of the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra (Wisconsin) and second bassoonist with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra (Iowa). He holds an undergraduate degree from Ball State University, where he studied with Dr. Keith Sweger, and a graduate degree from DePaul University where he studied with William Buchman, Miles Maner, and Keith Buncke.