Stokes Alums

Check out of the Shenandoah Bass Students on Youtube!

A picture of some of the bass players from the the 2009-2010 Shenandoah Conservatory Bass Studio:

Are you a current student or “Stokes Alum?” then send your picture and bio here so you can be represented!

CURRENT STUDENTS

Brenton Colbert began his musical journey in kindergarten playing violin at Thomas G. Pullen. In second grade he switched to the double bass and developed as a musician and bassist under the late Leslie Thomas. He excelled and was playing in the middle school orchestra as a 5th grader. He then attended Suitland High School for grades 9-12 where he was nurtured as a musician and performed several times at The Kennedy Center. As a sophomore he joined the DC Youth Orchestra and was involved with the Senior Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and Jazz Band. At the end of his junior year he started studying with George Vance and is now at Shenandoah University studying under Dr. Donovan Stokes.

Tom Graham is a sophomore Music Production and Recording Technology major at Shenandoah University. Tom started his musical studies in the band playing trumpet through to high school where he picked up the French Horn. An audition on horn got him into SU but lurking in the shadows had been a bass player since grade school. He finally to let the beast out and re-auditioned to Shenandoah Conservatory on electric

bass for the jazz program. Tom also enjoys riding mountain and BMX bikes, playing in groups ranging from brass and orchestral ensembles to metal bands, and pretty much anything you can possibly do with a computer.

Ethan Lawrence is a music education major in his freshman year at Shenandoah. He has been playing bass since 5th grade.

Kyle Meadows is a freshman Music Production major at Shenandoah University. He began playing the double bass in sixth grade and has developed a passion for it through high school. He plans on performing in the years following graduation from Shenandoah University.

Shanti Nachtergaele started playing bass in 6th grade after 4 years of piano and 2 years on the violin.  She studied under Greg Brucker and Tom Derthick and was a member of the Davis Jr. High and High School Orchestras, the Sacramento Youth Symphony Premier Orchestra, and the Camellia and Folsom Lake Symphony Orchestras.   She was also selected to the California Music Educators Association All-State Orchestra for three consecutive years. Currently, Shanti is a freshman performance major at Shenandoah Conservatory, where she studies under Dr. Donovan Stokes.

Robin Rhodes is a bass playing man at heart. He enjoys playing classical, jazz, musicals, and almost anything in between. His other hobbies include environmental issues and biking. As a sophomore bass performance major at Shenandoah Conservatory he is having a great time growing as a person and a performer.

ALUMS:

Jared Andrews is a graduate of Valdosta State University where he studied with Dr. Donovan Stokes. He will complete his Master of Jazz Studies degree from Florida State University in August 2010. While at FSU, Jared has studied with Rodney Jordan and served as director of FSU Jazz Ensemble III as well as the Raa Middle School Jazz Band. Recently Jared performed with pianist Bill Peterson in “Never The Same Way Twice: The Music of Cole Porter” an outreach tour that was sponsored by the National Endowment of the Arts. While looking for a stable form of income, Jared continues to freelance around the southeast with jazz combos, orchestras, and rock bands.

Mike Brown, a Delaware native, is a graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory. While attending school for recording arts, as well as classical and jazz bass, he played with the british rock group “SHAG” (www.shagtheband.com), all over the D.C. area. He is also an active member of Phi Mu Alpha, and hopes to follow his education with a career spanning many different fields.

Todd Gallagher received a graduate degree in doublebass performance at Indiana State University in 2002, studying with Dr. Donovan Stokes.  He currently teaches music history at Danville (IL) Community College, applied strings at St Mary-of-the-Woods College, and jazz studies/doublebass at Indiana State University.  He is active in the Lafayette (IN) Symphony, Danville (IL) Symphony, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, and Eastern Illinois Symphony.  Todd is also active in jazz bassist and educator. Most favoriteDr. Stokes quote – “Slow practice is fast practice”. Or maybe “You could use that fingering, but it would be like shooting dice”.

Allegra Hale began her studies at the Indiana University string academy studying with Inez Wyrick. She has performed as principle bassist with the Hoosier Youth Philharmonic, the Musical Arts Youth Orchestra, the Indiana All State Orchestra, and the Bloomington Pops Orchestra. She has also been a member of the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra and Bloomington Symphony Orchestra. In addition she has served as staff member at Golden Gate Bass Camp and is the recipient of the National Orchestra Award (2005). In addition to Inez Wyrick, she has studied with David Murray and is currently studying with Dr. Donovan Stokes.

Jeff Gorham is a Graduate of the esteemed Indiana State University Music Business program and a candidate for the degree of Juris Doctor at Valparaiso University. Prior to his legal studies, he served an internship working for Music for All, Inc. as a copyright relations officer.  He has been seen playing in many facets across the Midwest as an Orchestra and Jazz bassist, but is most noted for his electric bass work with the popular rock band Situs, who was signed to a recording contract with HM Entertainment before their demise. Jeff is a Cleartone string and Warwick Bass/Amp endorser. He continues to play session recordings and take gigs “when he has time.” His hobbies are spending time with his family and brewing beer. Favorite Stokes quote: “If it were easy, everyone would do it!”

http://www.myspace.com/JGorhamBass
http://www.facebook.com/JGorhamBass

Maya Jones: I began my musical life as a violinist in the 4th grade at Westbriar Elementary School. Although I was at the top my violin section, I’ve always been interested in the bass. In the 10th grade at Mclean High School I decided to switch from the violin to the up-right double bass where I inquired a deep appreciation and love for the double bass. In high school I became the star pupil of my teacher Gretta Sandberg and was becoming more and more interested in music. At the end of 11th grade I began receiving private lessons. After only playing the bass for two years, I was successful in being placed in the Senior District Orchestra her junior and senior years in high school. I graduated in 2006 and got accepted into many schools. Now I am currently a junior Music Education major with a Piano Minor at Shenandoah Conservatory and I am studying both classical and jazz bass.

Peter Oswald is originally from Richmond, Virginia where he started studying cello with Neal Cary and played in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra. In 2006 Peter began to pursue a Music Education degree with a certificate in Cello Performance at Shenandoah University, studying with Clyde Thomas Shaw. An interest in jazz bass brought Peter to the studio of Donovan Stokes in the fall of 2009 where he is studying double bass as a minor instrument.

Eric Price is a second year Graduate student at Shenandoah Conservatory. He is working towards his Masters Degree in Double Bass Performance. Eric attended the University of California, Davis where he received the degree Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance. Now at SU, he is the Graduate Assistant for the Double Bass studio under Dr. Donovan Stokes. Eric has been playing bass for 16 years and loves all aspects of the bass from symphony orchestras to jazz combos to bass ensemble. In addition, he is the Director of the Shenandoah Buzzin’ Dozen Pep Band.

Eric Schatz has been a member of the Terre Haute musical scene for over a decade. After finishing his Bachelors in Music Education from Indiana State he chose to pursue a Masters in Bass Performance. Since graduation he has served as the director of the band and orchestra program for Chauncey Rose Middle School as well as the director of the jazz program for Terre Haute South High School. When not teaching or playing jazz he also serves as principal bassist for Eastern Illinois Symphony. He has had the honor of studying with Donovan Stokes, Todd Gallagher, John Spicknall, Rodney Whitaker, Rufus Reid, Bill Grimes, and Jeff Campbell.

Laura Walling is a Hagerstown, Maryland native who has been playing bass (both upright and electric) for approximately 9 years and has studied with several fantastic teachers, including Donovan Stokes and Sandor Ostlund. Jazz was her primary interest in high school, but her musical horizons broadened greatly at Shenandoah University. Ensembles she has participated in have been symphony orchestra, wind ensemble, Shenandoah Singers (as a member of their band), jazz combo, and pit orchestra. Her current passion is performing in the pit orchestra for music theatre productions, and she plans on pursuing that dream professionally in the near future