Sips & Sounds - Woodwind Quintet

Kimberly McCoul Risinger is principal flutist of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she performs with the Linden Flute and Guitar Duo, the Sonneries Woodwind Quintet, and the Chicago Jazz Orchestra.

Risinger has given solo performances in many of New York City's major concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Merkin Recital Hall. An advocate for contemporary music, she has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Canada, often presenting world premieres of works written for and dedicated to her.

Risinger's two solo CDs, Songs of My Nights: The Flute Music of David Maslanka and Sonata Fantasy: Contemporary American Pieces for Flute and Piano, are available on the CD Baby and Albany Records labels.

Risinger is Professor of Flute at Illinois State University.

Dr. Dan Schwartz is an oboist, educator, and performer based in Chicago, Illinois. As Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Lake Forest College, as well as founder and music director of Chicagoland Youth Pops, Dan is passionate about connecting students and audiences to music in new and exciting ways. Before joining Lake Forest College, Dan was Associate Professor of Oboe at the University of Oklahoma School of Music.

An avid performer, Dan spent ten years as Associate Principal Oboe/English Horn with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. Prior to this role, he performed with orchestras throughout North America, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada (under the baton of Pinchas Zukerman), the Nashville Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and the San Antonio Symphony. He also spent many summers as Principal Oboe with FAVA Opera in Périgueux, France.

Dan is a frequent recitalist at the International Double Reed Society Conference, most notably performing his own original compositions. As an educator, he has recently presented masterclasses at the University of Michigan, DePaul University, the University of Texas at Austin, Vanderbilt University, the University of Costa Rica, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Interlochen Arts Academy, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the University of Northern Colorado, and the University of Central Florida, among others.

Dan holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Oboe Performance from Vanderbilt University, graduating summa cum laude and receiving the university's highest academic honor, the Founders Medal. He also holds a Master of Music degree in Oboe Performance from the University of Texas at Austin and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Oboe Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, where he also completed a minor in Music Education.

Beyond performing, Dan is a dedicated composer with numerous published works to his name. His compositions have been featured in recitals and conferences around the world. A passionate traveler and advocate for cultural exploration, Dan has performed and taught in Spain, France, Japan, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, the Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, and Australia, including an appearance in Sydney during the 2000 Summer Olympic Games.

Dana Hotle, clarinet, is a multifaceted musician, arts leader, and educator. She performs in both her home state of Missouri and Illinois as principal clarinetist of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and throughout the St. Louis area with Chamber Project St. Louis, an ensemble she co-founded in 2012. As Executive Director of Chamber Project St. Louis, she leads an innovative collaborative of musicians in unique chamber music programs.

Dana is currently the Coordinator of the Woodwinds, Brass, and Percussion Department and a member of the clarinet faculty in the Washington University Department of Music. She has performed with the St. Louis Symphony, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Winter Opera St. Louis, Union Avenue Opera, and the Cedar Rapids Symphony (now Orchestra Iowa). She has taught at the Community Music School of Webster University since 2001.

She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with David Krakauer.

Dr. Rachel Hockenberry is Associate Professor of Horn at Illinois State University and Second Horn of the Peoria Symphony Orchestra. Rachel enjoys a busy career as a freelance musician throughout Illinois and Southern California, performing regularly with the Illinois, Santa Barbara, Long Beach, Champaign-Urbana, and Rockford Symphony Orchestras. She has shared the stage or recording studio with Billy Idol, Pete Townshend, and Jon Batiste, and has recorded for television series and Disneyland theme parks. She is a member of the Newfound Chamber Winds and can be heard on all of their albums.

A Virginia native, Rachel received her bachelor's degree in Horn Performance from James Madison University and her master's and doctoral degrees in Horn Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Her primary teachers include Randy Gardner, Tom Sherwood, Liz Freimuth, Duane Dugger, and Abigail Pack. When not playing the horn, Rachel enjoys gymnastics, strength training, reading, and spending time with her partner and their menagerie of pets.

Named one of 23 artists “changing the sound of classical music” by The Washington Post, Ben Roidl-Ward has been praised for his “dazzling technique” (The Sydney Morning Herald), “breathless virtuosity” (Bandcamp Daily), and “astounding flexibility and range” (The Double Reed).

Ben is Assistant Professor of Bassoon at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Principal Bassoonist of the Chicago Sinfonietta, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra. A devoted performer of contemporary music, he is the bassoonist of Chicago's Ensemble Dal Niente and served as a Contemporary Leader and Bassoon Coach for the Lucerne Festival from 2021 to 2025.

Ben's dedication to collaborating with composers of his generation has led him to premiere more than 200 compositions. An alumnus of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, he earned his DMA from Northwestern University, where he studied with David McGill. His previous teachers include Ben Kamins (Rice University), George Sakakeeny (Oberlin Conservatory), and Francine Peterson.