About

MEET the PLAYERS

The Oakwood Chamber Players celebrate thirty-nine years of music making together. Six professionals committed to excellence in performance, program selection and outreach to the community join to bring Madison and Wisconsin the finest in classical and new art music for mixed ensemble of strings and winds.

Oakwood Chamber Players

Marilyn Chohaney, Flute

Marilyn has been an Artistic Director with the Oakwood Chamber Players since 1989. She studied flute with Bill Hebert in Cleveland, Michel Debost and Jean-Pierre Rampal in France, and has her undergraduate degrees in flute performance and chemistry from Wellesley College. She is a retired family physician Professor Emeritus from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She and her husband, David Lonsdorf, have three grown children scattered across the country. She is an active freelance musician, and has a passion for playing piccolo, which she indulges as piccoloist with the Capitol City Band.

Valree Casey, Oboe

Valree Casey, a freelance Oboist and English Hornist, resides in and performs throughout Madison, WI. Originally from San Diego, CA, Valree pursued her studies at the Vienna Konservatorium in Vienna, Austria. She holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of the Pacific. Valree has learned from esteemed mentors such as Nancy Ambrose King, Harry Sargous, Tom Nugent, Michael Turnovsky, and Peggy Michael. Alongside her musical endeavors, Valree imparts her expertise through private music lessons while also devoting herself to raising three teenage boys.

Nancy Mackenzie, Clarinet

Nancy Mayland Mackenzie is a native of Madison and is an original member and Artistic Director of the Oakwood Chamber Players. Nancy performs regularly as Principal Clarinet of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and Second Clarinet of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Nancy pursued advanced degree work in clarinet performance at the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree.

Marie Pauls, Viola

Marie Pauls earned both Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied on a full scholarship. She is pleased to be joining Oakwood Chamber Players this season as a new artistic director. A passionate arts ambassador, Marie is a performer and education manager for LunART, Inc, a non-profit organization that celebrates and advocates for women artists. Beyond the classical realm, she performs with the acoustic rock group Evan Riley Band, with whom she has recorded three original albums.

Amanda Szczys, Bassoon

A native of Toledo, Ohio, Amanda King Szczys received her Bachelor of Music degree, Summa Cum Laude, in Bassoon Performance from the University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music. She then earned a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan. Formerly a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Amanda is currently Principal Bassoon of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and Second Bassoon of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Amanda has also appeared with the Milwaukee, New World, and Toledo Symphonies. She joined the Oakwood Chamber Players as an Artistic Director in 2007.

Maggie Darby Townsend, Cello

An Artistic Director and member of Oakwood Chamber Players since 2011, Maggie Darby Townsend received her Bachelor Degree in Music from the University of Iowa in 2002 as a student of Charles Wendt. In 2004, she finished her Masters of Music with Uri Vardi at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She works at the Institute for Research on Poverty at the UW-Madison, is a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and plays in chamber music groups in the Madison area.

Maggie Darby Townsend received her Bachelor Degree in Music from the University of Iowa in 2002 as a student of Charles Wendt. In 2004, she finished her Masters of Music with Uri Vardi at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She works at the Institute for Research on Poverty at the UW-Madison, is a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and plays in chamber music groups in the Madison area.

Maggie Darby Townsend

Cello

Welcome To MiExpo Conference

Testimonials

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Nelson Edward

Conf. Speaker

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Thomas Salehy

Conf. Speaker

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