HCYO Personnel

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Hill Country Youth Orchestras
Personnel (Click on highlighted name for biographical profile.)
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Board of Directors

Edward Toll, President
Graydon Vaught, President-elect
Pat Browne, Secretary
Alan Massey, Treasurer
Lynda Ables,  Facilitator
Laura Shrader, Staff Assistant
Alice Brook
Dayna Cartwright
Steve Clack
Debbie Cullen
H.D. Maxwell
Jan Schmidt
Sylvia Sieker
Kathleen Vincent

Faculty

Jacobi Caldwell,
Orchestra Conductor, String Teacher

Patricia Lee,
Kathleen C. Cailloux Director of Education and 
Hill Country Youth Orchestra Conductor Chair

Wanda Lydon,
Orchestra Conductor, String Teacher

Gail Plaxico,
Orchestra Conductor, String Teacher

Basel Sarweh,
Clinician, Cello Teacher

HCYO Board of Directors and Faculty
Biographical Profiles (Presented in alphabetical order)
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Lynda Ables has been Director of Music at the Kerrville First United Methodist
Church since 1978. During that time she has developed the program to include its
present choirs, orchestras and ensembles. In 1998 she led a choir from the church
on a two week tour of England and in 2001, led a two week tour of Germany,
Austria and Switzerland. Ables is a past conductor of the Kerrville Community
Chorus and has taught music on the college level, at elder hostels and for numer-
ous clinics and retreats. She is a past president and life-time board member of the
Kerrville Performing Arts Society and is the founder and facilitator of the Hill
Country Youth Orchestras. She is a past member of the Board of Directors of the
Hill Country Arts Foundation and is a graduate of Leadership Kerr County. Ables
was honored as Kerrville's Outstanding Woman of the Year in 1989. Ables is the
founder of the Kerrville Community Messiah Sing and the Community Patriotic Sing
held each July 4th. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree and a Master's
degree in Music History and Theory.

In 2002, for her life of love and devotion to Jesus Christ and the music program of
First United Methodist Church, Kerrville, Lynda was honored with the Lynda Ables
Scholarship Fund.  The scholarships are available for her use for youth in the
church. Lynda says she feels blessed to have the wonderful opportunity to help
these young people with their desire to further their music abilities. This
scholarship is open for contributions from anyone who would like to honor Lynda
and help the youth of the church reach their music goals.

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Jacobi Caldwell has recently returned from studying at the Indiana School of Music
String Academy with Mimi Zweig. While attending classes on prodigy education, she
studied viola with Jim Przgocki. Miss Caldwell calls Kerrville, Texas home now after
relocating from South Carolina in 2000. While living in South Carolina, Miss Caldwell
played in the Asheville Symphony, the Charlotte Philharmonic, the Kingsport
Symphony, and the South Carolina Philharmonic among others. She enjoyed helping
to start an orchestra program in Lexington School District Two. During that time she
also conducted and taught with the South Carolina Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. 
Her performances include playing with a chamber ensemble for the Mozart festival
in Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.

Among her many travels she has toured Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and
Quebec, all with orchestras. One of the highlights of her popular career occurred
when Hootie's Breaking Records hired her for Atlantic Records to play with Jump,
Little Children. Miss Caldwell enjoyed playing live with them and performing on their
third album. She  also helped produce the indie film, Parallel Chords, about the
famous pianist Raymond Dudley. She received a sizeable grant from the South
Carolina Arts Commission to bring Michael Bellar and the AS-IS Ensemble (house
band from the Blue Note in New York City) to South Carolina to help further the film
project.

While living in Texas, Miss Caldwell was featured main stage at the Kerrville Folk
Festival with Michael Lilley and Tom Prasada-Rao. She has performed all over the
Hill Country and in Austin with such artists as Johnsmith, Amelia Spicer, Elani
Kelakous, and Bill Nash. Her current project involves helping
front a band that plays '30s and '40s style jazz.
                                                                                       
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Patricia Lee is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music with a degree in Music and Violin Performance. Her post-graduate studies in Conducting, Music Education and Child Development were at the University of Houston and the Ohio Montessori Training Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. Ms. Lee's teaching experience includes elementary strings education in the Houston Independent School District at the arts magnet program for Lovett Elementary, Suzuki Strings Director for the Post Oak Montessori School in Houston, Texas, orchestra director for North East Independent School District in San Antonio at Krueger Middle School and Madison High School, and Director of Education and Conductor of the Capriccio and Sinfonietta Orchestras for the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio. In addition to teaching, Ms. Lee is an avid lover of chamber music and is the founder and first violinist of the Oak Leaf Quartet. She is also a member of the Symphony of the Hills in Kerrville, Texas and is working with Kerrville Independent School District as the strings teacher.

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Wanda comes from a rich musical heritage, having grown up in a family of Music Educators and Performers she received her musical training from Interlochen Center for the Arts, University of Iowa, and Roosevelt University, Congress of Strings- Seattle.WA.
Though William Preucil and William Schoen were her primary teachers, she also received coaching from Donald McInnes, Congress of Strings-Seattle conference, Rafael Druian- chamber music, and Joel Lipton- Interlochen Arts Academy. The entire family is involved in music, with her mother played cello in the Houston Symphony, and her brother plays trumpet in the U.S.Navy Band, and another brother who plays piano. Her grandparents and family encouraged her pursuit of music and she in turn enjoys sharing her love of music with her students ranging from very young to adult. A member of San Antonio Symphony, she is also Principal Viola at Des Moines Metro Opera's summer season, and Mid-Texas Symphony (Seguin/New Braunfels)
ny wrote:

Violinist/Violist Gail Plaxico is a musician with extensive playing and teaching experience. With a degree in Music Education with a specialty in strings, she has taught in strings programs in South Carolina and Texas, created a string program in Kentucky, and taught private lessons for violin and viola in Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, and Texas. She has been a member of the South Carolina Music Educators Association, the Kentucky Music Educators Association, The American String Teachers Association, The National School Orchestra Association, The Texas Orchestra Directors Association, and the Texas Music Educators Association. In each of her locations she has always been involved in performing ensembles--Symphonies, Chamber Orchestras, Quartets, and Trios--as a violinist and a violist. In addition to her classical repertoire, Ms. Plaxico has enjoyed playing with legendary country singer Ray Price, The Sisters Morales, Gypsy Caravan, Salon Mexico, and the Fredericksburg Theater Company.

Ms. Plaxico says, " I am looking forward to working with the students of Kerrville".

Laura has served on the board of HCYO, Inc. since its inception. A charter member,
she was the Secretary and is currently Staff Assistant on the Board of Directors.

A native Texan, Laura moved to Kerrville with her family in 1995. She earned a
degree in child development from the University of Texas at Austin and has
worked in early childhood for 25 years. She held teacher, director, district manager
and trainer positions with KinderCare Learning Centers, Inc. during her 17 years
with them. She is currently the part-time business manager for Children's Ark of
First United Methodist Church.

Laura's musical background is in the vocal and choral arts. Church and school
choirs have been a part of her life since she was five years old. She currently
sings in the First United Methodist Church Chancel Choir. She is a soloist for the
church and for the Kerrville Community Messiah Sing. Directing the Cherub Choir
and teaching the 2 and 3 year old Sunday school class keeps her in touch with
the children.

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Hill Country Youth Orchestras
321 Thompson Drive - Kerrville, TX 78028 - Phone (830) 257-0809 - FAX (830) 257-0835
Email info@hillcountryyouthorchestras.com
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