Varying in instrumentation and size from 3-15 musicians, the Renaissance City Winds is named after Pittsburgh’s nickname and dedicates itself to performing   and recording the finest music for wind instruments. It has become one of Pennsylvania’s formost chamber ensembles since its founding in 1975. Hailed by the New York Times as "expert wind players," the ensemble’s tours throughout the East and Midwest have included two New York concerts at Carnegie Recital Hall, an appearance at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and a performance at the Pennsylvania Governor’s Home. It presents two series in its home base of Pittsburgh: a subscription series at Carlow College and a second, MUSIC FOR NEIGHBORHOODS, that travels to architectural landmarks. While it performs music from the sixteenth century to the present, the group has received special recognition for its devotion to American music. It has commissioned many works from contemporary composers, and performed older treasures it has researched from the Library of Congress, the Harmonists, and the Moravian collection. The ensemble has captured nationally-competitive awards from Chamber Music America, the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet-the-Composer, and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music. The City Winds appears annually in Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Arts Festival and has been heard frequently on public radio. Its first CD, a disc of German Romantic music, is scheduled to be released by Centaur Records later this season.

Flute

BARBARA O'BRIEN graduated from Duquesne University with a Bachelor of Music Performance degree, and then became Principal Flute of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic for five years.  She is presently Principal Flute with the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, Second Flute and Piccolo with the Pittsburgh Ballet Orchestra, and Principal of the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra.  She has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra.  Her solo and chamber music performances include concerts in the New Hampshire Music Festival, Symphony School of America, the Spoleto dei due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, and the Buzzards Bay Musicfest.  She has been recorded on CDs with the Wheeling Symphony, the Spoleto Festival, and the Buzzards Bay Musicfest.

THOMAS GODFREY is principal flutist for the Westmoreland and Johnstown Symphonies.  As a free-lance flutist he regularly performs with a variety of musical groups including the Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Ballet, Civic Light Opera, Pittsburgh Musical Theatre, Wheeling Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony and with Gateway to the Arts, Inc.  Mr. Godfrey has performed with music festivals in the United States and Europe and his performances are often heard on WQED-FM's 'Performance in Pittsburgh' broadcasts.  Thomas received his musical training on scholarship at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, New England Conservatory and Duquesne University.  He is on the Adjunct faculties of Rogers/CAPA School and this past year served as visiting asst. professor at West Virginia University.

Oboe

RENATE SAKINS  has been oboist with the Renaissance City Winds since 1995.  She is also currently principal oboist of the Westmoreland Symphony with whom she was featured as soloist on WQED’s “Performance in Pittsburgh”.  She performs as substitute oboist with the Pittsburgh and Columbus Symphonies and has toured in Canada, Japan, and throughout Europe.  For two seasons she was co-principal oboist of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida.  Ms. Sakins is an adjunct instructor at Washington and Jefferson College, teaches at Pittsburgh’s Center for the Musically Talented, and maintains a private teaching studio.  She earned her B.M. degree from Temple University, and attended Carnegie Mellon University in the M.M. degree program.  Her teachers were Louis Rosenblatt and Cynthia DeAlmedia.  Since 2000 she has served as a managing member of the Renaissance City Winds.

HEIDI SCOTT PANDOLFI  has been a member of the Rennaissance City Winds for five years.  She received her Bachelor of Music from Indiana University under Jerry Sirucek.  Temple University awarded her a Master of Music under Louis Rosenblatt.  Following graduation she accepted an internship with The New World Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas.  She was a charter member of the New World Symphony Woodwind Quintet, performing in Miami, Buenos Aires, Montevedeo, and Sao Paolo.  Upon completion of this internship, she accepted the principal oboe position with the West Palm Beach Symphony and Opera Orchestras.  Her festival participation includes Spoleto Festival, Schleswig Holstein Festival, Round Top Festival, and Peninsula Music Festival.  Heidi and her husband, bassoonist Philip Pandolfi, have made their home in Pittsburgh with their three children, Nicco, Taia, and Olivia.  As both a free lance musician in the Pittsburgh area and an active music and Montessori educator, she has enjoyed being a part of the Pittsburgh arts and education communities.  She is currently pursuing post-graduate work in education through Duquesne University.

Clarinet

JACK HOWELL, formerly principal clarinetist of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, performed for two years as second clarinetist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra before joining the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Clarinet.  He returned to Pittsburgh in 1999, now serves as Principal Clarinet of the Wheeling (WV) Symphony and Second Clarinet of the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestras, and performs frequently with the Pittsburgh Symphony and other ensembles in the region.  A graduate of the University of Northern Colorado, he has performed extensively as soloist and chamber musician in the West, including concerts for the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival aired on National Public Radio's Performance Today.  He is an avid fly fisherman and builder of bamboo fly rods, and his book, The Lovely Reed:  An Enthusiast's Guide to Building Bamboo Fly Rods, has been published by Pruett Books of Boulder, CO.

Bassoon

R. JAMES WHIPPLE, bassoonist, was awarded MEET THE COMPOSER's Pittsburgh New Residency together with Efrain Amaya.  He has recorded with CRI, Sony, and Serenus, and was Principal Bassoon with the Pittsburgh Ballet Orchestra for fourteen seasons. He was a founding member of the Renaissance City Woodwind Quintet in 1975, and has served as Artistic Director since 1978.  Mr. Whipple is an active composer and arranger, with many works performed, published, and broadcast in the United States, Europe, and Canada. His catalog includes pieces for chorus, piano and organ, as well as many different chamber ensembles. The Concertino for An Autumn Mood - for solo bassoon, strings, and harp was recorded by the Czech Radio Orchestra under the direction of Gerard Schwartz for the MMC label. Currently Artist Lecturer in Music Theory at Carnegie Mellon University, specializing in counterpoint, Mr. Whipple has also taught at Carlow College, West Virginia University, and the Chamber Music Conference of the East at Bennington College.

DON HOLLIS, bassoonist, graduated from Duquesne University with Bachelor of Music Education Degree, and a Master of Music Performance Degree. Currently 2nd bassoonist of the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestras. He has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Wheeling Symphony, Westmoreland Symphony, Canton Symphony, Johnstown Symphony, and various chamber ensembles.  He has repaired musical instruments for the last 27 years and is presently co-owner of Hollis and Germann Music, a Woodwind and Brass specialty shop with an emphasis on repairs and accessories.

French Horn

DAVID LINTZ, in addition to performing with the Renaissance City Winds, is currently Principal Horn with the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestras.  After completing his B.M. degree at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Mr. Lintz performed for fourteen seasons with the Symphony Orchestra of St. Gallen, Switzerland.  While in Europe he also performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra musician with the Vienna symphony Orchestra, The Philharmonia Hungerica, the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, and the Opera Orchestra of Zurich.  Mr. Lintz has spent nine summers with the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, Colorado.  He also performs with the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble.