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The Artists of The Bijou Orchestra
Our musicians represent a wealth of highly individualized musical experiences. We are proud that The Bijou
is part of their musical lives.
PLEASE NOTE: There are actually 13 musicians in the orchestra, and this page is still under development. Check back
often as we continue to add bios and pictures of our players.
Vickie Bowden clarinet and saxophones
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John is currently performing with several of Michigan’s top jazz groups, society bands and orchestras
including the Bijou Orchestra , New Reformation Dixieland Band, Paul Keller Orchestra, Dave Bennett Quartet, The Diamonds
and the Steelheads. In recent years he has performed with the Steelheads at the Detroit International Jazz Festival
and the Syracuse (New York) Jazz Festival. John Hill holds BME and MM degrees from Central Michigan University.
He has been teaching band for Holly Area Schools since 1998 and in 2003, was awarded a “Teacher of the Year” citation
from WDIV and Oakland County. Prior to working in Holly, John taught in Muskegon for 4 years. He has been an adjunct
percussion teacher at the University of Michigan-Flint since 2003, and has also been on the adjunct faculty of Mott Community
College since 2006. He is in great demand as an adjudicator and guest conductor at festivals. He recorded several CD’s
with the Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble on the DMP Label. |
Clark Irwin
cornet and trumpet
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Clark Irwin graduated
from The Interlochen Arts Academy in 1984. He holds a B.M. from University of Michigan, and a M.M. from the University of
Southern California both in trumpet performance.
Clark has performed extensively throughout North America, Europe
and Asia with such groups as The American Sinfonietta, The Seattle Symphony, The Seattle Opera, The New World Symphony, The
Boston Symphony, The Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, The Long Beach Ballet, Holland America Cruises, Carnival Cruise
Lines, and the Hofer Sinfoniker. He was also a fellow of the Tanglewood Festival and a member of the National Repertory Orchestra. |
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Derek Lockhart
cornet and trumpet
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Born in
Royal Oak, Michigan, Derek Lockhart began playing trumpet at the age of eight. He earned his Bachelor of
Music degree from the University of Michigan and continued his education at the Manhattan School of Music. As a member of the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, Derek toured South
America, Israel, Monaco, and France. Mr. Lockhart is a founding member of New World Brass, with whom he recorded Ingolf Dahl's
Music for Brass Instruments on the Argo label. In previous years, Derek has worked as an instructor and chamber music
coach for the Empire Brass Quintet’s seminar at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute in Massachusetts. In 2009,
Derek made his debut performance in concert with the Empire Brass Quintet. Mr. Lockhart has performed as Principal Trumpet with the New Zealand
Symphony Orchestra and as Assistant Principal Trumpet with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. He performs regularly with
the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra, and the Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings. He is also
a member of the Motor City Brass Quintet, which has just released their debut CD titled “Christmas Vespers.” Derek
enjoys spending his summers performing as a member of the Colorado and Sunflower Music Festivals
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Kelly McDermott
flute, piccolo, tin whistle
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Catherine McMichael
piano |
Catherine is a composer, performer, arranger and teacher with degrees from the University of Michigan in piano performance
and chamber music. As a pianist she performs with the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, the River Raisin Ragtime Revue Band,
and occasionally with the Flint Symphony and Saginaw Choral Society, as well as in chamber music concerts in the area. She
teaches clinics in improvisation, composition, piano and enrichment in England, Australia and across the US from Alaska to
Florida and many places in between. She has written and arranged music for many ensembles throughout the country including
The Canadian Brass, faculty from the Universities of Michigan, Massachusetts, Ithaca (NY) College and Central Michigan University.
She has also written for the Michigan State Band and Orchestra Association, Saginaw Bay Orchestra, Saginaw
Choral Society and The Bijou Orchestra. Her music is represented by five publishers and is performed around the world. She and violinist husband Rod Bieber share their
lives in Saginaw Township with two spirited and musical children, Meredith, 16 and Nathan, 14, seventy old rose bushes, two
serene cats and two quizzical dogs.
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Zeljko (Bill) Milicevic
violin
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Zeljko Milicevic holds
a BM from Wayne State University and an MM from the University of Michigan. In 2007, he completed his Certificate requirements for the Orchestral Studies program at Wayne State University with an emphasis
in Conducting and Violin Performance. Since 1990, Milicevic
has served as a string specialist in the public schools and is currently Director of Orchestras at Farmington High School. He is also Adjunct Professor at Oakland University where his responsibilities include
teaching Orchestral Pedagogy. As a conductor, Milicevic holds the post of Music Director of the Lake St. Clair Symphony Orchestra
as well as the Oakland Youth Senior Orchestra. His performing
responsibilities also include that of Concertmaster of the Macomb Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Principal Second Violin with the Flint Symphony Orchestra. Previous orchestral
affiliations include the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra and Michigan Opera Theatre. Milicevic and his wife Karin enjoy home improvement, gardening and traveling every opportunity they get. |
Mark Mooningham viola and violin |
Originally from Saginaw, Michigan, Mark Mooningham began his violin studies in the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's
School of Music. He received an M.M. from Wayne State University and a B.M. from DePauw University (Greencastle, Indiana),
both in violin performance. Mark currently lives in Detroit and works as a freelance violist and violinist with ensembles
throughout the region. As a tenor, he has performed oratorio solos at churches and has made lighthearted appearances with
the Bijou as an Elvis Presley impersonator and as Dr. Blind in Die Fledermaus |
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Visit Les' Webpage
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Les has appeared as principal clarinetist
from Alice Tully Hall at New York’s Lincoln Center to Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Across Europe he has performed in opera, orchestra, chamber music and solo roles. Mr. Nicholas has been principal clarinetist
of New York’s Classic Chamber Orchestra, the West Virginia Symphony, the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, ProMusica Columbus,
the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, Central City Opera and the New York Harlem Opera (in Europe). He has performed with Washington’s
National Chamber Players, the Aspen Festival Orchestra, the Round Top Festival Institute, the Grand Teton and Coronado Music
Festivals, the AIMS Festival in Austria and Italy, the Garth Newel Music Center, the Wintergreen Festival where he was also
Director of the Performance Academy, the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, and with the Lancaster Festival where he has appeared
in principal and solo roles for over two decades. Les Nicholas devotes much of his time to the performance of chamber music. Notable collaborators have included artists
Anton Kuerti, William Preucil, Jon Kimura Parker, Stephen Clapp, Susan Starr, David Shifrin, Christopher O’Riley, Cary
Lewis, the Veronika String Quartet of Moscow, Jeremy Wall, and many others. As a constant champion of new music, Nicholas
has premiered dozens of new works, many written specifically for him and his ensembles. His trio d’anches, WindRose
-founded in 1993- continues to perform the virtuosic repertoire of the early twentieth century. The Trio’s performances
abroad include appearances in Vienna and at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London. Additionally, Mr. Nicholas has toured as a member
of both the Pastiche and the Blair Woodwind Quintets. A dedicated teacher, he has served as faculty member a Capital, Radford and James Madison Universities, at Kenyon
College, as chamber music coordinator-coach for The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and more recently
as Woodwind Area Coordinator and Lecturer in Clarinet at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
Mr. Nicholas was invited to Brazil in 2007, and again in 2008, giving concerts and master-classes at the Federal Universities
of Joao Pessoa and Natal.
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Jean Posekany
began her formal music training at the age of four studying piano. Already an accomplished violinist and pianist, Jean discovered
her true passion for playing the double bass at the age of twenty. She was awarded a full scholarship from the San Francisco
Conservatory of Music where she earned her Bachelors Degree in Bass Performance. Jean continued to master her musical skills
as recipient of a full graduate scholarship from the New England Conservatory of Music where she studied bass with Lawrence
Wolfe and Edwin Barker of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Jean has won positions in several orchestras including the
Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Malaysian Philharmonic, and the New World Symphony. Currently, Jean lives in Michigan where
she is an active freelancer and educator in the Detroit area. She spends her summer months in Boulder, Colorado performing
as a member of the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra. |
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Irina
Tikhonova began playing the cello at the age of six. A graduate of the Tchaikovsky Music Conservatory where she studied under
Vladimir Panteleev, she was a member of the Kiev Radio Orchestra before emigrating to the United States from Ukraine in 1991.
Formerly principal cellist of the Saginaw Bay Orchestra and more recently of the Dearborn Symphony Orchestra, she is currently
cellist with The Bijou Orchestra and Trio Cafe. She also plays on occasion with
the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and has a private cello studio in Royal Oak. |
John Uptontrombone and euphonium
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John W. Upton was a student of Dennis Smith at the University
of Michigan-Ann Arbor where he received Bachelor’s (1985) and Master’s (1986) degrees in trombone performance.
John is currently the principal trombonist of the Flint Symphony Orchestra. He has also worked for a wide variety of groups
throughout Michigan, including The Detroit Symphony, the Michigan Opera Theater, The Ann Arbor Symphony, and the Saginaw-Bay
Orchestra. John has also studied with Nathaniel Gurin and Joseph Skrzynski. During the day, John works as a physical
therapist, a second career he began after receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Physical
Therapy from the University of Michigan-Flint. He is employed at Bixby Total Rehab in Adrian, Michigan.
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