John Paddie is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in composition at Sam Houston State University under Dr. Kyle Kindred. He is an active composer, arranger, percussionist, vocalist, and educator in the Houston, Texas area.

He graduated from the Woodlands High School as a four-time participant in the Woodlands High School Marching band and was a national finalist twice in the Bands of America Grand National competition. He served as section leader in the Sam Houston State University Bearkat Marching Band for two years. He also sang with the Statesmen Chorus competing in the Barbershop Harmony Society competitions. He is a regular member of the HITS Theatre orchestra on drum set and plays in the Houston-based rock-fusion band Zero Detail on drums and backup vocals. He performs on auxiliary percussion for Joe Burlison’s Uptown Jazz in addition to arranging for that group. He performed for and has writing contributions for Jack Nelson’s americana album Let ‘er Buck and played aux percussion on Joe Burlison’s Uptown Jazz Christmas Album in 2016.

During his undergraduate work, his music was performed by marching bands in Texas as well as by indoor percussion ensembles. His saxophone quartet, Lightyears was selected for programming in the Manchester New Music Festival in 2011. He has written for and taught for scholastic marching ensembles in Texas, Oklahoma, Maryland, and Virginia.

He currently serves on the board of the Houston-based non-profit Space City Performing Arts and is an active advocate for music education, music therapy, and mental health awareness.

Alison Zabik, mezzo-soprano, currently sings with the St James Episcopal Church Parish Choir in Conroe, where she also leads pre-school and early elementary music at Art Camp VBS and directs Seasonal Children’s Choral Offerings. She has bachelor’s degrees with honor in music and civil engineering from the University of Florida, where she was a member of Sigma Alpha Iota, and currently works full-time in the energy industry. A life-long singer since joining her first parish choir at age 8, Ms. Zabik is excited to help bring innovative choral music to Montgomery County through Avanzare.

Valeri Speights specializes in performing chamber music while teaching violin privately. She has performed in various recitals in Germany through the Saarburg International Chamber Music Festival and was a founding member of the Chateau String Quartet. An alumni of the Dylana Jenson Workshop and the MasterWorks Festival, Valeri exclusively teaches private lessons and has been a teacher for the Huntsville Youth Orchestra and the Art of Music Studio. For the last three years she has taught for the Woodlands Chamberfest at the Cynthia Mitchell Woods Pavilion. Having just graduated with a performance degree from Sam Houston State University, she is currently a member of the Conroe Symphony, the Woodlands Symphony, and Legacy Baroque While at Sam Houston, she studied conducting extensively with Dr. Jacob Sustaita in addition to her studies as a violin performance major. For three years she was a member of SHSU’s Center for Early Music Research and Performance (CEMRAP) and was an administrative assistant for CEMRAP’s collaboration with the Boulder Bach Festival, Musica Montin. In preparation for a master’s degree, she is currently exploring historically informed performance practices.

Victor "Benny" Wemh is an active freelance trumpet player from the North Houston Area. He recently graduated from Sam Houston State University in 2018 with a Bachelor's of Business Administration Degree in Accounting. He has studied trumpet privately under Patrick Brink. In addition he was a member of the SHSU Jazz Ensemble under Dr. Eric Schneller. He has performed with local community groups such as the Kingwood Big Band, the Conroe Symphony Orchestra, and has been a hired musician at the First Baptist Church Worship Group of Huntsville, Texas and Strawbridge United Methodist Church in Kingwood, Texas. Mr. Wemh is currently a Corporate Staff Accountant in the downtown Houston area. His professional affiliations are Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, where he served as Treasurer.