“Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity to make beautiful music with beautiful people.” Cailin McGarry, 2024 Chamber Music Fellow
NEWFOUND CHAMBER WINDS CHAMBER MUSIC FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
Newfound Chamber Winds: Chamber Music Fellowship Application
The Newfound Chamber Winds Chamber Music Fellowship program is a summer workshop built upon our passion for sharing and creating music of the highest caliber. The 2025 Chamber Music Fellowship Program will run simultaneously with the Tidewater Composition Workshop at Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA) to create meaningful, collaborative experiences between the NFCW Artist Faculty, the faculty composers, and Composition Fellows.
Up to four Chamber Music Fellows will be invited for each represented instrument in standard wind dectet instrumentation (Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn).
Up to four Fellows will be invited on saxophone, and saxophonists may apply as a pre-formed quartet.
All applications for fellowships should be at minimum a rising sophomore in college and demonstrate exceptional playing ability.
Audition Repertoire: Two selections of the applicant's choice (solo -or- with piano accompaniment). The review committee recommends that, at minimum, one of the two selected pieces have been composed during the late 20th or 21st centuries, though this is not a requirement.
Applications are being accepted until the program is filled.
(CLICK HERE TO APPLY)
Additional Program Highlights:
Private and group lessons with NFCW Artist Faculty
Chamber music coaching and collaboration with NFCW Artist Faculty
Multiple performance opportunities of traditional repertoire and newly composed works in collaboration with the Tidewater Composition Workshop.
Professional video recording of live performances
Seminars on a wide range of topics, including: Career Building, Conductor/Performer Etiquette, Presentations by NFCW Artist Faculty, Presentations by Tidewater Composition Workshop participant composers, Q&A Session w/ Composition Workshop faculty David Biedenbender and Viet Cuong, Public Speaking to Audiences, and Writing Program Notes
Tuition: $800.00 (Scholarships available)
Housing: Fellows will be responsible for their own accommodations during the program. On-campus dorm housing is optionally available at the cost of $510 for 10 nights, Sunday, June 8 - Wednesday, June 18 (June 8 and June 18, arrival/departure dates). A number of off-campus housing options are also available.
Applications will continue to be accepted until the program is filled.
Contact us if you have any questions: newfoundchamberwinds@gmail.com
Kimberly Cole Luevano
2025 Guest Artist-Faculty
Kimberly Cole Luevano fulfills multiple callings in life: clarinet performer, chamber music collaborator, teacher/educator/advisor, university administrator, wife, mom, and daughter, amongst many other roles. With reviews such as “a most skillful artist” (Fanfare Magazine), “vocal and effortless technique” (The Clarinet), “virtuosic tone and technique”(Tampa Bay Times), “impeccable technique and flawless unity of sound” (The Clarinet), she has presented acclaimed solo and chamber performances, adjudicated, taught at festivals, and presented masterclasses on four continents. Former students have won prizes in international competitions and occupy performing, teaching, and music industry positions throughout North America. Currently Professor of Clarinet and Chair of the Division of Instrumental Studies in the College of Music at the University of North Texas, Luevano relishes her work with UNT’s diverse, talented students and colleagues. Luevano joined the UNT faculty in 2011 and was recipient of UNT’s Creative Impact Award in 2024. She also taught at the Interlochen Arts Camp for nine years and has served the International Clarinet Association in roles such as Pedagogy Chair and coordinator of their High School Competition. Luevano partnered with the ToneBase platform in 2024 to create easily accessible pedagogical videos for clarinetists worldwide.
With soprano Lindsay Kesselman and pianist Midori Koga, Luevano forms the critically acclaimed trio, Haven (www.haventrio.com). Haven received grants in 2021 from both the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Fund and the Barlow Foundation to partner with composers in the creation of new works for the trio. Haven’s recordings on the Blue Griffin label include composer Lee Kesselman’s works, “Would That Loving Were Enough” (2024), David Biendenbender’s “All we are given we cannot hold” (2023), and Jon Magnussen’s Twinge (2019. Additionally, Luevano recorded William Bolcom’s Clarinet Concerto in 2022 for the GIA label with Eugene Corporon and the North Texas Wind Symphony; GIA also released their 2016 recording of Michael Daugherty’s Brooklyn Bridge. Luevano’s solo recordings on the Fleur de Son label, Bright Angel (2013) and Atonement (2015), received positive acclaim and were both considered in the Grammy nomination process. World premiere recordings with TrioPolis, TrioPolis One, were released on the Fleur de Son label in 2017. Luevano’s other chamber recordings are also available on the Centaur and Albany labels.
Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Luevano studied in Paris, France as a Fulbright Scholar. She earned degrees at Michigan State University and the University of North Texas and is immensely grateful to her mentors, Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, James Gillespie, and Keith Lemmons. Prior to her appointment at the University of North Texas, she was Professor of Clarinet at Eastern Michigan University for fifteen years.
Luevano plays and endorses Selmer Paris instruments and is a D’Addario and Company Performing Artist. She resides in Corinth, Texas with her husband and savors time spent with her two grown sons and their spirited border collie.
Jessica Kunttu
2025 Guest Artist-Faculty
Dr. Jessica Kunttu (she/her) is a highly sought after performer and educator based in Raleigh, NC. As an orchestral player, Dr. Kunttu plays bassoon and contrabassoon regularly with the North Carolina Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Carolina Ballet, and North Carolina Opera, among others, and has appeared as Guest Principal Bassoon with the North Carolina and Charlotte Symphonies.
A proponent of new music, Dr. Kunttu maintains an ongoing collaboration with NYC-based Korean-American composer Seong Ae Kim, whose works center social justice issues. Two recent compositions include “Fever Dream” for bassoon and piano, which is an allegorical message for how to combat racism, and “Gravity-Levity” for solo bassoon, which symbolizes the coexistence of growth and depression. “Gravity-Levity” was premiered at the International Double Reed Society Conference in 2022.
Dr. Kunttu teaches bassoon at both the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University, and maintains a large private studio of middle school, high school, and adult students. Her approach to teaching involves creating a safe space for students to learn, grow, and make mistakes, but also helping students understand how to transfer skills learned in music to all areas of life. Dr. Kunttu also enjoys teaching chamber music and serves as a Faculty-Artist for the Chapel Hill International Chamber Music Festival and has served on the faculty of the North Carolina Chamber Music Institute (NCCMI).
As an advocate for fair working conditions for artists, Dr. Kunttu has served as Secretary-Treasurer for Local 500 of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) since 2017, and is President of the AFM Southern Conference of Locals for the 2021-2023 term. She believes in the collective power artists have in creating working conditions that are safe and equitable for everyone.
Dr. Kunttu earned a Doctor of Musical Arts and a Master’s of Music from Stony Brook University, where she studied with Frank Morelli. She received her Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Arts in Italian degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied with John Pederson and was a member of the inaugural class of Kenan Music Scholars. She received a high school diploma with concentration in Bassoon Performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she studied with Mark Popkin.
In her rare moments of free time, Dr. Kunttu enjoys knitting, sewing, house renovation projects, and spending time with her husband and dog.
