WINDSYNC MEMBERS
Garrett Hudson, Flute
Garrett Hudson is a founding member of WindSync. The Canadian flutist’s roots lie in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he made his solo debut with the Winnipeg Symphony at the age of 16. During his training, Hudson performed with the National Academy Orchestra of Canada and l’Orchestre de la Francophonie in Montreal, Quebec. He earned degrees from the University of British Columbia under Scottish flutist Lorna McGhee, and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he studied with renowned flute pedagogue Leone Buyse. A sensitive communicator both onstage and off, Hudson has coached woodwind students at the Eastman School of Music, Northwestern University, University of Iowa, and University of Texas. He lives in Houston, Texas, where he maintains a teaching studio at the beginner through professional levels.
Noah Kay, Oboe
Noted for his “expressive tone color and deft technique” (EarRelevant), oboist Noah Kay enjoys a varied career as an orchestral and chamber musician. Having previously served as principal oboe of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic and Symphony in C, Kay has performed, toured, and recorded in Japan, Europe and the United States with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He has also performed with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Rochester Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony and ProMusica Columbus, and appeared as guest principal with the Princeton Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Festival appearances include Viva Bach Peterborough, the Sebago-Long Lake Music Festival, Moab Music Festival, Cape May Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra and the Chautauqua Institution’s Symphony Orchestra, with whom he has served as second oboe since August 2023. Kay received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and his Master of Music degree from Yale, having studied with Richard Killmer and Stephen Taylor. He is currently a doctoral candidate at Stony Brook University, studying with James Austin Smith. A native of New Jersey, he now resides in Queens.
Graeme Steele Johnson, Clarinet
Praised as “technically and interpretively impeccable and passionately communicative” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), Graeme Steele Johnson is an artist of uncommon imagination and versatility. The clarinetist, curator and “musical detective” (New York Classical Review) recently garnered international attention for his rediscovery and reconstruction of a 125-year-old Octet by Charles Martin Loeffler, profiled in a full-page spread by The Washington Post. Released on his debut album Forgotten Sounds, Johnson’s world-premiere recording of the work was named one of The New York Times’ Best Classical Music Albums of 2024 and nominated for a Gramophone Classical Music Award. Johnson led the Octet’s first present-day performances at the Library of Congress, Morgan Library, Harvard Musical Association, Phoenix Chamber Music Festival, Emerald City Music and Chamber Music Northwest. Other recent appearances include Ravinia, La Jolla Music Society, and the Bridgehampton, Moab, Rockport and Orcas Island Chamber Music Festivals. Driven by his interest in shedding fresh perspective on familiar music, Johnson has appeared as a TEDx speaker comparing Mozart and Seinfeld, and authored chamber arrangements heard around the world. He earned degrees from The University of Texas at Austin, Yale School of Music and a doctorate from the CUNY Graduate Center. His principal teachers include David Shifrin, Charles Neidich, Nathan Williams and Ricardo Morales.
Kara LaMoure, Bassoon
Kara LaMoure approaches the bassoon as a dynamic performer, educator and creative. Her interest in the creation and curation of music has led to premieres of works for solo bassoon by Akshaya Avril Tucker and Adeliia Faizullina, and she is a prolific arranger of chamber music for winds. LaMoure has performed as a chamber musician at Ravinia, Strathmore, Carnegie Hall and the Grand Teton and Moab Music Festivals, as a soloist with ROCO, Caroga Arts Collective and the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and has coached youth orchestras in the United States, Switzerland, Honduras, Mexico and Brazil. She is also a founding member of the viral chamber-comedy group the Breaking Winds Bassoon Quartet, which has forged a special connection with thousands of young musicians and found broad appeal in venues from Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall to Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture and the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island. LaMoure earned degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University, where she studied with John Hunt and Christopher Millard, and she is an alumna of Eastman’s cutting-edge Institute for Music Leadership. Between performances, she likes to explore her New York City neighborhood on foot and feed her interests in writing and visual art.
Anni Hochhalter, Horn
A maverick French horn player, Anni Hochhalter is a founding member and Executive Director of WindSync. As an award-winning chamber musician, Hochhalter has set a new standard of virtuosic wind performance practice and built a new repertoire for the wind quintet in addition to her experimental craft in non-traditional performance styles and mediums. Hochhalter was the only musician selected for Stanford University’s Executive Program for Social Entrepreneurship in 2017 and has been a featured speaker at Chamber Music America’s National Conference and the MENSA World Gathering to share bold approaches to community building through chamber music. Outside of WindSync, she performs on vocals, electronics and horn with the band Late Aster, praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as a “very cool collision of brass and electronics.” Recent appearances with Late Aster include University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cal Academy’s NightLife LIVE, KXSF 102.5 FM radio, and the Owl Music Parlor in Brooklyn. Hochhalter studied horn at the University of Southern California with leading studio musicians Rick Todd, James Thatcher and Kristy Morrell, with additional summer training at Chautauqua Music Festival with Roger Kaza. Based in San Francisco, she enjoys ultra running and backpacking in her spare time.