Meet the Ensemble

Sam Clark — Piccolo & Flutes

Sam first picked up a flute in 6th grade in her hometown of Farmington Hills, Michigan. After initially throwing it against a wall (true story!) she hasn’t put it or its successors down for more than a few months at a time since. She earned her Bachelor of Music Performance from Alma College and says, “I then went on to get a Master of Business Administration just to keep things real.”

Having been a counselor at Interlochen Arts Camp for several years, Sam moved to Traverse City permanently in 1981. Upon arrival, she immediately joined what was then the Benzie Symphonette (now the Benzie Area Symphony Orchestra), under the direction of Julia Kurtyka, and the NMC Concert Band. Since then she has performed with many other local organizations, including the Traverse Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera, Leelanau County Players, Northport Community Band, and the West Side Winds.

Sam has been active at the Old Town Playhouse in Traverse City for over 30 years. In that time, she has worn many hats having served on its Artistic Board, worked as Music Director for 18 musicals and counting, played flute and saxophone in countless pit orchestras, and has even made appearances onstage! A founding board member of Encore Symphonic Winds, Sam performed faithfully with the ensemble as principal flutist for many years.

In her spare time, Sam volunteers with local environmental organizations such as the The Watershed Center for Grand Traverse Bay. She especially loves skiing, camping, kayaking, sailing, biking, hiking and traveling with her partner, Bill, and their super-human dog. “In addition to its rich arts environment,” she says, “I’m grateful for the woods, waters, and winds of northwestern lower Michigan.”

Jason McKinney — Oboe, English Horn, Saxophone, Lever Harp & Piano

Jason knew he wanted to be a musician the first time he passed by an unattended piano as a toddler. From those first clusters of notes splattered with his palms began a lifelong passion for learning, practicing, and sharing music — a journey that has taken him from his hometown of Springfield, Louisiana, all the way to Chicago and now Northwest Michigan.

Originally a saxophonist, Jason began studying oboe in his junior year after being inspired by the oboist who sat in front of him in a band concert. “I had never seen an oboe before, so I wasn’t sure what I was hearing; I just knew I had to play that instrument. I wish I could say my first attempts were magical, but I actually gave up twice before committing to it,” he says. He went on to study oboe at Southeastern Louisiana University where he eventually served as principal oboist with both the Wind Symphony and Chamber Orchestra. He earned his Bachelor of Music Performance having studied with Earnest Harrison, Lisa McCullough, and Mary Young.

Upon completion of his bachelor’s degree, he was accepted to pursue Musicology studies at the Chicago Conservatory of Performing Arts. This prompted him to move to Chicago, but due to financial difficulties and a change of heart, he withdrew. “I knew music would always be an important part of my life, but I no longer felt drawn to a career in music,” he says. No longer a student, he put his Type A skills to work and became a bookkeeper. No longer an oboist, he began finding other ways to share music and find that necessary musical outlet: as a church accompanist, a choir director, and as a composer/arranger.

He began independently studying lever harp in 2010. “Buying a harp without ever having touched a single harp string is probably one of the most spontaneous things I’ve ever done,” he says, “I had no idea whether or not I would enjoy playing, but I knew I had to try.” With a few lessons and guidance from Annette Bjorling, he was on his way.

Finally, after more than eight years apart, he found an opportunity to return to the oboe in 2012. The happy reunion has continued: in addition to his work with Manitou Winds, he serves as principal oboist with the Northwestern Michigan College Concert Band and the Benzie Area Symphony Orchestra, performs regularly with the Sault Symphony Orchestra (Ontario), and occasionally collaborates with Encore Symphonic Winds and the Old Town Playhouse pit orchestra.

Jeanmarie Riccobono — Clarinets

Jeanmarie grew up in Fox River Grove, Illinois, northwest of Chicago. Her musical exploration began at the piano bench. But the siren song of her sister’s clarinet proved impossible to resist—besides, it was bound to happen with a spare clarinet in the closet! By fourth grade, she had joined her elementary school’s band, where she enjoyed making music with friends.

After graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy, she earned performance degrees from Northwestern University and the Eastman School of Music, including the prestigious Performer’s Certificate. She pursued further musical study at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s chamber music program.

Disillusionment with the music industry briefly led her to pursue a real estate career. “I actually quit clarinet for nine months,” Jeanmarie remembers. “Selling houses didn’t quite pan out as expected, so I picked up the clarinet again.” That reunion put her on a path to a national solo competition, and in 1996 she took grand prize at the Boosey & Hawkes/Buffet North American Clarinet Competition and performed a solo recital at the Musicora Festival of the Paris Conservatory.

Throughout her career, she has performed with many orchestras, including the Detroit Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Grand Rapids Symphony, and Jacksonville Symphony, and has participated in the Spoleto, Aspen, Sarasota, and Chautauqua music festivals. She is a former principal clarinetist of the Traverse Symphony Orchestra.

These days, Jeanmarie remains an in-demand clarinetist while enjoying her work as an instructor and clinician. She has been on faculty at the Interlochen Arts Academy, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and Interlochen Arts Camp. She has spent several summers as Artist Faculty at the Bay View Music Festival and returns there frequently as a performer. Currently, she serves as Adjunct Clarinet Instructor at Northwestern Michigan College while teaching from her private studio and at numerous Grand Traverse area schools.

When not performing or teaching, she enjoys biking and walking, creating home-cooked meals, reading classic novels, and training her dogs. She lives in Traverse City with her husband, Tom (a conductor and fellow musician), and their three children, four chickens, and two Golden Retrievers.

Laura Hood — Horn & Guitar

Laura grew up in Grand Haven, Michigan. She earned her Bachelor of Horn Performance with a minor in guitar from Michigan State University.

Following several years of world travel and living in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, she and her husband, Bruce, moved to Northwest Michigan to teach at the Leelanau School in Glen Arbor. Now a member of the faculty for over 30 years, she continues to teach guitar, jazz band, outdoor education, and senior leadership to eager students.

Laura and her family live in an intentional community on a large farm in Leelanau County where over the years they have raised horses, a dairy cow, chickens, pigs, and of course a very large garden. Her son, Ian, graduated from NMU in Marquette with a degree in chemistry. Her daughter, Jessie, is currently pursuing a degree in Equine Therapy at Findlay University.

In addition to performing with and sharing her compositions with Manitou Winds, Laura serves as principal horn with the Benzie Area Symphony Orchestra and performs frequently with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra.

Lauren Murphy — Bassoon

Lauren spent her childhood in rural Missouri. When she wasn’t reading a library book, she was in the woods among the dogwoods, mayapples, and countless oak trees. She has lived in Traverse City for about fifteen years now, and marvels every day at the area’s natural beauty.

She began her musical journey by learning to play the clarinet in sixth grade band class and picked up the bassoon just before entering high school. Lauren’s middle school band director thought she might be a good candidate to learn the bassoon after she showed him one her father’s old bassoon reeds (Lauren’s dad played clarinet, bass clarinet, and bassoon in middle school).

After attending band camp for many summers (including one summer at Interlochen Arts Camp!), Lauren realized she wanted to study music in college. She earned bassoon performance degrees from Indiana University and Michigan State University. She has played with orchestras all over Michigan for the past twenty years and is currently principal bassoonist of the Traverse Symphony Orchestra and contrabassoonist of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra.

In 2000, Lauren met her future husband while they were both playing in the pit orchestra of the Ohio Light Opera. Shortly thereafter, she and Nathan were accepted to study at the Michigan State University College of Law. They both earned Juris Doctor degrees in 2006, graduating with honors, and moved to Traverse City after taking the bar exam. Their son Rhys was born in 2009. Lauren and her family now live on about 18 acres in Long Lake Township.

Jan Ross — Reader & Narrator

Jan grew up in downstate Royal Oak, and received her teaching degree from nearby Oakland University. For 25 years she worked in the Troy School District teaching high school English — a career she’s rightfully proud of. “My favorite memories of teaching my students were made while reading aloud to them,” she says. “I still find that big kids enjoy and benefit from being read to as much as the little ones do!”

Jan and her husband, Sam, moved to Lake Ann upon her retirement in 2008. The freedom of retirement allowed Jan to pursue her love of reading aloud by training to be a professional voiceover actor. This exciting training in reading for marketing and audio books gradually led her to pursue even more active performance opportunities.

In 2014, she auditioned for the Glen Arbor Players, discovering something she hadn’t realized: “I’m a big ham. I just love performing!” she says. Owing to the exposure from her performances with GAP, she was invited to join Manitou Winds onstage as a guest reader in 2017. Following a wonderful season of collaborating with our founder to come up with inspiring readings for concert programs, she was thrilled to be invited to become a full member of the ensemble in 2018.

Over the years, Jan and her husband have fostered untold numbers of cats for the Humane Society. Now in northern Michigan, they volunteer and have continued fostering cats and kittens for the AC PAW rescue group.

When she’s not performing readings or herding kittens, Jan performs with the Leelanau Summer Singers in Glen Arbor and the NMC Grand Traverse Chorale and volunteers her time for Interlochen Public Radio pledge drives and Red Dirt Road. Retirement has been a busy, fulfilling time for Jan — she highly recommends it to everyone!

Many Thanks to our Founding Members

Manitou Winds has been playing music together since 2014, each of us sharing our hearts and lives through music, laughter, food, and more. We’d like to honor our founding members who shaped the course of our ensemble through their generosity of time and spirit. They are forever a part of the music we make. Click on their names to read past Manitou-Zine articles about their many contributions and accomplishments as part of our ensemble.

Anne Bara – clarinets (2014 – 2023)

Christina Duperron – bassoon (2014 – 2019)

Photos by Karin Willman of A la Carte Photography.