Dr. Ronald L. Caravan, Professor of Clarinet and Saxophone, Syracuse University
  Dr. Caravan earned the Performer’s Certificate on clarinet from the Eastman School of Music, as well as the Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education and Master of Arts in Music Theory. Dr. Caravan has broad experience as a solo and chamber music recitalist as well as a clinician, and he performs with the Syracuse Symphony as a saxophonist and clarinetist. Caravan can be heard on Golden Crest and Dorn Productions, Ethos Recordings, and Innova Recordings. As a composer, Dr. Caravan has several works published for clarinet and saxophone, and is particularly well known for his music and teaching materials dealing with unconventional sound resources on single-reed instruments.



Ed Love, Clarinet and Saxophone Artist/Teacher
 Nebraska Jazz Orchestra Music Director Ed Love is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he received his Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music degrees. In 1972, he was selected for the All-Star Band at the American College Jazz Festival in Washington, D.C.. Currently, Mr. Love teaches instrumental music for Lincoln Public Schools. He joined the Neoclassic Jazz Orchestra (later renamed the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra) as leader of the saxophone section in 1978, just prior to the ensemble’s tour of England and Scotland. Ed was named Music Director of the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra in 1979.  Ed has performed with numerous local and regional bands and orchestras, including the Lincoln and Omaha Symphonies, the Ak-Sar-Ben Orchestra, Opera-Omaha, the Chuck Penington Orchestra, and the Eddy Haddad Orchestra. He has appeared with many jazz greats, including Clark Terry, Doc Severinsen, Don Menza and Henry Mancini and is an often-called-upon jazz clinician, adjudicator, and guest soloist.


Dr. Christy Banks, Assistant Professor of Clarinet and  Saxophone, Millersville University
    Dr. Christy Banks serves as Assistant Chair of the Music Department and teaches clarinet and saxophone as well as curricular offerings in the Music Business & Technologies program.  Prior to her appointment to the Millersville University Music Faculty in 2005, Dr. Banks previously taught clarinet, saxophone, and related music courses at Nebraska Wesleyan University, Concordia University, Doane College, Union College, and Peru State College. She has been a member many professional ensembles such as the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, the Nebraska Symphony Chamber Orchestra, the Third Chair Chamber Players, the Lincoln Municipal Band, and the Huntington Trio. Interested in newly composed music, Dr. Banks is a founding member of Lincoln's New Music Agency and Bent Indigenous, an Alabama-based contemporary music ensemble. She has appeared as a soloist in Germany and Austria, and she can be heard on Living Artist Recordings.  In Pennsylvania Banks has performed with the Harrisburg Symphony, the Lancaster Symphony, the Reading Symphony, and the PA  Sinfonia and has played for shows at the Fulton Opera House and Mount Gretna Theater. Banks received her DMA (2005) and BM (1996) in clarinet from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an MM in clarinet from Florida State University (1998). Her primary clarinet teachers are Diane Cawein Barger, Frank Kowalsky, Eric Ginsberg, and Wesley Reist. In addition, she studied saxophone with Robert Fought and Rebecca Gann, flute with John Bailey, and oboe with Bill McMullen.  Dr. Banks is the Pennsylvania state chair of the International Clarinet Association and the founder of the Millersville University Single Reed Symposium. 




Faith Shiffer, Instructor of Clarinet and Saxophone, Elizabethtown College
    Faith Shiffer graduated Summa cum Laude with a B.M. in Clarinet Performance from Millikin University, Decatur, IL, and a M.M. in Clarinet Performance from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley.  She has performed with various regional theaters throughout Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Montana.  Faith toured Nationally with productions of Sunday In the Park With George, Chicago, and South Pacific.  Locally, she has performed with Harrisburg Symphony, Theatre Harrisburg, Reading Civic Opera, The Buzz Jones Big Band, and Mount Gretna Playhouse.   Faith is currently Adjunct Professor of clarinet and saxophone at Elizabethtown College, and continues to perform throughout Central Pennsylvania.  She also maintains a private teaching practice in Ephrata.