Allison Johnson, violinist; Rebecca Erickson, flutist; Melanie Cross Buckner, vocalist—these young professional musicians are treasures in our midst.  Having recently received their musical degrees, they now teach in Central Georgia and perform throughout the state.

• Allison Johnson won the Macon Symphony Concerto Competition in 1996 while studying with Bruno Eicher. She was a member of the Macon Symphony Youth Orchestra as well as the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra and performed with the ASYO for the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics.  Allison graduated summa cum laude from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance.  She currently resides in Macon, where she teaches violin and performs. Allison studies violin in Atlanta with Cecylia Arzewski.​

• Rebecca Erickson is a graduate of Florida State University where she received the Bachelor of Music degree, specializing in flute performance. She was active in the University Philharmonia and the University Symphony Orchestra.  During her time at Florida State, the orchestra was recorded for the movie, The General.  Rebecca placed 3rd in Florida’s Young Artist Competition for the flute in 2003 and 2004. Currently, Rebecca performs as a soloist in recitals, churches, and weddings.  She also teaches private flute lessons at her home in Macon and directs a flute choir.

• Melanie Cross Buckner is a two-time graduate of Mercer University with a Master’s degree in vocal performance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music.  Mrs. Buckner is both an active singer and a collaborative pianist and has a private studio for voice and piano students in Macon. She also teaches voice at Macon State College and accompanies at Mercer University. She is currently serving as music director at First Baptist Church in Vienna, Ga.  She is a native of Montezuma, Ga.

• Dr. Thomas Bandy, the collaborative pianist, is Assistant Professor of Vocal and Opera Coaching at the University of Oklahoma. He graduated summa cum laude from Furman University with a double major in piano and philosophy.  He finished his doctoral studies in collaborative piano in 2007 at the University of Michigan with Martin Katz, with whom he also studied during work on his Master’s degree.  Dr. Bandy has taught at Oberlin Conservatory and at the Brevard Music Center. During the summer of 2009 he has been the Slavic and English opera coach at the Taos Vocal Institute in Taos, New Mexico.  He is married to the former Rebecca Jackson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Jackson of Warner Robins.

A pioneer of this instrumentation, Brass Roots Trio creates symphonic sounds that melt into sultry jazz, decadent tangos and Baroque brilliance – making three instruments sound like a small orchestra!  Innovative programming, passionate performances, and spontaneity have established Brass Roots Trio as one of the most compelling ensembles of the 21st century.

• Douglas Lundeen, French horn

• Travis Heath, trumpet & flugelhorn

• Rosetta Senkus Bacon, piano

From the New York Times review after his Carnegie Recital Hall debut: “a splendidly played concert in which fine-honed techniques and superior musicianship asserted themselves at every point.”  Mr. Steiner studied violin from the famed American violin pedagogue, Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School and then was selected for a scholarship by the legendary violin master, Nathan Milstein to study with him in Zurich.  Mr. Steiner was a member of the violin faculty at Eastman School of Music for twenty years and today resides and teaches in Atlanta.

Robert Parris is Charles B. Thompson Professor of Music and University Organist of Mercer University, where he was appointed to the faculty in 1979.  He is also Choirmaster and Organist of Christ Church, Macon, the oldest parish and mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, a post he has held since 2004.  

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In 1979, at the beginning of his professional career, he was invited by the late Ruth Plummer to join the long-established Artist Recitals roster of concert organists she guided from her office in Los Angeles.  Since that time, he has established himself as a player and improviser in both historic and modern styles, performing under the sponsorship of churches, colleges and universities, and chapters of the American Guild of Organists.  In 2004 he was a featured performer at the AGO national convention in Los Angeles, appearing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in Walt Disney Hall.