Leslie Jay has played in venues ranging from Grand Central Terminal and public libraries to Alice Tully, Merkin, Weill, and Town Halls. Her resume includes performances with the Amato Opera, Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra, Concert Pops of Long Island, Dobbs Ferry Opera, New Rochelle Opera, New York Debut Orchestra, and Opera Northeast, among other ensembles, as well as a joint recital in Chengdu, China, with faculty at Sichuan University. Currently she is a member of the Richmond County Orchestra and its affiliate, the Riverside Opera Company, both in Staten Island. Leslie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale. She taught single-reed instruments at Bayside School of Music and Art for four years before accepting an editorial job at Queens College, where she writes about the performing arts. A novice gardener, Leslie is proud of the pesto she makes from homegrown basil and parsley.

Heather O’Gara, a freelance clarinetist based in the NYC metro area, enjoys a varied international career, performing in Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, and most recently Dublin, Ireland, at ClarinetFest 2024. She has appeared with the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, the Staten Island Philharmonic, the New York International Virtuosi Orchestra, the Chelsea Symphony, RTBF Musiq3 Festival Orchestra, and in November 2023 performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the West Islip Symphony Orchestra. She is a co-founder of the clarinet duo The Ember Winds Project and serves on the executive boards of the Plattsburgh Clarinet Choir and the Long Island Festival Orchestra. Heather graduated with degrees in clarinet performance from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in Belgium and a degree in Music Education from Hofstra University in New York.

Larry Seltzer holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Leon Russianoff and Charles Russo. Larry has performed in and around New York with such organizations as the Absolute Ensemble, Broadway Bach Ensemble, Camerata New York, New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, and New England Symphonic Ensemble. In October 2008, he was a member of the chamber orchestra that provided taped and live music for NY.2022, a critically acclaimed Soylent Green-inspired installation at the Guggenheim Museum. Larry plays clarinet and bass clarinet in the Richmond County Orchestra and Riverside Opera Company. An accomplished a cappella vocalist, he has sung in Carnegie Hall and was part of a barbershop quartet that performed the national anthem in Shea Stadium during its last season.

Glenda Torres earned her Bachelor of Music in Instrumental Performance from Unearte (Experimental University of the Arts), Caracas, Venezuela. She played in the Banda Marcial Caracas—the oldest musical group in Venezuela—as well as the Miranda State Symphony Orchestra and the Academic Wind Octet of Caracas. As an educator, Glenda has extensive experience in organizing children’s and youth ensembles, especially bands. She taught and was a wind group facilitator for El Sistema. At the renowned Emil Friedman School, she oversaw all aspects of the clarinet orchestra, including serving as its director, arranger, librarian, manager, and coach, and taught at all levels from kindergarten to graduate study.

Praised as a “star” by the Independent Coast Observer for her performance of Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet on the Gualala Arts Festival Chamber Music Series, Amalie Wyrick-Flax is a member of the New York Women’s Philharmonic, Nu Deco Ensemble, and the Miami City Ballet Orchestra. She has appeared as a guest artist with the New Jersey Symphony, American Symphony, and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestras, and performs regularly with the Florida Grand Opera, Palm Beach Symphony, Sarasota Opera Orchestra, and the Naples Philharmonic.
Amalie has performed in major concert venues throughout the United States, China and Europe, and has collaborated with artists including Peter Serkin, Dawn Upshaw, Benjamin Hochman, and Itzhak Perlman. In May 2014, she appeared as a soloist with the American Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leon Botstein.