Lindsey Smeenk plays clarinet in the Great Lakes Wind Symphony. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in music education and performance from Mansfield University and a Master’s degree in education from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Lindsey teaches elementary general and instrumental music for the Windsor Central School District in Windsor, NY and also performs with the Southern Tier Concert Band out of Endwell, NY. Lindsey is from Conneautville, Pennsylvania and resides in Endicott, New York with her husband, Jason.
Tim Walck completed a music performance degree at Mansfield University in 2007 and immediately began working for Celebrity Cruise Lines. In 2009, Walck returned to Mansfield University and completed a Master’s degree in Education, as well as a certification in Music Education. In 2014, Walck opened a retail wedding and portrait photography storefront in Coudersport, PA. His work has been featured in the PA Wilds publications, The Cleveland Paper, The Potter County Visitor’s Association; and he has also provided service for corporations such as Chevrolet, The Colonial Media Group, Citizens & Northern Bank, and the Pennsylvania Wilds Association. Tim still performs as the leader of a jazz trio, a rhythm & blues group, as a soloist, and now with the Great Lake’s Wind Symphony.
Gabriel Wagaman performs as E-flat soprano clarinetist with the Great Lakes Wind Symphony and maintains an active career as a freelance reed specialist. He currently serves as Director of Bands and Strings at Athens Area High School, a position he has held since 2015. Prior to his current role, Mr. Wagaman taught elementary instrumental music in Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland. During his time in the Washington, D.C. area, he had the privilege of performing as a clarinetist with the University of Maryland Community Band, the Montgomery College Band Directors Band, and the National Concert Band of America. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education and a Bachelor of Clarinet Performance from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania (2009), and a Master of Science in Music Technology from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (2013). Mr. Wagaman formerly served as Principal Clarinetist and Concert Master of the Northern Appalachian Wind Symphony. He is grateful for the support of his wife, Amanda, and their two children, Annora and Jacob.
Marcia began playing the clarinet at the age of six, using an old metal instrument that had been her father’s. Starting in elementary school, through high school, she studied with Charlotte Owen. Marcia was a member of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra. She and her four siblings formed a woodwind quintet which performed throughout the Philadelphia suburbs. Marcia was a music performance major at DePauw University, studying with John Sox. Later she performed in the Riverfront Dinner theater Orchestra and other local orchestras under the direction of Joseph Primavera and Henri Elkan. After a successful career as a research chemist, Marcia has returned to her first love of music performance, studying with Cathryn (Trina) Gross, and playing in the Almost World Famous Wellsboro Town Band, the Mansfield University Wind Ensemble, the Endless Mountains Music Festival Orchestra and now the Great Lakes Wind Symphony.
Asad Ruffin is a Senior Music Education student at Mansfield University, with clarinet as his primary instrument. Asad comes from Painted Post, NY and is in his first year of playing with the Great Lakes Wind Symphony.
Mary Pulanco performs in the Great Lakes Wind Symphony as a member of the Bb Clarinet section. A talented young performer, Mary is a junior clarinet major at Mansfield University. She is a member of the Mansfield University Wind Ensemble and plays in a number of other ensembles. While pursuing her degree in Music Technology, she has taken interest in arranging and composing. After completing her undergraduate work, she plans to pursue a career in sound design.
Mitchell Tellerday is the current Elementary and Vocal Music teacher at Chenango Forks Central School District outside of Binghamton, NY. Mitchell received his Bachelor’s in Music Performance and Music Education from SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music in 2018 and his Master’s in Music Education from Buffalo State University in 2020. Mitchell currently performs with the Southern Tier Concert Band, Binghamton Downtown Singers, Blue Velvet Big Band, and performs regularly with local theater groups and school productions. Mitchell resides in Port Dickinson, NY with his husband Sam, who also teaches music in the Binghamton area.
Mary Jane Vanvestraut is a professional clarinetist and bass clarinetist that grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She earned a degree in Music Business – Management with honors from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. She has studied under Richard MacDowell and Phyllis Crossen-Richardson, and she attended a masterclass with Anthony McGill. Mary Jane (or MJ) serves as the Director of Community and Operations and Clarinet Faculty at The Music School of Delaware, the only state-wide, accredited community music school. She is the bass clarinetist for the Great Lakes Wind Symphony based in Wellsboro, PA, and is a clarinetist for the Northern Appalachian Wind Symphony based in Williamsport, PA, as well as a freelance artist and pit orchestra musician. Over the past 10 years, she has been teaching private clarinet lessons to students from ages 8 to 65 at all levels of playing. Her private instruction experience also includes piano and saxophone.
Christina Rawady holds degrees in Music Education and Clarinet/Bass Clarinet Performance from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and the Rotterdam Conservatory of the Netherlands where she studied bass clarinet with Henri Bok. She has worked as a band director for grades 4-12 as well as Director of Instrumental Music at Alfred State College. Christina plays bass clarinet and Bb soprano clarinet in the GLWS.
Ona Sutton graduated from Mansfield University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and Clarinet/Saxophone Performance. Her primary instrument is the Bass Clarinet with a secondary of Tenor Sax. Originally from Manchester, Pennsylvania, she thanks her high school band director, Timothy Howell, for handing her a contrabass clarinet as a 9th grader and encouraging her ever since (as much as he hates the credit). Ona currently works as a middle school band director and high school color guard instructor for the Elmira City School District in New York. Ona currently plays a variety of harmony clarinets and Bb soprano clarinet for the GLWS.
Lance Welch is a new member to the Great Lakes Wind Symphony in 2025 playing Bb clarinet. Lance received his bachelors in 2018 with a performance degree in saxophone from Mansfield University under the study of Joseph Murphy. He was named a 2016 concerto winner with the Mansfield University orchestra on saxophone, as well as a 2017 MTNA winner for small ensemble at the district level, and the runner up for the regional level with his saxophone quartet. As an active woodwind specialist, Lance resides in the Williamsport area where he is a part of many ensembles in the surrounding area, pit orchestras in the region, as well as assisting with woodwind attention and teaching at Lycoming College.