The Toot is fortunate to present some of the best teachers and players in the Early Music world. This year our distinguished faculty includes:

Susan Barton (viol)

Susan leads the Dallas Consort of Viols and is south central regional coordinator for the Viola da Gamba Society of America. A Dallas area player for more than 20 years, she has taught viols (especially beginners) at the Toot since 1986. In real life, she is an editor and writer on the national pages of the United Methodist Reporter, and is a member of the Toot Board of Directors.

Becky Baxter (historical harp)

Ms. Baxter's resume as a professional in the field of early harp includes performances of harp literature from the 12th through 18th centuries on a wide variety of historical harps. Becky has performed at events such as: the National Harp Society Convention, Houston Grand Opera's productions of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo and L'Incoronazione di Poppea (including subsequent broadcasts on NPR), the Boston Early Music Festival, the Round Top Early Music Festival, the Texas Early Music Festival, the Amherst Early Music Festival, and the Historical Harp Society Conference/Workshops.

In addition to her full-time career in church music as Associate Director of music and organist at Clear Lake Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas and as a pedal harp performer and teacher, Ms. Baxter currently serves on the faculty of the Amherst Early Music Festival and the Texas Early Music Festival. Her first recording on the Dorian label is titled O Lux Beata, Renaissance Harp Music (DOR 93193.) She also appears as a guest artist with Chatham Baroque on another Dorian CD, Españoleta (DOR 90284.) Both recordings went up in the shuttle with astronaut Bill McArthur in Fall of 2000.

Tish Berlin (recorder)

Letitia (Tish) Berlin holds a master's degree in early music performance practices from Case Western Reserve University, and she teaches recorder and coaches ensembles in California and at workshops around the country, including the Amherst Early Music Festival, the Oregon Coast Recorder Society Winds and Waves workshop, and the Port Townsend early music workshop. She is the director of the Hidden Valley Recorder Elderhostel (Carmel Valley, CA), and co-director of the 2001 San Francisco Early Music Society Recorder workshop, and the East Bay (CA) Junior Recorder Society. Ms. Berlin is a member of the Farallon Recorder Quartet and has performed as a soloist with the Carmel Bach Festival and the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra as well as other ensembles.

Frances Blaker (recorder)

Frances Blaker earned pedagogy and performance degrees in recorder from the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen. She performs as a soloist and in ensembles including Vermillian Trio and Farallon Recorder Quartet. She is the author of "The Recorder Player's Companion" and the "Opening Measures" column in American Recorder Magazine.

Frances can be heard on the Disc Continuo series of play-along recordings. She has taught at several Fall and Summer Toots and is on the Executive Advisory Board of Amherst Early Music.

James Brown (viol)

James A. Brown, received his degrees in organ performance and choral conducting from the University of Houston, before moving to New York City to pursue studies in viola da gamba and historical musicology. While in New York, Mr. Brown served as musical director for Polyhymnia, a group dedicated to the performance of Medieval and Renaissance sacred repertory.

As gambist, Mr. Brown is a core member of La Follia Austin Baroque, and has performed with the New York Continuo Collective, Texas Early Music Project, Conspirare, Ars Lyrica and Polyhymnia. Mr. Brown has served as faculty and Executive Advisory Board member for Amherst Early Music. As a conductor his primary efforts have been in the choral/orchestral repertoire of the French Baroque, and in the music of Claudio Monteverdi. Mr. Brown is also full time director of Worship and the Arts for First Presbyterian Church, Austin and the Artistic Director of the Saint Cecilia Music Series.

Bruce Brogdon (lute)

Bruce Brogdon studied classical guitar at the University of St. Thomas. His interest in early music led him to take up the lute, and he has studied privately and in masterclasses with Paul O'Dette and Pat O'Brien. Bruce has performed with the Texas Baroque Ensemble, the Green Mountain Consort, the Houston Baroque Ensemble, the Texas Early Music Project, La Follia Austin Baroque, Ars Lyrica Houston (based at University of Houston), and Aquinas, the resident ensemble of the University of St. Thomas.

Bruce leads his own group, Canzonetta, which specializes in plucked string continuo (lutes, guitars, and harp), and features music of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Therese Honey (harps)

Therese Honey has been performing, studying, researching and teaching harp in the Houston area since 1968. She performs early music with the Texas Early Music Project and La Follia Austin Baroque and more, and performs Celtic music at the North Texas Irish Festival, Milwaukee Irish Festival, and more, in addition to nationally broadcast PBS Christmas Specials. She has presented concerts and workshops throughout the United States and Canada. Ms. Honey has published several books of arrangements of Celtic and Early Music for Celtic harp and has recorded 4 solo CDs.

Jan Jackson (recorder)

Jan Jackson, director of Passing Measures (renaissance/medieval music) and Passing Fancies (baroque music), has performed in early music realms for 20 years. She has served on the national boards of directors for the American Recorder Society and its educational committee.

A charter member of the American Recorder Teachers Association and a registered Suzuki instructor, she teaches privately at her studio, The Academie of Recorder Musick, at the Armstrong Music School, and at workshops, including several years at the Fall and Summer Toots. She performs frequently with the Texas Early Music Project and Two Early, a newly formed duo playing Renaissance and Baroque music on period woodwinds.

Danny Johnson (voice and workshop director)

Award-winning director, international performer, and recording artist Daniel Johnson has been the artistic director of the Texas Early Music Project since its inception in 1987. Johnson has performed and toured both as a soloist and ensemble member in such groups as the New York Ensemble for Early Music, Sotto Voce (San Francisco), and Musa Iberica. He can be heard on various recordings for Koch International, Foné Records (Rome), Amherst Festival Productions, and the Texas Early Music Project label.

Johnson was the director of the UT Early Music Ensemble, one of the largest and most active in the U.S., from 1986-2003. In 1998, he was awarded Early Music America's Thomas Binkley Award for university ensemble directors. He is also the recipient of the 1997 Quattelbaum Award at the College of Charleston. Johnson teaches master classes in performance practice and also serves on the faculty, staff, and the Executive Advisory Board of the Amherst Early Music Festival. He has been on the faculty of the Texas Toot since 1994.

Susan Richter (ensemble)

Susan Richter earned a music education degree from North Texas State University (now UNT) and after a brief foray as a junior high band director, turned to the world of information technology to earn a living -- but music remains her life's interest. She played recorder and sang with the Early Music Ensemble of Los Angeles, and was a section leader and Board member of the Choral Society of Southern California (Beverly Hills). She is currently a member of the Wireless Consort (a recorder ensemble based in Dallas/Fort Worth), and of the St. David's Compline Choir and Texas Early Music Project in Austin, Texas. Other musical interests include music leadership at Central Presbyterian Church in Austin, "administrating" the Texas Toot early music workshops, playing clarinet and saxophone in pit orchestras, and playing penny whistle duets with her husband, Win Bent. Susan works as a data modeler for the Texas Education Agency.

Dr. Frank Shirley (recorder)

Dr. Frank Shirley holds a Master of Music degree in musicology from the University of Texas, where as a Ph.D. in mathematics he teaches courses in math for non-math majors. He has performed in early music ensembles in Ithaca NY, Dallas, and Austin, and has taught for several years at the Fall and Summer Toots. He has studied recorder in workshops with Saskia Coolen, Reine-Marie Verhagen, and Aldo Abreu. In addition, Dr. Shirley has performed as a bass chorister in the UT Early Music Ensemble, the Austin Civic Chorus, the Victoria Bach Festival, and the Dallas area Renaissance Polyphony Weekend.

Dale Taylor (winds)

Mr. Taylor worked with Phil Levin Historical Instruments for a number of years and has maintained his own repair shop for years. He has worked in the ARS National Office and has written extensively for musical journals. He has also performed with many groups around the country and has taught at ARS workshops around the US.