Valley Wind Biography

Valley Wind Quintet

Biographies of the Valley Wind Quintet

Lauren Rongo, Flute

Lauren Rongo has a Bachelor of Music degree from Michigan State University (performance/education) and has also attended the Manhattan School of Music. Currently, she is principal flutist with the Germania Orchestra and performs with the Saginaw Eddy Concert Band. She was a flutist with the Midland Symphony Orchestra for 12 years. While living in New York, she was assistant principal flute/piccolo with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and principal flutist with the New York Sinfonia, Brooklyn Philharmonia, Hoffmeister Winds and Musica di Camera. Lauren is an adjunct faculty member at SVSU and has a flute studio in her home. She has performed with her late husband, Tony, in the Eubie Blake Award-winning ensemble Nova Jazz, and as a substitute flutist with the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. Her teachers include Harold Bennett, Alex Murray, Walfrid Kujala (clinic) and Leona Buyse.

Jane Bellen, Oboe

Jane received a M.M. Ed. from the University of Michigan. Oboe teachers have included Herbert Oberlag, Florian Mueller, and Wayne Rapier. Jane has been principal oboe with the Midland Symphony Orchestra, Jane has also performed with the Saginaw Symphony, Plymouth Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Flint Symphony, and the Bach Festival Orchestra in Cass City, Michigan. Jane is Musical Director/Conductor of the Germania Chorus and Orchestra of Saginaw. Also a soprano vocalist, Jane is one of Saginaw's "Three Sopranos." She is a founding member of the Valley Wind Quintet.

Linda Hargett, Clarinet

Linda received a B.M. from the University of Michigan and studied with John Mohler and Deborah Chodacki. Principal clarinet of the Midland Symphony Orchestra since 1982 and a founding member of the Valley Wind Quintet. Linda also performs with the Saginaw Bay Orchestra and the Saginaw Eddy Band. Linda teaches clarinet at SVSU.

William Wollner, French horn

Bill is principal horn of the Midland Symphony. Received a B.M. Ed. from Indiana University and an M.A. in horn performance and conducting from the University of Denver. Horn teachers have included Philip Farkas, Ethel Merker, Richard Moore, and David Whaley. A founding member of the Valley Wind Quintet, Bill has also performed with the Denver Chamber Orchestra, Saginaw Symphony, and the Traverse Symphony Orchestra. Bill is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Saginaw Valley State University.

Thomas Zantow , Bassoon

A librarian at SVSU’s Melvin J. Zahnow Library, Thom received his MLIS and M.M.His from the University of Wisconsin-Milwuakee where he was also a member of the resident Institute of Chamber Music wind quintet,the Halcyon Winds. Influential bassoon teachers included Curtis Eddy, Frank Evans, Assaf Bar-Lev, Sanford Berry, Richard Lottridge and Robert Thompson. Before coming to Michigan Thom performed as a member and freelance bassoonist with orchestras from Duluth, Minnesota to Bangor,Maine. Since arriving in Michigan in 1993 he has performed with numerous regional orchestras, bands, and other ensembles, the most exotic recent performances being part of the back-up orchestras for Joni Mitchell in 2000 and Michael Bolton in 2001, both at the "venue formerly known as Pine Knob." Currently Thom is a full-time member of the bassoon duo TOPAZ, contra-bassoonist with the Midland Symphony, mandolinist and winds player with the Midland-based band Mr. Abbott and bassoonist with the Valley Wind Quintet. He continues to be a frequent free-lance musician with the Saginaw Bay Orchestra, Midland Music Society, Germania Orchestra, and numerous regional community organizations.