Artists

Andy Loerch is a founding member of the Fairwinds Quintet. He returned to bassoon playing following a long hiatus, and has been the principal bassoonist in the NOVA Manassas Symphony Orchestra since 1999. He also performs with the Old Bridge Chamber Orchestra, and has appeared with the George Mason University Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and the Manassas Bach Orchestra. He is a performing member of the Friday Morning Music Club and has performed in the FMMC Chorale Orchestra. Andy is a student of Douglas Kehlenbrink. He serves as chair of the publicity committee for the Board of Directors of the NOVA Manassas Symphony Orchestra. In his spare time, Andy is an associate professor in the Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research at George Mason University, holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and is a huge fan of the New York Yankees.

Barry Traylor is a native of California, growing up in the San Francisco area. He attended the University of California, Irvine, where he studied music, math and computer science. While in the Los Angeles area, he studied oboe with Bill Criss and bassoon with Kay Brightman. Moving to the Philadelphia, PA area in 1984, he studied oboe with Peter Smith and bassoon with Shirley Curtiss. He moved to the Washington, D.C. area in February, 2005. Musically active wherever he has lived, he has played innumerable orchestral works, chamber music pieces, operas and operettas, including nearly all of the Gilbert & Sullivan repertoire, having a particular fondness for playing in large choral pieces and small woodwind ensembles. Barry is currently principal oboist of the NOVA Manassas Symphony Orchestra and occasionally fills in as an oboist, English horn player and bassoonist in various Washington area orchestras and chamber groups; and is a performing member of the Friday Morning Music Club of Washington, DC. He has taught both oboe and bassoon. In his day job, he writes operating systems, networking, and other systems-related code; and in ancient times, participated in the POSIX real time standards subcommittee and was one of the primary kernel architects of the Unisys A/NX/CS series MCP operating system.

Alisha Coleman is a member of the NOVA Manassas Symphony Orchestra, the 257th Army National Guard Band of Washington, DC, and the newly formed American Studio Orchestra in Baltimore. Alisha is a former Principal Clarinetist with the Washington Symphony Orchestra and has shared the stage with country artist Charlie Daniels, and gospel artists BeBe Winans, Richard Smallwood and Vicki Winans. She was also Principal Clarinet and Soloist with NVCC-Annandale Symphony Orchestra and Founder and Artistic Director of the Annandale Chamber Players. Her freelance credits include appearances with the Soulful Symphony with Darin Atwater, the McLean Orchestra with Colonel Arnald Gabriel, the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra, and the American Wind Orchestra with the late Frederick Fennell. Alisha holds the Bachelor of Music degree from James Madison University with an emphasis in Music Industry. Alisha’s teachers have included S. James Kurtz, Les Nicholas and Sidney Forrest. She was also selected for a master class with Larry Combs, former principal clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. When not fulfilling her musical pursuits, Alisha works as a program coordinator for Military OneSource Center.

Christopher Short joined the Fairwinds Quintet in 2010. He has been an active performer and teacher in the DC area since 2004. In addition to the Fairwinds Quintet, Chris currently plays with the NOVA Manassas Symphony Orchestra, Prince William Symphony Orchestra, Prince William Symphony Orchestra Brass and Wind Quintets, and the Capital Wind Symphony. He is the music teacher at Baldwin Elementary School in Manassas. A native of southeastern Michigan, Chris holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Penn State University, and a Master of Music degree in Horn Performance from Michigan State University. He lives in Haymarket with his wife Natalie, and son Liam.