Since their debut in 1996, The Prairie Winds have captivated audiences throughout the United States with performances that present the finest wind quintet literature in concert programs that entertain as well as enlighten. These musicians blend powerful musical technique with humor and intriguing background information to create what one critic called "a unique approach to the shaping of the concert experience (that) is sure to keep them in demand." (Tryon Daily Bulletin)

The Prairie Winds have performed at a number of celebrated music festivals, including the Ravinia Festival, the Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival, Chamber Music America's Education and Residency Institute, and the Britt Festival in Oregon, where the group served as quintet-in-residence for four years. In 2003, they began an annual residency at the Madeline Island Music Festival in Wisconsin, which offers a chamber music program for collegiate wind players. In addition to their busy touring schedule, the quintet also has an active radio presence: recent broadcasts include full-length concerts for Chicago's WFMT-FM "Live from Studio One" program and for listeners of Minnesota Public Radio.

In 2000, The Prairie Winds teamed with Albany Records to release "Gale Force," a critically acclaimed recording of 20th century wind quintet music by North American composers. The group also has collaborated several times with pianist Ralph Votapek, a Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gold medalist and winner of the Naumburg Award, with whom they performed works for winds and piano by Mozart, Beethoven, and Poulenc.

The members of the quintet-Jonathan Keeble, flute; Jelena Dirks, oboe; Susan Warner, clarinet; David Griffin, horn; and Timothy McGovern, bassoon-pursue active musical careers outside the group, as teachers, touring artists, or members of world-renowned performing ensembles such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra. Each musician is dedicated to musical education, and the Prairie Winds encourage a love of music in tomorrow's audiences with workshops that enhance the traditional concert experience through theater improvisation, movement, and composition.

Jonathan Keeble Biography

A regular on concert series throughout North America, JONATHAN KEEBLE has been described in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle as having an "engaging, vibrant sound." Jonathan is a past winner of the Coleman Chamber Music Competition, and recipient of the prized Eastman School of Music Performer's Certificate. His concerto appearances have taken him to venues in North America, South America and Europe, performing works by Mozart, Nielsen, Bach, Vivaldi, Gordeli, Chaminade, Martin, and Rodrigo.

Jonathan's passion for new music has led him to commission many new works for the flute from rising young composers. He is a popular performer at flute festivals around the world, and has presented these new works at National Flute Association Convention Concerts, as well as at festivals in Ecuador and Sweden. In addition to his active solo and chamber career, Jonathan has enjoyed regular appearances with the Tulsa Philharmonic, the Spokane Symphony and Eugene Symphony.

Jonathan's passion for teaching led to his present position as Visiting Assistant Professor of Flute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has also worked as the Associate Professor of Flute at Oklahoma State University, as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia, and as a teacher at the Eastman School of Music. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University, he includes among his former teachers Bonita Boyd, Walfrid Kujala, and Frances Risdon.

Jonathan and his wife Sue live in Champaign, Illinois, where they spend the bulk of their time performing superhero impressions while chasing their sons Alexander and Bryson.

Jelena Dirks Biography

California native JELENA DIRKS is the third generation of professional women musicians in her family. She has been appointed by Daniel Barenboim to play in the oboe section of the Chicago Symphony for the 2004-2005 season, where she will be sharing the stage with her mother, Chicago Symphony violist Karen Dirks.

Jelena began study of the violin at age three, the piano at age four, and began playing chamber music with her mother at age 10. The following year Jelena’s enthusiasm for music expanded to include the study of the oboe. She has two Bachelors degrees from St Olaf College and two Masters degrees from the University of Michigan: one of each in oboe performance and piano performance.

Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as an "accomplished and virtuosic" performer, she is a two-time winner of the Musical Merit Foundation Scholarship Competition. Ms. Dirks has performed in concert on both the piano and the oboe, in recitals, chamber music concerts, and with orchestras across the United States, and at international venues in China, Canada, and the Lesser Antilles. Her chamber performances with Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians have been praised as "polished, technically superb and beautifully balanced."

Renowned as a pedagogue as well as a performer, she is on the woodwind faculty of the Madeline Island Music Festival, and has given numerous masterclasses, lectures, and coachings, including a weekend in residence at the 2003 Chamber Music of America conference. As the newest member of the Prairie Winds Quintet, Jelena joins one of the premier wind quintets of America.

Susan Warner Biography

Described as "star quality" by the Boston Globe, clarinetist SUSAN WARNER is a member of the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra. She has also performed with other worldclass ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her position at the operahouse, Susan is the principal clarinetist of Concertante di Chicago. She was formerly principal of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and e-flat clarinetist of the Rochester Philharmonic. You have probably already heard the sometimes-jazzy tones of Susan's clarinet on many nationally broadcast television commercials for beverages cooling in your fridge or cleaning products under your sink.

Susan has performed at the acclaimed music festivals of Schleswig-Holstein, Heidelberg Castle, Grand Teton, and Aspen. Invited to participate in the Tanglewood Music Center for two years, Susan was twice awarded with special honors--the Gino B. Cioffi prize, given to the most outstanding woodwind player, and the C.D. Jackson Award for outstanding instrumentalist.

Through the community relations department of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Susan designed a series of arts-integrated workshops that were credited with making a meaningful and lasting impact on hundreds of inner-city school children. While pursuing her master's degree at the Eastman School of Music, she was a founding faculty member of the New Horizons Band--an award-winning program for senior citizen beginning instrumentalists. Susan has been a faculty member at Wheaton College, the Eastman School, Ithaca College, and the University of Rochester.

David Griffin Biography

DAVID GRIFFIN is a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and has served as acting principal of its renowned horn section at the request of Music Director Daniel Barenboim. Immediately upon graduating from Northwestern University in 1987, David launched his career with the Rochester Philharmonic and followed with positions in the orchestras of Montreal and Houston before joining the Chicago Symphony in 1995. He has enjoyed performing in many of the world's major music halls--Vienna Musikverein, Berlin Philharmonie, London Royal Albert Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall, and Orchestra Hall in Chicago--to name a few.

As a soloist, David has performed concerti by Mozart and Richard Strauss, the Saint-Saens Concertpiece, and the Britten Serenade. He has appeared with Chicago Pro Musica, the Allegra Chamber Players, and Les Chambristes de Montreal. In the past David has been a faculty member at McGill University and Northwestern University. He has appeared at the Domaine Forget, Grand Teton, Tanglewood, and Scotia music festivals.

David, his wife Susan Warner, and their son Henry live in Oak Park, Illinois.

Timothy McGovern Biography

The New York Times describes bassoonist TIMOTHY MCGOVERN as "an extraordinary talent with expressive warmth and amazing agility." Currently Professor of Bassoon at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and Principal Bassoonist with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Timothy has performed with a vast number of world class ensembles such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Formerly the Associate Principal Bassoon of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra where he met fellow quintet member David Griffin, Timothy toured with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra across North and South America, Europe, and the Far East. His most noted solo appearance with that orchestra was for a sold-out Carnegie Hall performance of Britten's War Requiem. His solo repertoire also includes concerti by Mozart and Weber, and works by Richard Strauss and Vanhal.

Timothy was the Winner of the Performers of Connecticut Solo Competition which led him to be heard on New York's WQXR "Rising Stars" series. As winner of the East/West Artists Solo Competition, he concertized at Weill Recital Hall, at Carnegie Hall, New York.

Timothy has recorded approximately 30 CD's (including several Grammy and Juno winners) of diverse orchestral and chamber music for London/Decca, Zephyr, Arabesque, Albany, Boston, and the CBC. He studied at Northwestern University and the University of Michigan, and was honored with a Tanglewood Fellowship for two summers.

Timothy McGovern lives in Champaign, Illinois, with his wife, two children, and their golden retriever Sophie. His daughter Caitlin plays the oboe and sings in the Central Illinois Children's Choir. His son James plays baseball and the tuba. His wife Sarah is a high school band director and oboist.