Sammi Shea is a Massachusetts-based clarinetist and music educator. She is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she studied clarinet with Romie de Guise-Langlois, and of Longy School of Music at Bard College in Cambridge. During her years as a musician, she has traveled to play in the 2018 edition of the Tournament of Roses parade, the Collegiate Marching Band Festival in Allentown, PA, and the SONAD Project in Marlborough, New Hampshire. Her teaching career began in 2017 with private clarinet lessons, and she is currently an elementary music teacher in the West Springfield Public Schools.

As an educator and musician, Sammi believes that music needs to be accessible for everyone, because no matter who you are, everyone likes music in some capacity. She believes that, even if you can’t play an instrument in a band or sing in a choir, you can experience music and keep it as an integral part of your life. Her long term goals include pursuing a PhD in Music Education and developing an accessible general music curriculum for substantially separate music classes.

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Dr. Timothy Skinner has been teaching and playing professionally for over 10 years. He holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Texas, a Master of Music degree from the University of New Mexico, and a Bachelor of Music degree from California State University in Northridge. After finishing school in 2015, Dr. Skinner won the audition for bass clarinetist of the New Mexico Philharmonic, a position he still holds today. In addition to his time with the NM Phil, he has performed as principal, second, bass, and e-flat clarinet with the Santa Fe Opera, the Dallas Winds, the Santa Fe Symphony, Santa Fe ProMusica, the New Mexico Winds, and the Del Sol String Quartet. International performances include concerts in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, China, and the UK.

Dr. Skinner has held several teaching positions throughout the United States, including as a lecturer at the University of New Mexico. He currently teaches at Westfield State University, the Campus School of Smith College, the Nashua Community Music School, and the Community Music School of Springfield. His favorite non-musical activities include reading books of all kinds, skiing and hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and watching (too many) food and travel videos on YouTube.

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