Player Profiles

 Jeanyi Kim, violinist, is the Concertmaster of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra and Assistant Concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.  She has served as a Guest Assistant Concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis and Valery Gergiev.  As an orchestral musician, the Toronto native has performed in illustrious venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, the Barbican Centre, Salle Pleyel, and the Concertgebouw.  Recent solo appearances include performances with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, and Beloit-Janesville Symphony Orchestra. 

An enthusiastic chamber musician, Kim is a founding member of the Philomusica Quartet, and as a member of Quintessence, she has been a featured artist in the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago.  Kim has performed in numerous international music festivals throughout North and South America and Europe.  Dedicated to teaching, she and her husband, Alexander Mandl, have been faculty members at the Eleazar de Carvalho International Music Festival in Brazil and the Elm City ChamberFest.  In addition to maintaining a private studio, she has served on the faculties at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, University of New Haven, and Neighborhood Music School, to name a few.  Her major teachers include Erick Friedman, Berl Senofsky, Kyung Yu, and Rebecca Henry.  Other important influences include Sidney Harth, Aldo and Elizabeth Parisot, Tokyo String Quartet, and Peabody Trio.  During her time at Yale, she was the recipient of the Yale Bach Society Award, Friends of Music at Yale prize, and the Stuart Walker Memorial Scholarship.  She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Yale University, from which she also earned her BA, MM, and MMA degrees. 


 Beth Giacobassi, bassoon, became the Principal Bassoonist of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra in 2001.  She is also on faculty at the UW-Milwaukee, and has played with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra since 1982.  Each summer she has been the bassoonist for the Washington Island Chamber Music Festival since 1994. Ms. Giacobassi received her Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Michigan in 1982. She has performed in the Rome Festival Orchestra, the Colorado Music Festival, Bedford Springs Music Festival, the Ohio Light Opera Company, and the Berea Summer Theater. She has also been on the faculty of Alverno College and UW-Parkside. She has appeared as a soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony, UWM Wind Ensemble, the University of Michigan Philharmonic and Wind Ensemble, UW-Parkside, and the Tahlia Chamber Music Concerts. She won the University of Michigan Concerto Competition and the Green Bay Young Artists Concerto competition. She is active in the MSO ACE program, works with the Milwaukee Youth Symphony, and teaches privately in her home. She has recently completed 2 new DVD’s: Bassoon Reed Making and Bassoon Fundamentals which is being sold nationwide. She is married to Michael Giacobassi, chair of the second violin section of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra. They have 3 children: Mario, Dante, and Gina.

 Michael Giacobassi, violinist, grew up in Muskegon Michigan and began studying the violin at age 9. He received his Music Degree from Michigan State University where he studied with Walter Verdehr. He joined the Milwaukee Symphony in 1974, and became a member of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra in 1975. Mr. Giacobassi has appeared in recital at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and is a member of the Washington Island Chamber Music Festival. He was a soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony in statewide performances of Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4 (Lucas Foss, conductor), Vivaldi’s Spring in April 2005, and has performed Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 2 with the MCO. In addition to orchestral playing, Mr. Giacobassi teaches aspiring young musicians and coaches violinists in the Milwaukee Youth Symphony. 

William Helmers, clarinet, has been a member of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra since 1980. Mr. Helmers also performs with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Present Music, and as a guest artist with several other Midwestern ensembles and orchestras.  In summers, he has been a member of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, the Washington Island Chamber Music Festival, the Colorado Music Festival, and the Token Creek Festival. He has been a clinician and recitalist at colleges and universities around the country. Mr. Helmers is active in the performance and recording of new music; he gave the North American premiere of John Adams' clarinet concerto Gnarly Buttons in 1997, and the world premiere of James Grant’s Concerto for Bass Clarinet in 2004. Mr. Helmers has performed internationally, including appearances at music festivals in Japan, Korea, Turkey, France, China, and Canada. Currently, he is working on the first complete American recording of the cycle of quintets by Anton Reicha with the famed Westwood Wind Quintet.

 Stefanie Jacob, pianist, made her solo debut with the Boston Pops at age 17 and her Carnegie Recital Hall debut in 1984. An avid chamber musician, she is a founding member of the Wisconsin Conservatory's resident Prometheus Trio. Ms Jacob was twice awarded second prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and was awarded Indiana University's Leo Weiner Prize for Chamber Music. She has performed as soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony, the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, and the Waukesha Symphony, and  has  appeared as a collaborating artist on Milwaukee's Artist Series at the Pabst and WFMT-Chicago's nationally broadcast Dame Myra Hess Series. Ms. Jacob has recorded for the Arundax, CRI, Fleur de Son, and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music labels. A graduate of Harvard and Indiana Universities, she taught at the University of Tampa from 1985 to 1987, and since then at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. In addition to her work with the Prometheus Trio, Ms. Jacob also performs as the Duo Coriolan with her cellist husband Scott Tisdel, and as the Duo Cosi with violinist Susan Waterbury.

Catherine Garrett McGinn, Double Bass, is the principal bass player with the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra.  Ms. McGinn also plays with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Great Lakes Baroque.  She has also appeared at the Washington Island Music Festival, Flint Symphony Orchestra, Canary Island Opera Orchestra, and the Peninsula Music Festival.  She received her BA in Music Performance from the University of Michigan, studying with Lawrence Hurst.  She also studied privately with Edwin Barker, the principal bassist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  Ms. McGinn is an instructor at Northwestern University, an adjunct professor at Cardinal Stritch University, an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and a Lecturer in Music at Lawrence University.









 Dennis Najoom, trumpet, is the Principal Trumpet of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra.  He has also served as Co-principal Trumpet of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Pops Principal under Doc Severinson, backing up many major jazz and pop artists.  In addition, he performs as extra with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and is Adjunct Professor of Trumpet at Wisconsin Lutheran College.  Throughout his career he has been active as a soloist, performing with many ensembles and symphony orchestras, including duo performances with Doc Severinson and Marvin Stamm.  His recordings include over twenty albums with various ensembles.  Mr. Najoom is currently the Adjunct Professor of Trumpet at Wisconsin Lutheran College.  He has taught trumpet at Lawrence University, the University of Wisconsin Parkside, the Julius Hartt School of Music, and has given master classes at Tanglewood, Oberlin, Eastman, Manhattan, and many other prominent music schools.  Among his former students are the Principal Trumpets of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Philharmonique De Montevideo, the Toluca Symphony Orchestra and US Navy Band in Washington, D.C.

Dennis Najoom was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and began his trumpet studies at age nine.  He attended the University of Hartfordís Hartt College of Music where he was Principal Trumpet in the orchestra and wind ensemble.  While still in college he was awarded a position in the Tanglewood Summer Music Festival Fellowship Orchestra for two years and began performing with the Hartford Symphony.  Mr. Najoom studied with many of the worldís great trumpet teachers and performers including Robert Nagel, Roger Voisin, Armando Ghitalla, Seymour Rosenfeld, Arnold Jacobs, Mel Broils, Roger Murtha and Ronald Kutik.


 Judith Ormond, flute, has been prinicipal flutist with the MCO since the early ‘90s and Milwaukee Symphony piccoloist since 1981.  Her career with the MSO includes solo appearances on both piccolo and flute with the MSO and flute soloist with the MCO on several occasions.  As a member the former Bach Babes, Ms. Ormond is featured on a recording of a Telemann Flute and Oboe Concerto.  Ms. Ormond’s career on piccolo began with her piccolo position with Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina:  a position she held for four years, until becoming principal flute with that orchestra.  Prior to coming to Milwaukee, Ms. Ormond was second flutist in both the North Carolina  and  Oregon Symphonies.  She studied with Maurice Sharp and William Hebert in Cleveland, John Wummer at Mannes College of Music in New York (BS degree)  and Britton Johnson at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore (MM degree).  She has also participated in master classes with Marcel Moyse, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Harvey Sollberger.  Ms. Ormond has held numerous teaching positions, enjoys giving talks about the orchestra and for a number of years, she wrote a column for the MSO program book on the lives of musicians.  In her spare time, Ms. Ormond participates in running races and triathlons and is presently training for Ironman Wisconsin.  She is also working towards certification to be a personal trainer.


 Scott Tisdel, cellist, is the Principal Cellist of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra and has also served as the Associate Principal Cellist of the Milwaukee Symphony since his arrival in Milwaukee in 1987.  He has  appeared as soloist with both ensembles, as well as with the Waukesha Symphony and the Wisconsin Wind Orchestra. Prior to his arrival in Milwaukee, Mr. Tisdel served as Principal Cellist of the Florida Orchestra in Tampa and was a member of both the Oakland and San Jose Symphony Orchestras in California. The founding cellist of the Wisconsin Conservatory's resident Prometheus Trio, he was also a founding member of the Conservatory's Paganini Trio and of the Strings in the Mountains Chamber Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Mr. Tisdel has recorded for Arundax, CRI, Fleur de Son, the Wisconsin Conservatory, and Oris Records. He performs with the Jason Seed Elixir Ensemble and is a regular participant at the Washington Island Music Festival.



 Thomas Wetzel, percussionist, was born and grew up in Pittsburgh Pa.  Active in music since a child, his life of performing music started early with singing in the boys’ choir at church. This quickly led to studying piano, but it was the high school years that led to his interest in percussion as his main area of focus.  Fortunate enough to participate in a very active band program at high school, music school was the obvious choice to pursue.  Thomas went on to advanced studies at Carnegie-Mellon University and then Manhattan School of Music. From there on, he has had a very busy professional career.  A member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra since the 70’s, Thomas has also been a member of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, The National Orchestral Association, The Gran Teton Music Festival Orchestra, and the Cassals Festival Symphony Orchestra.

Martin Woltman, oboe, is the principal oboist with the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra.  He has also been the assistant principal oboist and English hornist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra since 1972 and has been featured as a soloist on numerous occasions.  He has performed oboe solos with the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfonica National in the Dominican Republic, the Festivale Musicale de Salerno (Italy), and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.  Woltman is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia. He also performed regularly as English hornist in New York with the American Symphony Orchestra under the late Leopold Stokowski.