THE
WOODWIND
PROJECT
About Us
Started in the summer of 2013, The WoodWind Project was created for the purpose of experimentation with a unique combination of classical sounds. The result is a group that can serve the musical needs of almost any special event through the unorthodox yet traditional mix of wind, strings and percussion.
See more about what makes the WoodWind Project special in the bios of its members.
Kate Powell, clarinet
Ms. Powell hails from Chesapeake, VA (go 757!). She attended James Madison University's School of Music under the instruction of Dr. Janice Minor in clarinet. In 2010, Ms. Powell graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Music Industry. She is currently a studio member under Betty Bley of the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Powell is the Chief Happiness Advocate of The Catoctin School of Music where she also teaches. Additionally, she is an active clarinetist in the Northern Virginia region in church services, pit orchestras, symphony orchestras and wind ensembles.
Marc Powell, cello
Mr. Powell comes from Norfolk, VA. He met his wife at James Madison University's School of Music. His teachers have been Dr. Carl Donakowski, professor of cello at JMU, and Janet Kriner, former principal cellist of the Virginia Symphony. Marc received his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education in 2009. He has been a cellist with Symphonicity (Virginia Beach Symphony Orchestra) and the Blue Lake Festival Orchestra.
Mr. Powell currently teaches at the Catoctin School of Music in Leesburg, VA as an instructor for piano, violin, viola, cello, and music theory. He is also the resident music arranger for The WoodWind Project.
Lydia Lewis, percussion
Ms. Lewis is a professional drum set jazz musician who performs around northern Virginia, DC, and MD. She is "a flexible and frequent sidewoman who values a deep pocket above all else and only barrels to the fore when the moment is just right. That, of course, makes her punctilious solos all the more powerful when they do arrive" (Capital Bop).
She has played with many professional artists including Paquito D’Rivera, Kris Funn, Warren Wolfe, Conrad Herwig, Marvin Stamm, Jon Faddis, Sean Jones, Joe Eckert, Chuck Redd, and Harry Watters. Ms. Lewis started playing percussion at the age of 8 and, since then, has taken private lessons from Alphonso Young, Roger Humphries, John Von Olen, Steve Fidyk, and others. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Shenandoah University in December 2008.
Ms. Lewis currently plays with her own groups (jazz trio/quartet/quintet and Groove 11 Funk), Shannon Gunn and the Bullette's (DC's all-female jazz ensemble), and as a freelance percussionist. She keeps busy with gigs, composing, studio recording, musicals, recitals, and teaching lessons.