The fifth concert of the 23rd anniversary season of the Manteca Kindred Arts Association features the Stanford Woodwind Quintet on Sunday, March 21, at 3 p.m. at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.

Admission is by season ticket or $15 per adult or $5 for those under 18. Tickets are available at the door.

The faculty ensemble is from Stanford University. It features Alexandra Hawley, James Matheson, Mark Brandenburg, Rufus Oliver, and Lawrence Ragent.

The group includes principal musicians with both the San Francisco and San Jose Opera orchestras.

Hawley was the first woman wind player admitted to both the Juilliard School of Music and to the New York Philharmonic. After completing her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees at Stanford University, she lived in Europe for several years, performing in recital and on radio. She made her professional debut in the Concertgebouw Recital Hall in Amsterdam, followed by her New York debut in Carnegie Recital Hall. Since then she has performed throughout the United States as a soloist and in chamber music ensembles.
Hawley was a member of the National Flute Association delegation to the Soviet Union in 1989 and has been invited to perform at the National Flute Conventions in Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego, Kansas City and Las Vegas.

Matheson held the position of principal aboe with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra 1962 until 2006. In addition he was a member of the San Francisco Symphony from 1962-1980. Previous to that he was principal oboe in the Portland Symphony and toured with the Boston Pops under Arthur Fiedler. Matheson has a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from San Francisco State University.

Brandenburg received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Juilliard School of Music. A former member of the San Francisco Symphony and the San Jose Symphony, he is currently principal clarinet in the Opera San Jose Orchestra and the Midsummer Mozart Festival Orchestra. In addition,

Ragent, hornist, received his musical training at the New England Conservatory where he graduated with honors. He is a member of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. He has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and the Boston Symphony.

Olivier has held the principal bassoon position in the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and San Francisco Ballet Orchestra since 1980. At the age of eighteen Olivier was selected to perform a concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and later went on to play with that same orchestra. In 1977 he won a position with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra under Neville Mariner, and the same month joined the San Francisco Symphony. Olivier performs frequently as a soloist and as a member of the Midsummer Mozart Festival Orchestra and principal bassoonist of the Grand Teton Music Festival.