Staff and Artistic Director

Donald Oehler | Leah Peroutka | Julia Thompson

Donald Oehler - Artistic Director

Donald Oehler has drawn high praise as a clarinet soloist, chamber musician, conductor, and educator. He has performed and taught throughout the United States, Central America, Canada, Great Britain, Eastern and Western Europe, and the Middle East.

Mr. Oehler focuses the greatest part of his energies on performing, directing, and teaching chamber music.

Since joining UNC, he has performed regularly with St. Stephen's Chamber Orchestra, the Mallarmé Chamber Players, The Carolina Wind Quintet, and Sonsa.

He has also appeared with numerous string quartets: the Haydn Quartet; Chester Quartet; Ciompi Quartet; the North Carolina String Quartet; and the North Carolina Symphony String Quartet. International chamber performances have included the Bartok Festival in Szombathely, Hungary, and the International Clarinet Festival in Ghent, Belgium. He has been heard on Belgium's BRT I and BRT III and Canada's CBC.

He is founder/director of UNC's University Chamber Players, past director of the UNC New Music Ensemble, and founder/member of the Canadian-US wind octet Q'Appelle Winds. He is also co-director and host of Clarinet Chamberfest, a clarinet chamber music performance workshop. He also serves as director of winds and featured performer for MusicFest in Aberystwyth, Wales, and on the faculty of the Utah State Music Festival.

Mr. Oehler began his career as principal clarinet of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Teheran, Iran, and has studied with Joseph Allard, Bernard Portnoy, and Jack Brymer.

Eager to explore all facets of clarinet performance, he was one of the earliest U.S. clarinetists to become active on classical instruments (including basset clarinet), and continues to perform new literature. He recently gave the world premiere of Peter Lieuwen's Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano and the U.S. premiere of Peter Maxwell Davies' Sonata for Clarinet and Piano.

He has also appeared with the North Carolina Symphony, the Handel and Haydn Society (Boston), Banchetto Musicale (Boston), the 18th Century Players (New York), and Ensemble Courant.

For over twenty-five years, Mr. Oehler has placed a priority on his role as educator. A graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, Professor Oehler joined the University of North Carolina faculty in 1971. He directs Chapel Hill Chamber Music, the Cours International de Musique, and coordinates the UNC Canterbury Christ Church University College exchange program in music. In addition to all his other activities, he has developed a highly respected clarinet studio; has been conductor of both high school bands and youth orchestras; and serves the community as conductor of the Village Orchestra.

Leah Peroutka - Workshop Coordinator

Leah Peroutka is currently in her fifth year as Program Coordinator for the Chapel Hill Chamber Music Workshop and the Introductory Chamber Music Program. For more information on Ms. Peroutka, click here .

Julia Thompson - Workshop Librarian

Julia Thompson holds degrees from UNC-Greensboro (BA-Percussion Performance/Music History) and UNC-Chapel Hill (MS-Library Science). She has performed as a substitute percussionist with the North Carolina Symphony and performs regularly with the North Carolina Opera, New Music Raleigh, Colorado MahlerFest, Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, and Fayetteville Symphony. She has also participated in the Catania International Festival Orchestra, Cloyd Duff Timpani Masterclass, and the Alan Abel Orchestral Percussion Seminar. Ms. Thompson's principal teachers include Scott Pollard and Lynn Glassock.

As a librarian, Ms. Thompson currently serves as the Classics Librarian at UNC-Chapel Hill. She also serves as librarian for the North Carolina Opera. Ms. Thompson has trained as a librarian at various institutions, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York Public Library, North Carolina and New World Symphonies.

Ms. Thompson will pursue an M.M. in Percussion Performance from the University of Cincinnati-Conservatory of Music in Fall 2011. In her spare time, Ms. Thompson is a professional beer aficionado and amateur home brewer, and regularly teaches classes in beer styles and parings. She also enjoys yoga, travel, outdoor activities, foreign languages, and occasionally moonlighting as a bartender.