About.

AMERICAN SINGLE REED SUMMIT

Established in 2017

The American Single Reed Summit was established in the 2017 by Larkin Sanders, Neal Postma, Kristine Dizon, Stacy Christofakis, Sara Eastwood, Scotty Phillips, and Kevin Vorabout.

Our Goal

Our goal is to establish deeper connections with clarinetists and saxophonists at all levels, creating meaningful musical experiences, and opportunities for future musical generations.

Our Team

Neal Postma
President

Saxophonist and pedagogue Neal Postma holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (MM) and the University of Colorado (BM) and is a currently a DMA Candidate at the University of South Carolina where he serves as a lecturer of Music Appreciation. He is also on the faculty of Winthrop University and Claflin University teaching applied lessons on saxophone and chamber music. As a concert saxophonist Neal has been the featured artist at festivals around the United States. He also has given recitals at universities and various regional, national and international conferences. His primary teachers are Dr. Cliff Leaman, Dr. James Bunte and Tom Myer. Neal is a P. Mauriat and D’Addario Woodwinds endorsing artist performing exclusively on their products. 
 

Kristine Dizon
Artist Coordinator

Kristine Dizon is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Human Sciences at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Lisbon as a recipient of the Fundação para Ciência de Tecnologia. Her primary research focuses on “Portuguese Musical Comedies: The Evolution of Sound and Reality since the 1930s. ​Ms. Dizon was awarded the J. William Fulbright/Camões Institute Scholarship to study clarinet and orchestral conducting at the Escola Superior de Música Artes e Espectáculo. Ms. Dizon received a Master’s degree in Clarinet Performance at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and degrees in European History and Music at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Kristine is an artist for Silverstein Works and Barkley Mouthpieces. Complete Biography

Larkin Sanders
​​Secretary

 Dr. Larkin Sanders is a native of Branson, Missouri and currently lives in Kansas City, Missouri where she works as the Director of Marketing and Community Engagement for the Friends of Chamber Music, maintains a private clarinet studio, and performs with various ensembles. Dr. Sanders is also a Woodwind Method Clinician for D'Addario Woodwinds, for which she frequently gives masterclasses and lectures.  She is also a Selmer Paris Artist and performs on Selmer Présence clarinets in addition to D'Addario Reserve mouthpieces and Reserve Classic reeds.  Most notably, Larkin is the founder, executive-artistic director, and a clarinetist of the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra, a summer music festival in Branson, Missouri. Complete Biography

Anastasia Christofakis
Treasurer
A native New Yorker, Anastasia Christofakis, lives in Washington D.C. and is currently on faculty at Mount St. Mary’s University and the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Piedmont, Italy. Anastasia is a co-founder of the chamber ensemble Meraki, dedicated to using music to promote diversity and social justice. The ensemble plays music heavily rooted in the traditional musical idioms of the composers’ native countries, allowing the musicians to introduce new cultures and histories to audiences through music. Dr. Christofakis is an advocate of new music, believing strongly in the commissioning of new works, and is a member of new music ensemble What is Noise.  
Anastasia received her Doctor of Music degree in Clarinet Performance at Florida State University, her Master’s degree in Clarinet Performance from Roosevelt University and her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from James Madison University. Complete Biography

Kevin Vorabout
Public Relations
Kevin Vorabout is a woodwind specialist who currently resides in Bloomington, Indiana. Vorabout is a avid orchestral and chamber musician. He has performed with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Conway Symphony Orchestra, and participated in the Interharmony International Music Festival as a clarinetist. Vorabout is the tenor saxophonist of the Empyrean Saxophone Quartet, who have advanced to the Division round of the MTNA Chamber Competition. As a doubler, Vorabout has performed with the Indiana University Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance, Cardinal Stage Theatre, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre and has also been brought on as an IU Cinema Artist. Mr. Vorabout received a Master’s degree in Multiple Woodwind Performance at Indiana University and received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Central Arkansas. 

Scotty Phillips
Programming Director
​Described as a “splendid performer … [with] wonderful life and spirit,” and “at once sensitive, nuanced, brash and daring; all depending on the demands of the music,” saxophonist Scotty Phillips has been acclaimed and heard in performance across the United States, Canada, France, and Poland. Mr. Phillips is also an accomplished musician in the popular and jazz styles. He has performed with The Temptations, jazz legends Randy Brecker, Dave Liebman, Conrad Herwig and composer/arranger Jim McNeely. He was also part of the United States delegation sent to Grenoble, France for International Meetings of Young Musicians, being 1 of 6 American musicians selected for the trip. Mr. Phillips also has performed in numerous musicals such as Catch Me If You Can, Urinetown, Little Shop of Horrors, Aida, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Hairspray.

Sara Eastwood
Operations Manager
Sara Eastwood maintains an active career as a recitalist, orchestral musician, and educator. Sara is the Instructor of Clarinet and Saxophone at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and is a Woodwind Method Clinician for D’Addario Woodwinds. She has performed with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Ocala Symphony Orchestra and can be heard on recordings on the Equilibrium and Naxos labels. She has also performed at the World Saxophone Congress, United States Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, and the International Clarinet Association. 
Sara earned her Doctor of Music degree from Florida State University, her Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Clarinet Performance from the University of Michigan. Her teachers include Daniel Gilbert, Fred Ormand, Frank Kowalsky, Deborah Bish, and Jonathan Holden.