Chamber Music al Fresco: Donegal Bay Winds at the Gallery

About the Donegal Bay Winds 

Laura Schipper, flute

Laura grew up listening to music in her house, and looking back, realized it was very influential to her life-long love of music. More recently, she studied with world-renowned flutist Trevor Wye in England during the 2012-2013 academic year, marking one of the most influential musical moments in her life. She played frequently at the Presbyterian church in Ann Arbor during her nursing graduate studies. Music is a secondary career for her, with her full-time career being a nurse (nursing faculty and nurse practitioner). She chose her primary career because she loves helping people and has always been interested in health.

Aaron Wilbert, oboe

A native of Northern Michigan, Dr. Aaron Wilbert joined the faculty of Bradley University as Affiliate Instructor of Oboe in Fall 2019. Dr. Wilbert has an active performing career and was an associate member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago—a training program under the Chicago Symphony Orchestra—during their centennial season. He also performs with many regional orchestras including the Illinois Symphony, Quad City Symphony, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Sinfonia da Camera, Millikin-Decatur Symphony, and Danville Symphony. During the summer of 2022, Wilbert appeared as the acting principal oboe and English horn soloist at the Baroque on Beaver music festival on Beaver Island, MI.

In addition to maintaining a private oboe studio, Dr. Wilbert has taught at Illinois Summer Youth Music and Central Michigan University Summer Music Institute. He regularly coaches’ sectionals for the Youth Music Illinois orchestras in Peoria and has worked with the Illinois Music Education Association All-State ensembles. Dr. Wilbert received his bachelor’s degree in Instrumental Music Education at Central Michigan University and a master’s degree in Oboe Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Oboe Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in May 2020 with a cognate in performance practice. His doctoral document is titled “A Survey of Paris Conservatoire Contest Solos for Oboe from 1942-1957: A Performer’s Guide.” Wilbert’s primary teachers are John Dee and Lindabeth Binkley.

David Yandl, clarinet

David grew up in a rural part of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where live orchestral performances were rare. After years of listening to public radio (which he did voraciously) and browsing mail order instrument catalogs as teenager, Mr. Combs was fixed in his mind as one of the great clarinetists. Following that realization, David studied with Larry Combs of the Chicago Symphony. Currently, David is a freelance musician in Michigan. In addition to orchestral, musical theater, and chamber performances, he is Head of Winds, Brass, and Percussion at Hope College, where he also teaches academic courses in music.

Kurt Civilette, horn

Kurt decided to quit his computer job to continue with music, with a personal call from the graduate school admissions officer encouraging him to make that leap. Kurt played trumpet in the 4th to 6th grade and switched to horn in Middle School. Now, he has contracted orchestra work with five symphonies: Traverse City, Ann Arbor, Midland, South Bend, and Flint.

About the Beaver Island Performing Arts Alliance

Each summer from the last weekend of July through the first weekend of August, the Baroque on Beaver Festival presents world-class orchestral, chamber, and vocal performances on the most remote inhabited island of the Great Lakes. In 2026, the Festival celebrates 25 years of bringing classical music to Beaver Island. Baroque on Beaver is the signature event of the Beaver Island Performing Arts Alliance (BIPAA).