Micah Averbeck

Micah is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison and is in his fourth year of orchestral teaching for the School District of La Crosse. Mr. Averbeck serves as the Orchestra Director at Central High School and conducts both the Sinfonia and Chamber orchestras in addition to teaching private lessons on the violin, viola, cello and bass at both Central High School and Longfellow Middle School. He also serves as the music teacher for students with Cognitive Disabilities at Central High School.

On both the piano and violin, Mr. Averbeck has performed solo works, trios, quartets, and symphonies from local venues to Chicago Symphony Hall. His teachers have included Stanley Nosal, Nancy Nosal, Dr. Allan Dennis (Midwest Youth Artists), Professor Tyrone Greive (UW-Madison), Parry Karp (Pro Arte Quartet), Tatyana Stepanova, Jane Livingston (Carthage College), and Professor Mark Zinger (DePaul University). Mr. Averbeck has accompanied many of his own students during Solo and Ensemble in addition to conduction both orchestras.

Derek Clark

Derek received his Master of Music degree in cello performance from The Pennsylvania State University. Before moving to La Crosse, Mr. Clark, resided in Pittsburgh, PA, where he was an active professional cellist with several area symphony orchestras and ensembles as well as a private teacher. In addition to Mr. Clark's extensive orchestral experience, he has also been an active chamber musician. He has performed with the Youngstown Symphony Quartet and was a founding member of the Vredenburg Trio, which performed throughout the Midwest. Currently Derek is the principal cellist of the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra and is the cello instructor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He also performs with Bluffside Consort and the Crescendo String Quartet and maintains a private studio.

Bass
Troy Birdsong

After graduating from the UW-Eau Claire in 1992 with a Bachelors of Music Education, Troy went to the University of Louisville to pursue a Masters of Music in double bass performance. After completing that degree in 1994, Mr. Birdsong lived in Lexington, KY and was a freelance bassist, performing in such orchestras as the Owensboro (KY) Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Louisville Orchestra and the Lexington Philharmonic. In 1993, Troy received a fellowship to the Aspen Music Festival. He performed in the Round Top Music Festival during the summers of 1994 thru 1996. He began teaching orchestra in the Fayette County Public Schools in Lexington, KY. In 1998, Mr. Birdsong moved to Onalaska where he lives with his wife Sharolyn and their three children. In addition to teaching in the School District of Holmen, Troy is also the principal double bass and Assistant Conductor for the La Crosse Symphony and has performed with the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra and the Rochester Symphony. He also plays jazz gigs with various musicians in the La Crosse area. Mr. Birdsong graduated from Holmen High School in 1986 and is an alumni of the LYSO!

Flute
Carrie Hagedal-Pomplun

Carrie Hagedahl-Pomplun is a flutist, certified music teacher and conductor from the Chicago suburbs. She received her degree from the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in 2008, where she studied flute with Ernestine Whitman. While at the conservatory, Carrie was principal flute of the Lawrence University Symphony Orchestra and the Lawrence University Wind Ensemble. She also directed student ensembles and taught flute lessons through the Lawrence Academy of Music. Currently, Carrie is a freelance flutiest, playing in weddings, social gatherings, and making recordings. She substitutes in local ensembles and plays with the La Crosse Concert Band.

Woodwinds
Jeff Copp

Jeff returns for his 4th year as woodwind coach for the LYSO. He teaches bassoon privately and High School Band at La Crescent MN, as well as Music Ed. courses at Winona State University. His bands consistently rank among the best in our area and he plans to travel to NY in March of 2012 with his 2 concert bands and jazz ensemlbe. Under his direction, the La Crescent band program has grown to 126 strong and Mr. Copp was names La Crecent Public Schools Teacher of the Year in 2010-2011.