Aaron Pergram, bassoon

Aaron Pergram, DMA, is an international performing artist specializing in new music of living composers from East and Southeast Asia, particularly works by composers of the Chinese diaspora.

From 2014 to 2019, Pergram served as bassoon professor at Soochow University (苏州大学音乐学院) in Suzhou, PRC. During this period, he built close connections with scholars and creatives within China and abroad. As a continuation of his work in Asia, Pergram’s devotion to expanding contemporary bassoon repertoire is evidenced by the growing number of new works forged by collaborations with East Asian composers. Purposively, bringing prominence to emerging Sinospheric musics is central to his global projects, research, and creative activity.  

As a performer, his musical endeavors have taken him to Vietnam, Brazil, Cambodia, Australia, Thailand, Canada, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mexico, Greece, and much of Mainland China. As a global performer, Pergram has appeared on stage with the Shanghai World Master Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Natchez Opera Festival, and Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, among other ensembles. He has been a featured performer at several notable venues, including the Suzhou Poly Grand Theatre, Jinji Lake Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Shanghai Symphony Hall, Hangzhou Grand Theater, and Music Hall in Cincinnati. 

Fluent in Mandarin, Pergram refined his Chinese studies in the nation’s capital at Beijing Normal University (北京师范大学) and received music degrees from the University of Kansas (BM), Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music (MM), and the University of Oregon (DMA). His prominent teachers include Eric Stomberg, William Ludwig, and Steve Vacchi. Pergram teaches bassoon, world music, and global sound studies at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA.  

Alexander Strader, sheng, clarinet

Alexander Strader enjoys a freelance career performing in multiple musical styles ranging from Western classical music to the traditional and contemporary works of China.

Since 2017 Alexander has helped students discover their enthusiasm for music in Texas public and private schools. His students have gone on to obtain high placements in the Texas Music Educator’s Association (TMEA) All-State auditions, college entrance examinations, and regional military band auditions. Additionally, he has brought his teachings internationally to El Salvador through the Musaid program where he led individual lessons and masterclasses. Recently, he was appointed as an adjunct faculty member at the University of North Texas, leading the Chinese Ensemble there.

On the sheng, Alexander has appeared as a featured soloist in the Soundwaves music festival at Texas A&M Corpus Christi. In addition to performing abroad in China at Shanghai Conservatory of Music and

Huaqiao University, he has had the honor of presenting solos to government officials of the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C.. He is the leader of the Huo Feng Trio an ensemble that arranges Chinese Orchestral music for sheng, zhongruan and pipa. The group has made live appearances both in collaboration with Texas Winds Musical Outreach and at venues throughout Dallas such as the Dallas Arboretum, Nasher Sculpture Center, and Greyson College. In the recording studio, he was part of the Dragon Dream project, an album slated for release in 2026. 

A Master of Music from the University of North Texas Alexander’s primary clarinet teachers are Stephen Girko, John Scott, and Philip Paglialonga. His sheng teachers include Yuxin Mei, Hu Jianbing, and Wang Junping.