The Quintet

Ashley Mendeke is a flutist and piccoloist performing with the West Point Band’s Field Music “Hellcats.” Prior to her current position, she worked as a freelance flutist and instructor in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, and performed as a member of the American Wind Symphony. In 2025, Ashley was a featured performer at the New York Flute Club’s Flute Fair, and received first prize in the 2021 Walfrid Kujala International Piccolo Competition. A passionate educator and collaborator, Ashley is on faculty at the Summer Music in Tuscany festival.

Ashley earned bachelor’s degrees in flute performance and music education at the University of North Texas, where she studied with Mary Karen Clardy and was named the 2010–11 Presser Scholar. Her additional mentors include Bart Feller, Mindy Kaufman, Keith Underwood, and Tanya Witek.

Anna is principal oboe and concertmaster of the West Point Band. Previously, she was the Assistant Professor of oboe at the University of Southern Mississippi. Her involvement in diverse projects includes being signed with EMI Classics as a member of The Planets, a classical fusion ensemble based in the UK. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Jacksonville Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Charleston Symphony, and Sarasota Orchestra, with festival appearances at Aspen, Salzburger Festspiele, the New Texas Festival, and Victoria Bach Festival. An avid chamber musician and educator, Anna has performed and given master classes across North and South America, Europe, and Asia.

A Texas native, Anna earned a Doctor of Music from Florida State University, a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Texas. Her teachers include Eric Ohlsson, Joseph Robinson, John Snow, and Beth Sanders.

Abbey Young is a clarinetist and arts advocate originally from central Pennsylvania, currently performing with the West Point Band. Abbey has performed with the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Texas Festival Orchestra, and the contemporary chamber orchestra Density 512. During her years in Austin, she founded and led the Pure Goodness Music Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to creating empowering musical opportunities for musicians who have experienced long-term homelessness. As the recipient of the Rainwater Innovation Grant for American Music and the Presser Graduate Music Award, she used grant funding to support the collective’s programming — organizing live music festivals, open mic events, and producing a studio album featuring the collective’s musicians.

She earned a Bachelor of Music from Indiana University as a student of Howard Klug, and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Texas at Austin, where she served as teaching assistant to Jonathan Gunn and as an assistant instructor of clarinet.

Nicole Caluori is principal horn of the West Point Band’s Concert Band. She has performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony, and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, and spent summers at Tanglewood Music Center, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Sarasota Music Festival, and the Eastern Music Festival, where she was a concerto competition winner. A passionate chamber musician, she is the horn player in Collective Brass Quintet and has performed with the West Point Woodwind Quintet at the Shalin Liu Performance Center for the Rockport Chamber Music Festival.

A native of Coral Springs, Florida, she earned her Bachelor of Music in horn performance in 2007, studying at Florida State University and Southern Methodist University with William Capps and Gregory Hustis. Outside of music, Nicole enjoys running and an active lifestyle with her husband, Nick — who plays third horn alongside her — and their three children.

Dr. Garrett Brown is a versatile bassoonist comfortable with solo, chamber, and large ensemble playing. He is currently a member of the West Point Band. Prior to this appointment he was a member of the USAF Band of Mid-America outside of Saint Louis, Missouri. Before joining the Air Force, Garrett was a member of the Driftwood Trio with whom he performed throughout the New York metropolitan area; the trio were quarter finalists in the 2020 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. He also regularly performs with the Berks Sinfonietta in Reading, PA.

Garrett earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education with a Performance Certificate at Shenandoah Conservatory, and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Bassoon Performance at SUNY Stony Brook. His primary teachers include Ryan Romine and Frank Morelli. Born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania, Garrett is a graduate of Governor Mifflin High School. He currently resides in New York City. When not practicing or making reeds, he enjoys swimming, trying new coffee shops, and sharing meals with friends.