The Musicians

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Flutist Peggy Greb has been the principal with the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra since its inception 37 years ago, and has been the featured soloist with them many times, including performing the Mozart Flute & Harp Concerto in May 2022. She most recently gave the premiere performance of Robert Schultz's Terraces for flute and orchestra with Edgewood in March 2025.

Peggy is also principal piccoloist for the Pittsburgh Philharmonic, and played with Aeolian Winds of Pittsburgh for over 10 years.

She attended the Chamber Music Conference and Composers Forum of the East for over 30 years and performed in the premier of numerous new works for chamber ensembles.

Peggy is a full-time real-estate agent with RE/MAX Select Realty and mom to 3 kids (and 3 cats).

Hilary Philipp is principal oboist of the Butler County Symphony, a position she has held for over ten years. Ms. Philipp currently serves as principal oboist of Resonance Works Pittsburgh as well as English hornist of the Tri-Cities Opera Orchestra in Binghamton, NY. Also an avid chamber musician, Hilary is delighted to have joined the Pittsburgh-based woodwind quintet Windfluence this fall.

Hilary has performed extensively throughout the United States and abroad. She has played with the Pittsburgh and Erie Chamber Orchestras, the Buffalo and Erie Philharmonics, and the New World, Hartford, Johnstown, Allentown, Westmoreland and Glens Falls Symphony Orchestras. She has also performed with internationally acclaimed artists such as Andrea Bocelli, Arturo Sandoval and Mannheim Steamroller. She spent two summers at the Pierre Monteux school in Maine, performed at the Festival de Inverno de Campos do Jordão in Brazil, and the Bermuda Arts Festival on several occasions. 

Hilary started her musical career on violin at age three, choosing the oboe in the fourth grade when joining her school band. She was fond of a “three little pigs” live action movie starring Billy Crystal as the artistic, oboe-playing third pig and was sold. The oboe was, of course, not an option, but she was determined. At eight years old Hilary began studying oboe with Cheryl Bishkoff in New York and the rest is history. Cheryl remains a mentor and teacher to this day.

By high school she had moved to Erie, PA, where she joined the Erie Jr. Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. She studied with Mark DuBois and Danna Sundet and played her first concerto with the Erie Jr. Philharmonic in 2000. Hilary attended the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA – a school founded by influential French oboist George Longy – where she studied with Wayne Rapier of the Boston Symphony. From there, she earned her Masters degree in oboe performance from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she accepted a graduate assistantship and studied with Fred Cohen. While there, Hilary won the University’s concerto competition twice and the 2008 Boston Woodwind Society Ralph Gomberg Oboe Merit Award. 

A sought-after oboe teacher, Ms. Philipp has been on the faculty of Allegheny College, Mercyhurst University, and Grove City College. Her middle- and high-school students have won state competitions and gone on to prestigious music schools. Passionate about education, Hilary spent two years in AmeriCorps (the domestic version of the Peace Corps) working in the Erie, PA city school district. You may even have seen Hilary introducing audiences to the oboe in “Musical Minutes” aired on local PBS stations.

Hilary currently lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and two children. When not making oboe reeds, she likes to make other things; she likes to paint, sew, knit and crochet. 

Clarinetist Kira Bokalders maintains a dynamic music career playing with some of the Pittsburgh Tri-State region's finest ensembles, including the Pittsburgh SRagtime Orchestra with acclaimed jazz pianist Tom Roberts. 

In addition to performing, Kira maintains an active private teaching studio in the Pittsburgh region.  Her students have gone on to win chairs in the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, PMEA Regional and All-State bands, and also enter into a number of prestigious performing arts secondary schools and colleges.  

She has studied with Michael Rusinek and Thomas Thompson, of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Mitchell Estrin, at the University of Florida; Theodore Oien, formerly of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Ferdinand Steiner, of the Mozarteum Orchester in Salzburg, Austria; and Phil Shapiro, formerly of the Miami Symphony.

Originally from South Florida, Kira is a proud Florida Gator who enjoys running, traveling, seeing movies, and spending time with her husband, clarinetist Ryan Leonard and their cat Tinks.

Imymphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Canton Symphony Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Opera, and Wheeling Symphony.  Since graduating from Carnegie Mellon University with an M.M. in Performance, she has participated in the Pierre Monteux School, Aspen Music Festival, and most recently Opera Steamboat in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Always looking to push the boundaries with eclectic and creative engagements, Kira has performed in a number of progressive, immersive stage productions, including Candide and Ainadamar with Quantum Theatre and several productions of Bricolage's Midnight Radio. Her latest project is performing in the  

Allegheny City Ragtime Orchestra with acclaimed jazz pianist Tom Roberts. 

In addition to performing, Kira maintains an active private teaching studio in the Pittsburgh region.  Her students have gone on to win chairs in the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, PMEA Regional and All-State bands, and also enter into a number of prestigious performing arts secondary schools and colleges.  

She has studied with Michael Rusinek and Thomas Thompson, of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Mitchell Estrin, at the University of Florida; Theodore Oien, formerly of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Ferdinand Steiner, of the Mozarteum Orchester in Salzburg, Austria; and Phil Shapiro, formerly of the Miami Symphony.

Originally from South Florida, Kira is a proud Florida Gator who enjoys running, traveling, seeing movies, and spending time with her husband, clarinetist Ryan Leonard and their cat Tinks. 

Image provided by Alisa Garin Photography.

 Steve Ehrin is a freelance musician in the western Pennsylvania area. He is a member of the Butler County and Johnstown Symphony Orchestras and has played with many of the other regional symphony orchestras in the area. In addition to his orchestral work, he is an active chamber musician as the bassoonist with the Bel Suono Ensemble in addition to Windfluence. Steve is a graduate of the Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University. Besides his work as a performance artist, he is a dedicated professional musical instrument repair technician specializing in woodwind and brass instruments. 

  Originally from western New York, Deborah Jenness is a dynamic performer and educator in the Pittsburgh region, where she calls home. She has performed extensively in the area with groups such as the Wheeling Symphony, Youngstown Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Orchestra, Pittsburgh Chamber Orchestra, River City Brass Band, Butler County Symphony, Westmoreland Symphony, Academy Chamber Orchestra, and Resonance Works. Deborah has also shared the stage with renowned artists, including Dee Snider, Andrea Bocelli, Yo-Yo Ma, Celtic Woman, Kenny Rogers, and Sutton Foster.

Deborah is especially passionate about chamber music. She is active with two Pittsburgh-based ensembles, Windfluence and The Brass Roots. She can also be heard on Aeolian Winds’ “Holiday Classics'' album.

Deborah has attended the Pierre Monteux School, The Bowdoin International Music Festival, and the National Music Festival, where she performed the Corno Obligatto part for Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. She holds degrees from Youngstown State University and Carnegie Mellon University, where she studied under Bill Slocum and Stephen Kostyniak, respectively.