BARRON BESHOAR
Barron Beshoar took up the guitar in his freshman year at Colorado College in 1970. He played harmonica and sang in blues rock bands. In spite of these distractions he earned a BA in English in 1975 and went on to study medieval literature at the University of Virginia. Like many alumni of graduate English programs, he ended up as a systems manager for a large corporation. In the 80’s he played with several well-regarded but obscure Denver area rock bands, writing and arranging much of their material. Currently he plays lead guitar and sings in The Hot Club of Boulder, a gypsy swing quintet. In August 2005 he produced and performed in the First Longmont Swing Festival, then the largest gypsy swing event between New York and San Francisco. On sunny weekend afternoons he plays clawhammer banjo, to the great amusement of his dogs.

ALLEN BORNSTEIN
Originally from Virginia, Allen Bornstein studied pharmacy in Florida and practiced there until 1987, when he moved to Boulder and became a staff pharmacist at the Children’s Hospital in Denver. His hobbies are woodcarving and the jazz saxophone, which he took up relatively late in life. Allen is a volunteer at jazz station KUVO in Denver, plays in the Boulder Big Band and attends as many jazz workshops, festivals and concerts as he can fit into his busy schedule.

FRANK CISKOVSKY
Frank came to Longmont from Minneapolis 22 years ago and has managed an independent auto repair shop for over 20 years. He is an avid hiker and outdoorsman. Although he does not consider himself a musician, he owns a violin and a saxophone and is a jazz enthusiast. For more than six years he has been a volunteer at Denver jazz station KUVO. Frank joined the LJA board in September, 2006.

CHUCK CULLIAN
Chuck Cullian has been involved with the Longmont Jazz Association since its inception and is a past president. He was also president of the now defunct Longmont Jazz Club and is a board member of the Boulder Friends of Jazz. Originally from California, he received his BS in Physics and MA in Engineering from UCLA. He is retired from the aerospace/defense industry, where he was involved in marketing and new business development. A musician since the age of ten, Chuck plays several instruments, including saxophone, guitar and piano. About a decade ago his musical interests turned to jazz. He currently plays in the Boulder Big Band and leads his own combo, “EnerJazz.”

BILL FAIRCHILD
Bill Fairchild is a past president of the association and currently serves as Secretary. He became a jazz fan in junior high school, although Mexican folk music was his primary musical interest for many years. He took up the study of jazz piano about 15 years ago. Originally from New Jersey, Bill received a degree in geology from the University of Missouri-Rolla, served three years as an Army helicopter pilot, then returned to graduate school at UC Berkeley for an M.A. in paleontology. After working 12 years in exploration research for major oil companies, he resigned to form a consulting firm from which he is retired. His interest in jazz history led him to present Elderhostel programs on that subject at a mountain resort near Taos, New Mexico over several years.

LORI HUGHES
Lori Hughes, born and raised in the Texas Hill Country, is a lifelong music lover and supporter. However, it wasn’t until moving to Houston as an adult that she was introduced to Jazz. She’s been hooked ever since and even went so far as to name her son “Ellis”. Prior to moving to Colorado in 2000, Lori worked at the non-profit Texas Heritage Music Foundation. There, she organized the Foundation’s monthly music events and annual heritage festival. Lori is now a resident of Longmont, a member of the Carbon Valley Rotary, and works as an attorney for a small firm in Westminster. Having no musical talent of her own, she supports her son in his trumpet endeavors and her daughter in her percussion experiments. Yes, their home is quite noisy in the evenings.

PETER SOMMER
Peter Sommer is an award-winning performer, clinician and recording artist. The Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies and Saxophone at Colorado State University in Fort Collins received a Bachelor’s degree in Music and a Master’s in Jazz Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado in Boulder. A Longmont resident, he is active in the Metro Denver jazz scene and has appeared at the Telluride, Vail and Longmont Jazz Festivals. Peter has performed in concert with such jazz luminaries as Dave Pietro, Bobby Shew, Jim McNeely, Roseanna Vitro, Joanne Brackeen and Greg Gisbert. He is also an instructor for the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts and a NASA Award winner in jazz improvisation. A noted saxophonist, his work is available on CDs. www.petersommermusic.com

LINDA SPURLOCK
Linda Spurlock has had a lifelong love of music. She began playing piano when she was five years old. A fourth-generation Longmont native, she recently returned after living for 10 years in Scottsdale, Arizona. She is a supporter of the arts communities, serving as a board member of Musica Nova, a professional 60-piece orchestra in Scottsdale. Linda is the owner of a direct mail marketing and database management business with offices in Boulder and Scottsdale. www.dbslists.com

LEONA STOECKER
Leona served as mayor of Longmont from 1993 until 2001. In her earlier years she played saxophone and piano and has maintained her interest in jazz. She served on the first Board of the St. Vrain Music Association and on the Board of the Old Firehouse Art Center and is a supporter of the Longmont Symphony. A past chair of the Board of the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce, she also served on the Board of the First National Bank of Longmont and is a member of the Longmont Rotary Club. Since 1981 she has owned Image Improvement, a company specializing in professional and personal development.

WIL SWINDLER
Composer and Saxophonist, Wil Swindler currently resides in Longmont, Colorado where he leads Wil Swindler's Elevenet and serves as musical director for both the latin jazz group Onda and vocalist Barron Steffen. He is a performer and contributing composer with the 9th+Lincoln Orchestra, the Colorado Jazz Orchestra, and the electro-acoustic band, Red Sylvester. He also performs with the Fort Collins Symphony, Manny Lopez, the Gretchen Troop Band and the Boulder Philharmonic, as well as playing productions at both the Buell Theatre and the Arvada Center for the Arts. In addition to receiving IAJE's Gil Evans Fellowship for 2008, Wil has also recently completed commissions from Denver University for original music for his Elevenet. He has one CD released on the NohJoh Music Label (October 2006) with his Austin, TX-based group the Chamber Jazz Ensemble. Two of Mr. Swindler's compositions are featured on the latest CD release (December 2007) by the 9th+Lincoln Orchestra. Learn more at www.wilswindler.com.