The Constellations Orchestra
Our flagship ensemble brings together a rotating cast of world-class musicians who are steeped in jazz and other contemporary forms of music. Their experience and dedication help bring to life the innovative interpretations, arrangements, and collaborations sponsored by URSA Asheville.
NEH Distinguished Professor and Professor of Music William Bares received his MM in Jazz Piano Performance from the University of Miami and a Ph.D in ethnomusicology from Harvard University. He taught at Harvard, Brown, Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory before moving to UNC Asheville in 2011. Bares's musical and academic interests lie in the fields of jazz studies, experimental music, and ecomusicology. He has published articles in American Music, Jazz Research Journal, and the Grove Dictionary of American Music, and his book, Jazz and the European Dream, is forthcoming on Routledge Press. An active pianist and music promoter in Asheville’s scene, Bares is a member of several acclaimed local groups, has released five albums as leader or co-leader, and was the host of many musical series, including the weekly Sunday Jazz Showcase at Asheville’s Isis Music Hall. Bares has also sponsored several conferences in Asheville, including “Ecomusicologies 2014: Dialogues” in October 2014, and Post-Helene: Remembering, Rebuilding, Reimagining in September, 2025. Bares is currently the president of URSA Asheville, a non-profit dedicated to the promotion of new music in Asheville.
Steve Alford is a multi-instrumentalist and innovative educator specializing in contemporary improvisational music. A saxophone graduate of the University of Miami's Frost School of Music, he toured extensively across the United States and Europe before settling in Chicago, where he developed expertise on harmony clarinets, performing on saxophone and bass clarinet across straight-ahead jazz, modern improvised music, and experimental indie-rock scenes. Relocating to Asheville, North Carolina, Alford taught at Mars Hill University and UNC-Asheville while earning his Masters in Jazz from the University of Tennessee. He developed a groundbreaking pedagogy emphasizing multi-lateral ear training, multi-instrumental rhythm section methods, "mind's ear" sonic exploration, and melodic immersion—a celebrated departure from traditional pattern memorization that made him a sought-after clinician. He later served as coordinator for Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation Studies at the University of Minnesota Morris. Over the past decade, Alford has created adventurous projects including his acclaimed 11-piece modern big band Rational Discourse, the punk-jazz E.Normus Trio (alto clarinet, N/S Stick, and drums), METAL (featuring electrified contra-alto clarinet and unconventional percussion), and jazz trios/quartets that reimagine traditional small group formats through open harmonic approaches while remaining rooted in jazz tradition.
Jeff Arnal is an American percussionist, composer, and community organizer working across experimental, improvised, and interdisciplinary music. His practice is shaped by more than three decades of work in contemporary classical music, jazz, and free improvisation, and by long-term collaborations centered on listening, structure, and ensemble interaction. Recent projects include Drum Major Instinct, a duo with Curt Cloninger that integrates percussion, electronics, and field recordings, and the duo Chrononaux, with Camila Nebbia, Dietrich Eichmann, and John Hughes. He maintains long-standing collaborations with Dietrich Eichmann and saxophonist John Dierker, and his recordings have been released on Clean Feed, Mahakala Music, NoBusiness Records, and Generate Records. A student of percussionist Milford Graves and composer Stuart Saunders Smith, The Wire has praised Arnal's drumming for its "balletic sense of time and imaginative deployment of colour" and called it "a highly original concept." Arnal is Executive Director of the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center in Asheville, North Carolina, where he has led the organization since 2016.
Will Boyd, a multi-reed instrumentalist, composer, and educator, embodies the soul sax tradition of legends like Eddie Harris, Hank Crawford, and Johnny Hodges. Originally from Orangeburg, SC, and Queens, NY, he now resides in Asheville, NC, where he serves on the music faculty at UNC Asheville and Warren Wilson College. A former member of the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, Will has released three solo albums and co-leads a group with his wife, jazz vocalist and radio host Kelle Jolly. A South Carolina State University graduate and inductee into its Jazz Hall of Fame, Will has performed with a diverse array of artists, including Leslie Odom Jr., Wycliffe Gordon, and Regina Carter, and appeared at festivals like Big Ears and Peter Barakan's It's Magic in Tokyo. With Kelle, he has toured internationally, appeared on The Jazzy Vegetarian, and performed in musical theater productions, earning accolades such as the MLK Award for the Arts. Will also contributed to the PBS documentary and opera celebrating painter Beauford Delaney and remains an active force in Asheville’s jazz scene, directing contemporary jazz ensembles and performing weekly with various groups.
Alex’s trumpet delivers "soulful sounds" that bridge New Orleans second-line swagger with Asheville's mountain-town eclecticism, proving that the best brass players don't just play notes—they tell stories with every phrase, every articulation, every moment the bell points skyward. As a core member of Empire Strikes Brass since the band's 2012 formation, Bradley has helped transform what started as a group of friends playing New Orleans-inspired funk into a collective of seriously talented musicians whose albums Theme For A Celebration and Brassterpiece Theatre (both recorded at Echo Mountain) have earned WNCW radio acclaim and festival circuit credibility. His horn has graced stages at Red Rocks (with Shpongle Live Band and Papadosio), shared bills with Umphrey's McGee, and contributed to a sound that seamlessly blends brass-band tradition with rock energy and jam-band sensibilities. When Bradley's not laying down horn arrangements with Empire Strikes Brass, he brings his "soulful trumpet sounds" to Electro Lust—an Electronic Latin Funk project featuring Grammy-winning artists and members of Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band and The Fritz, where live beats meet brass and multicultural influences collide in ways that make you forget whether you're in Miami, Brazil, or Cuba.
Juca is a Brazilian/American pianist and composer born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is a BFA music major in Jazz and Contemporary Music at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and he started his new jazz trio: the Juca Camera Trio, in which he plays a blend of modern jazz, funky R&B, and traditional swing. His playing seamlessly blends genres such as jazz, impressionism, and Brazilian music, and he continues to push the boundaries of both his playing and these genres. In 2025, he released his debut piano solo album, “Contrails,” a ten-song album of all original compositions.
Rye is a saxophonist, composer, and arranger from Asheville, NC. She has played with local jazz legends such as Jacob Rodriguez, Will Boyd, Bill Bares, Zack Page, Brian Felix, and Juca Camera, and plays regularly in a live band burlesque act with Adrienne Blanks and the Oracles. Rye is in her final semester at UNC Asheville in the BFA Jazz & Contemporary program, and is planning on auditioning for graduate school in jazz composition in New York City this winter.
Kevin Evans lives in Asheville, NC, turning up at open mics, poetry readings, late-night dive bars, and on street corners, carrying with him folded letters, receipts, and traffic citations with poems scrawled into every possible margin. Evans works construction and other temporary jobs by day, and at night delivers his poems with that deep, intense voice like dark lightning. His craft is unique, largely influenced by the lyrics of great American songwriters (including Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Stevie Nicks), and cultivated in the university of the streets. Evans has been a modest yet constant figure in the Asheville poetry scene. In 2017, Evans began hosting and assembling The Human Side, a recurring event he created “to bring people together to enjoy a mutual human experience of art, communication and community.”
Tim is a jazz guitarist and composer who has performed and toured nationally and internationally, and has released four albums as a bandleader, most recently The Holy City Sessions (Slimtrim Records, 2023). Based in Asheville, he performs regularly around the area with a variety of groups spanning jazz, rock, and experimental music. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in studio/jazz guitar from the University of Southern California, along with a bachelor's degree from USC and an MFA from CalArts. He currently teaches jazz guitar as an adjunct instructor at UNC Asheville.
Alan Hall is a distinguished drummer and educator with over 45 years of professional experience spanning an unusually wide range of musical genres. As an educator, he has worked with students from five-year-olds to working professionals, serving as assistant professor at Berklee College of Music (1986-1993) and associate professor at The California Jazz Conservatory (2000-present). He has also taught at UC Berkeley, Cal State East Bay, and numerous prestigious summer jazz camps including the Monterey Jazz Festival Summer Jazz Camp. Currently based in Weaverville, NC, he teaches at Jim Beaver School of Music and Music and Arts in Asheville. As a performer, Hall has collaborated with renowned artists including Lee Konitz, Paul McCandless, Art Lande, Geoffrey Keezer, Ed Simon, and Kenny Washington, and has performed with Cirque du Soleil, Wicked, and Teatro Zinzanni. His recorded work includes albums with the Arterik Quartet and Jeff Denson Quartet. Hall is also an accomplished author, having written "Internalization" and "Drum Chart Supplement: The Real Easy Book Vol. 1" (Sher Music), with articles published in Down Beat and Percussive Notes. He is endorsed by Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth, Aquarian, and Brooks Drums.
Dylan is a saxophonist originally from Satellite Beach FL who studied jazz saxophone, arrangement/composition, and classical saxophone in college at University of Central Florida. After hitting the road with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Dylan made his way to Asheville in 2022, and quickly got involved in many musical idioms. Today, Dylan plays reeds in a number of Asheville traditional jazz bands like “Meschiya Lake & The Moodswingers”, as well as more avant-garde projects like “Alan Hall’s Xploritorium” as well as his own sax trio “Chew Toy”.
Don Mikkelsen has played trombone professionally for over 50 years, performing internationally with artists such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Blood Sweat & Tears, Nancy Wilson, Sammy Davis Jr., Marvin Gaye, Elvis Presley, and Michel Legrand, and on recordings of such diverse artists as Louie Bellson, Grand Master Flash, and Peter Gabriel. After thirty years in NYC, and sixteen in the Berkshires in Massachusetts, Don is happy to call Asheville, NC home.
Tim Morgan is a highly versatile performer and educator in the western North Carolina area, and is professor of Trumpet at Mars Hill University. In addition to teaching trumpet at Mars Hill University, Tim Morgan works frequently with local K-12 public school band programs as a brass instructor. He received his BM in trumpet performance from Mars Hill University and his MM in trumpet performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Tim is highly active within the Asheville music scene, performing a wide variety of styles and genres. He performs frequently with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, Emerald Empire Band, Russ Wilson Orchestra, the Jonathan Lloyd Mashup, and is a full-time member with Empire Strikes Brass, Dirty Logic, and Joint Killer Brass Band.
Zack Page's work with various jazz ensembles, theater companies, and the cruise industry has taken him to all 50 U.S. States, the Caribbean Islands, Australia, South America, Europe and the Far East. In a jazz setting, Zack has had the good fortune to play and/or record with Billy Higgins, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis, Cyrus Chestnut, Eddie Daniels and Babik Reinhardt, the son of gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Following time spent in Los Angeles and New York City, Zack and his family relocated to Asheville, NC where he enjoys a busy performing and recording schedule with many of North Carolina's finest musicians. Current projects include The Page Brothers Band, Noel Freidline and Maria Howell, The Core and many Asheville-based singer-songwriters.
Ashley Pritchard is a saxophonist who got her start in Chicago, where she performed with jazz, funk, ska, and pop groups in historic venues throughout the city including the Green Mill, the Jazz Showcase, and the Drake Hotel. She earned her Master's degree in jazz saxophone performance from the University of North Texas. She lives in Asheville with her husband, two young daughters, and a cat named Aglet.
Justin Ray has been a professional musician for more than 20 years. While attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston, he began to earn a reputation as a fiery and compelling trumpet soloist, comfortable in a wide variety of styles. After finishing his degree, Ray relocated to Los Angeles and quickly became one of the most in demand musicians in the region. He performed regularly with jazz legends like drummers Dave Weckl and Peter Erskine, vocalist Kurt Elling, pianists Bill Cunliffe and Alan Pasqua, and a host of others. In 2003, Ray accepted an offer from Warner Bros. recording artist Michael Buble to join his group. He has toured 45 countries, appeared on Grammy-winning recordings, and has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the world, such as Madison Square Garden, the Sydney Opera House, Radio City Music Hall, and the Hollywood Bowl. Justin has also made a number of TV appearances, including multiple performances on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Saturday Night Live. Justin has recorded multiple records under his own name. The first is a self-titled collection of his hard-bop tinged originals. His next, Love Songs is a combination of jazz and beatnik-style poetry featuring works from artists as diverse as Allen Ginsberg and Star Trek’s Commander Data. The third, Evil Man Blues features Ray both as trumpeter and vocalist on a collection of jazz standards. When he is not touring, Ray makes his home in Asheville, North Carolina.
A native of Takoma Park, Maryland, Bill was educated at Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Emory Remington. Relocating to Los Angeles in 1975, Bill has played on at least 1,000 records, 1200 movies, plus countless jingles and television shows. Primarily a bass trombone player, Bill also plays tenor trombone, contrabass trombone, euphonium, and tuba. The “Bill Reichenbach Quartet” album continues to be heard on jazz radio stations throughout the country. Bill has composed music for motion pictures and television, as well as scores for wind ensembles, trombones, and brass groups. Bill and his family recently relocated to the Asheville, NC, area. He continues to do clinics, performances, and masterclasses all over the USA & Europe. In 2003, Bill founded The Hearts of Music Fund, a non-profit organization that assists musicians with emergency medical needs. The Hearts of Music Fund raises money by offering concerts every Christmas season by the Trombones-L.A. Trombone Choir, which performs music arranged and conducted by Bill Reichenbach. These concerts will soon be held in North Carolina.
Lennon is a rising jazz talent based in Asheville, NC. Currently a junior at AC Reynolds High School, Lennon has developed a passion for jazz and modern improvisation, drawing heavily from the influences of Clifford Brown and Freddie Hubbard. He has had the opportunity to study trumpet at Loyola University (New Orleans, LA), Frost School of Music at University of Miami, and with the Greenville Jazz Collective (Greenville, SC). Lennon has been fortunate enough to receive jazz trumpet tutelage from Justin Ray, Justin Stanton, Wendell Brunious, Kermit Ruffins, Irvin Mayfield, Benny Benack III, Eddie Henderson, Donald Harrison, Terence Blanchard, and Wynton Marsalis. Awarded 1st chair in the NC All State Jazz Band in 2025 & 2026, Lennon also received 1st chair recognition in the 2025 UNCG Honors High School Jazz Band. He has performed locally with the Asheville Jazz Orchestra and can be seen at numerous jams around Western NC. Lennon is proud and grateful to be making his White Horse debut with The Constellations Jazz Orchestra.
A native of Brevard, North Carolina, Rockell Scott started her musical journey with her mother, playing piano at church at the age of nine. Classically trained, her mother required that she transpose her classical piano repertoire into every key. Raised in the church, her rich vocal style is naturally gospel tinged. In 1992, Rockell entered the United States Air Force as a vocalist for the Air Force Band of Mid-America stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. During her tour of duty she performed before thousands of individuals from the eastern seaboard to the Pacific Ocean. She has been featured at numerous locations in Asheville, including All that Jazz, Bele Chere and Goombay festivals. Scott was featured at The Jazz Standard in New York City with world-acclaimed jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut. Scott currently lives in Charlotte where she directs several choirs.
Emily studied Music Education at Ithaca College and Colorado State University and currently teaches piano, trumpet, and trombone at the Music Academy of Western North Carolina. She has performed locally with the Blue Ridge Orchestra, Asheville Jazz Orchestra, Land of the Sky Symphonic Band, Russ Wilson Big Band, and WNC Brass Quintet, among others. During free time, you can find her hiking, gardening, and swing dancing.
Jamie is a trombonist, educator, and improviser with over 25 years of experience performing and teaching jazz. A longtime musician in Western North Carolina, he has performed in jazz ensembles, studio sessions, commercial groups, and collaborative projects throughout the region. Warren holds a master’s degree in music and has taught jazz improvisation at the college level, with an approach rooted in ear training, rhythmic fluency, melodic development, and the jazz tradition. His work as both a performer and educator is shaped by a deep interest in how musicians learn to improvise, communicate, and develop an individual voice. Away from the bandstand, Warren works in instructional design and educational technology, where his interests in music, learning, and interactive media frequently overlap. He is also the creator of Jazz Interactive, a project exploring new ways to teach and experience jazz improvisation through digital tools.
