Collegium Westchester Performer Profile:

Regan Nikol-Stas

CW position: Second clarinet.

Employment: Freelance clarinetist and teacher (clarinet and piano) at her private music studio located in Tuckahoe, NY.

First CW performance: June 2013.

Favorite CW moment: Performing a program of opera excerpts (Overture and Act I Finale from Mozart’s Magic Flute, and Act II from Puccini’s La Bohème) in last June’s concert—CW’s largest scale and most ambitious event to date, with child soloists and children’s chorus augmenting CW’s usual complement of (adult) soloists, chorus, and orchestra.

Geographic background: Born and raised in Queens, NY.

Education: BM (in clarinet performance, 2000) and MS (in music education, 2007) from Queens College, Aaron Copland School of Music.

Musical training: Regan started playing the piano at age four and began playing clarinet in high school. Her teachers have included David Krakauer, Alan Kay, and Daniel Gilbert.

Favorite practice routines: Practicing clarinet and piano in the morning after taking my daughter to school.

Career highlight(s): Most recently, playing in the Lehman College Community Band (the group gives four free indoor concerts per season, plus 7 summer outdoor concerts in Scarsdale, Chase Park as well), joining a woodwind quintet, and playing with CW.

Most notable and/or personally satisfying accomplishment(s): Having her own studio where she teaches and performs.

Other interests: Regan lives in Tuckahoe, NY, with her husband and four-year-old daughter. She enjoys gardening and playing tennis.

Advice for CW community:  “I have students of all ages; it is never too late to start playing an instrument!”