Author: msnell

Musician Biography
The TSO, Your Professional Symphony

Tabitha Reist Steiner grew up in a small town of about a thousand people, Highland, KS. Tabitha and her three siblings all took piano lessons from a young age.
At age eight, she started studying harp. Even though she played her first wedding at ten and had gigged for most of her life, it was not a straight shot into a professional career in music.
Tabitha began her college career in nursing but still continued to practice and perform.

“In my first year of college I played with a large orchestra for the first time, it was Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and I fell in love with orchestral playing after that.”

She went on to study music at Washburn University and then received her masters in music from the Peabody Conservatory of the John Hopkins University. Since then Tabitha toured in 2024 with the Kansas City Symphony on their first European tour. She still finds time to play with the Topeka Symphony Orchestra as our principal harpist. Through all her successes, she feels lucky to perform and create beautiful music for her community.

“Even after years of study, I’m still amazed by the power of music. How it can transform a person emotionally and spiritually in an instant.”

We hope that you enjoy tonight’s performance and we will see you next year for American Icons, which includes the Chichester Psalms. Join us to hear the piece that solidified Tabitha’s love of orchestral music.

Musician Biography
The TSO, Your Professional Symphony

Neil Dunn spent most of his childhood outdoors camping and fishing in the mountains near Brigham City, Utah. His father loved classical music and often played it on the radio. It wasn’t until the age of 7 that Neil discovered rock music on his brother’s record player.

“I always wanted to play drums and be in a rock band after hearing the band ‘Rush’ play.” 

Plans changed, but the passion for drums remained as he grew. “I knew I would pursue music as a career when I was a freshman in college.” 

Neil heard the Utah Symphony play Beethoven and Stravinsky and it solidified his passion for classical music. He then studied music at Weber State University and later the University of Arizona where he earned his master’s degree.
Giving up his successful teaching studio and senior accompanist position in Arizona, Neil and his wife moved to Kansas for her to teach at K-State. He became a percussion instructor at K-State and joined the Topeka Symphony Orchestra as the Timpani player. Neil continues to play with the Arizona Opera Orchestra in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.

“I start any project with research on style, orchestration, and how my part fits with the orchestra. This informs different aspects of my performance such as mallet choices and instrument choice. It is not about the number of hours spent practicing, it is about the quality of time spent.”

After every performance, Neil hopes that the audience is inspired to listen further, just as he was inspired by his favorite music as a kid.

Musician Biography

The TSO, Your Professional Symphony

Zsolt Eder follows in his parents’ footsteps. His father was the Concertmaster of the Hungarian Opera in Budapest. His mother was a member of the Kodály Quartet for 10 years and toured all over the world performing. After years of excitement listening to his parents play, Zsolt became adamant to join them as a professional musician at the age of 13. However, he faced a monumental obstacle: his fear of performing onstage.

“I struggled with nerves and tension on stage. The thing that really helped was performing more.”

Battling his performance anxiety, he took an extreme risk traveling overseas to Toronto, Canada to pursue his passion at the Royal Conservatory. His educational journey then led him to UMKC for his Doctorate. Now a confident performer living in Kansas City, he decided to audition for the Concertmaster of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra.

“Topeka has such a strong support for the arts. It has been great meeting our audiences, our donors and board members and seeing that support for music.”

Additionally Zsolt has a busy career performing in several chamber groups including the NewEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, teaching as the violin and viola professor at Washburn University, and soloing. When asked what he hopes audiences take away from his performances, he said,

“I remember the excitement of hearing a great concert when I was younger. I still get that feeling. I hope our audiences leave with that same sense of excitement and fulfillment.”

Musician Biography

The TSO, Your Professional Symphony

Hannah Porter Occeña already knew by the age of 2 that she wanted to play the flute.

“My father was a hornist and played with the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony woodwind quintet, and I came along to a quintet rehearsal. During the rehearsal, I pointed to the flutist and announced, ‘I want to play that one!’”

After that, Hannah and her father made regular trips to the music store to see if her fingers were big enough to play flute.  She finally got a flute for her 7^th birthday.

Music became a passion, but she didn’t initially pursue music as a career. She explained, “My dad counseled me that MDs could afford better instruments!” and so she explored other career paths: marine biologist, linguist, orthopedic surgeon, acoustical engineer, and lawyer. It wasn’t until spending a summer at the Interlochen Arts Camp that she decided to try a semester as a music major.

Hannah had found her passion. She worked tirelessly as the youngest member of the flute studio at UMKC and then travelled overseas to study at the Royal Academy of Music London. Moving back to Kansas City, she saw the audition flyer for the Topeka Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Flute and Piccolo chairs in 2014. She auditioned and won the principal flute chair. While completing her Doctorate of Musical Arts at Stony Brook University, she committed to flying back and forth from New York to rehearse and play with the Topeka Symphony Orchestra.

“I keep coming back because I get to play great music — both the standards of the literature and new gems — with great people.”

Hannah will release her 3rd studio album this year, ConcerTea for Two, as well as continuing to solo with regional orchestras and touring with her chamber duo. She is Associate Professor of Flute at the University of Northern Iowa and continues to commute to Topeka each concert week to perform with the TSO. 

Musician Biography

The TSO, Your Professional Symphony

Austin Barry took a huge risk when moving to Kansas City. He moved eight hours away from everyone he knew in order to pursue his passion.
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Austin joined band in high school to spend more time with his friends. He fell in love with playing trumpet, and soon set his sights on becoming a full time musician. He went on to study music at Middle Tennessee State University.
After moving to Kansas City to study with Dr. Keith Benjamin at the University of Missouri  – Kansas City, he soon found himself a full time musician. Austin is currently studying with Dr. Matthew Vangjel to complete his Doctorate of Musical Arts. Beyond his academic accomplishments, he won first place at the North American Brass Band Association championships with Fountain City Brass Band and is now the Principal Trumpet in the Topeka Symphony Orchestra (TSO).
With a full professional workload Austin explained, 
“In addition to practicing, listening, and score study, I have to plan when not to play just as much as I plan when to practice… With the amount of playing I do, making sure I leave some gas in the tank for the next gig is far more important than I ever would have guessed. ” 
The Topeka community benefits from Austin making time to play with the TSO. Austin concluded, “I hope that the audience leaves feeling emotionally moved and with a slightly deeper love for music.”