Meet Hijinx

Stephen Borodkin is a clarinet teacher and performer based in Kansas City, where he recently earned his DMA at the University of Missouri Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music and Dance under the tutelage of Dr. Jane Carl. He has also earned degrees from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and the University of Memphis with Howard Klug and Robyn Jones, respectively. He maintains an active studio both in person and online; his students can be seen at the top of their sections at regional and national music festivals and competitions. Borodkin is active in the International Clarinet Association as a member of their Membership and Development Committee, and he has given performances at the ClarinetFest conferences in Reno (2022) and Denver (2023) with the Hijinx Clarinet Quartet. He has also given solo and chamber performances across the Midwest and Southern United States and abroad in Austria and Belgium. Borodkin can be heard as the clarinetist in the graduate fellowship woodwind quintet Plaza Winds at UMKC, commissioning new music with the Hijinx Clarinet Quartet, and occasionally performing with the Topeka Symphony Orchestra (KS).

Lucas Willsie is currently a faculty member at Central Methodist University’s Swinney Conservatory of Music in Fayette, Missouri, where he teaches woodwinds and music theory. As a soloist, he has performed across North America and Europe, captivating audiences with his artistry and versatility. Additionally, he regularly performs in the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre summer productions. Willsie’s extensive orchestral experience includes performances with the North Texas Symphony Orchestra, Jefferson City Symphony Orchestra, Richardson Symphony Orchestra, Sherman Symphony Orchestra, Lone Star Wind Orchestra, and Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra. He has been featured as a soloist with the Columbia Jazz Orchestra, the Marshall Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Truman State University Symphony Orchestra. Willsie earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in clarinet performance from the University of North Texas, his Master’s degree in clarinet performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and his Bachelor’s degrees in music education and clarinet performance from Truman State University. His principal teachers include Dr. Kimberly Cole Luevano, Dr. Diane Barger, and Dr. Jesse Krebs.

Jennifer Reeves is the clarinet professor at Doane University, an Instructor of Clarinet for Cornerstone Academy of Clarinet, and serves as the Nebraska State Chair for the International Clarinet Association. Reeves received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in clarinet performance in 2017 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she studied with Dr. Diane Barger. In 2016, she won the Glenn Korff School of Music Concerto Competition and received the Paul Revitt Memorial Award for Best Student Paper at the College Music Society Great Plains Regional Conference. Prior to moving to Nebraska, Reeves attended the University of Tennessee at Martin where she won the Friends of Music Concerto Competition in 2009 and was a substitute clarinetist for the Jackson Symphony Orchestra in Tennessee and the Paducah Symphony in Kentucky.  She currently serves as the Office Manager for New Visions United Methodist Church, is principal clarinetist of Lincoln’s Civic Orchestra and substitute clarinetist for Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, and an active member of the Sigma Alpha Iota Lincoln Alumnae and Patroness Chapter.

Shiana Montanari is a clarinetist and woodwind private instructor based in Grand Lake, CO. She currently works for the US Forest Service, having been a civil servant for fifteen years. She also serves on the board of Grand Concerts as the Co-Artistic Director, and manages the organization's website and social media pages. She remains an active performer, regularly appearing with Hijinx Clarinet Quartet, ppp Trio, and Laissez-Pair. Montanari's solo career includes Guest Artist performances with Creighton University, the Southwest Civic Winds, Wartburg College, and San Juan College. As a chamber musician, she has performed nationally and abroad at ICA ClarinetFests, NACWPI National Conferences, CMS Regional Conferences, the American Single Reed Summit, and Texas A&M University's Clarinet Colloquium.​ She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and her Bachelor of Arts degree from Fort Lewis College. Her teachers include Dr. Diane Barger, Dr. Joshua Mietz, and Dr. Mark Walters on clarinet; Dr. Paul Haar and Dr. Doug Owens on saxophone; and Dr. Tammy Tanner and Allie Movesian on flute.