PASSION IN EVERY NOTE!
Bora Hong Evans
Bora Hong studied at Dongduk Women’s University for Performing Arts in Seoul, South Korea. During and after college, she taught private lessons and worked at music academies for 7 years around Seoul. While in South Korea, she performed in the house band for a television show and in various musicals. Bora met her husband in Korea and moved to the Chippewa Valley 2010 to start a journey with her family. She taught piano and saxophone at Eau Claire Music School from 2013-2021 and joined the Chippewa Valley Jazz Orchestra in 2015. She likes traveling with her family, playing board games, and playing kubb.
Bora Hong studied at Dongduk Women’s University for Performing Arts in Seoul, South Korea. During and after college, she taught private lessons and worked at music academies for 7 years around Seoul. While in South Korea, she performed in the house band for a television show and in various musicals. Bora met her husband in Korea and moved to the Chippewa Valley 2010 to start a journey with her family. She taught piano and saxophone at Eau Claire Music School from 2013-2021 and joined the Chippewa Valley Jazz Orchestra in 2015. She likes traveling with her family, playing board games, and playing kubb.
Emily Watkins
Emily is a freelance guitarist, vocalist, and educator based in Eau Claire, WI. She started playing in the CVJO in 2012, when she was a junior in high school. You can find Emily playing around the greater Chippewa Valley in bands such as Uncommon Denominator, the Cathy Reitz Trio, and Naalia.
Emily is a freelance guitarist, vocalist, and educator based in Eau Claire, WI. She started playing in the CVJO in 2012, when she was a junior in high school. You can find Emily playing around the greater Chippewa Valley in bands such as Uncommon Denominator, the Cathy Reitz Trio, and Naalia.
Tom Carlson
Tom Carlson has played lead trombone for the CVJO since moving to Eau Claire from Stuttgart, Germany, in 2012. When not tooting his horn, he teaches ESL and German at UWEC, and music and languages are his greatest interests. He also plays for the Sue Orfield Band and the associated Whyte-Orfield Band. In 2013, Tom founded the Weapons of Brass Destruction brass band with several fellow CVJO members, which still performs frequently in the Chippewa Valley area.
Tom Carlson has played lead trombone for the CVJO since moving to Eau Claire from Stuttgart, Germany, in 2012. When not tooting his horn, he teaches ESL and German at UWEC, and music and languages are his greatest interests. He also plays for the Sue Orfield Band and the associated Whyte-Orfield Band. In 2013, Tom founded the Weapons of Brass Destruction brass band with several fellow CVJO members, which still performs frequently in the Chippewa Valley area.
Jeff Walk - Trumpet
Jeff is a native of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and is the Director of Bands for the School District of Mondovi. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music in New York, Jeff has performed with several well-known artists including Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, The New York Voices, and The Supremes. Jeff has been the lead trumpet player and section leader for the CVJO since our inception and was the very first section leader we recruited!
Jeff is a native of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and is the Director of Bands for the School District of Mondovi. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music in New York, Jeff has performed with several well-known artists including Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, The New York Voices, and The Supremes. Jeff has been the lead trumpet player and section leader for the CVJO since our inception and was the very first section leader we recruited!
Sue Orfield – Tenor Sax
As a highly accomplished tenor sax player, Sue has been the anchor of the sax section since the CVJO’s inception. Sue is an award-winning tenor saxophonist, composer, and educator who tours internationally and has recorded on hundreds of albums. She makes her home in the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin, where in addition to teaching privately and writing/arranging music, she freelances, and fronts her own group, The Sue Orfield Band.
As a highly accomplished tenor sax player, Sue has been the anchor of the sax section since the CVJO’s inception. Sue is an award-winning tenor saxophonist, composer, and educator who tours internationally and has recorded on hundreds of albums. She makes her home in the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin, where in addition to teaching privately and writing/arranging music, she freelances, and fronts her own group, The Sue Orfield Band.
Travis Christopherson
Travis grew up in the Chippewa Valley and has been a CVJO trombonist (and occasional vocalist!) since 2015. Over the years, he has had the honor of working in ensembles with several musicians from the ranks of the Duke Ellington and Count Basie bands, including Snooky Young, Marshal Royal, Kenny Washington and Clark Terry. He is also an accomplished singer/guitarist, forming and fronting the venerable Kid Kactus and the Tumbleweeds band in 1997.
Travis grew up in the Chippewa Valley and has been a CVJO trombonist (and occasional vocalist!) since 2015. Over the years, he has had the honor of working in ensembles with several musicians from the ranks of the Duke Ellington and Count Basie bands, including Snooky Young, Marshal Royal, Kenny Washington and Clark Terry. He is also an accomplished singer/guitarist, forming and fronting the venerable Kid Kactus and the Tumbleweeds band in 1997.