Conductor and pianist Adam Torres is an influential artist throughout Colorado and beyond, holding positions of Music Director for Denver’s Stratus Chamber Orchestra, Artistic Director for the Colorado Springs Chorale, and Senior Instructor at Colorado State University, where he additionally serves as Program Director for the Summer Residency Master of Music (Conducting Emphasis) for Music Educators. Beyond his professional work, Adam holds many interests, including his love for the incredibly expansive fields of viticulture (wine growing) and oenology (wine making). A long time enthusiast, Adam recently completed his Level 1 certification through the Court of Master Sommeliers and plans to extend his training in 2025 through the Wine Spirits Education Trust (WSET) certification program. Adam has had the opportunity to visit several famous wine regions throughout the world, including guided educational and tasting tours in Champagne, Bordeaux, Rioja, Penedès, Tuscany, Napa Valley, and Sonoma Valley. For Adam, music and wine are both storytelling experiences of human connection, and he is excited to co-curate this season’s Music of the Vine with his partner Michael.

Michael Schreier describes himself both as a musicophile and an oenophile. Music was his first love, starting piano lessons at age 6. Fast forward a few years and you could find him performing and leading logistics for the UNC / Greeley Jazz Festival, one of the largest jazz festivals in the United States. In 2015, Schreier was honored as a recipient of ASCAP’s Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer award. Shortly thereafter, he served as the Artistic Director for Dazzle, where he was an influential voice in the Denver jazz scene, curating performances of jazz greats, including Christian McBride, Fred Hersch, Gary Peacock, and many of the world-class artists who call Denver home. After a few years in the role, Schreier decided to shift gears and began pursuing a career in technology. Like many wine-lovers, Schreier’s rite of initiation was a trip to Napa Valley. As with music, the level of expression presented by the wines he tasted stirred something within him. He continued to pursue this passion, touring other significant viticultural areas in the world and tasting wines from as many regions as possible. Following a rigorous course of study, Schreier was awarded his level 1 certificate from the Court of Sommeliers in early 2024. He sees the many synergies that exist between wine and music; both can evoke intensity, subtlety, nuance, and can create an emotional connection with its listener/consumer.

Sara Hare has spent nearly her entire life as a musician and the past decade as an arts administrator. She is passionate about envisioning a new future for the orchestra and the performing arts. Her decade-long work leading innovative and immersive performances for Denver’s youth guided her desire to create programs that break down barriers, challenge convention, and create welcoming spaces for audiences from diverse backgrounds. She believes the arts, and the orchestra, should be a place for all and works to create space for musicians and audience members from all backgrounds and performance styles in her work. Sara holds an undergraduate degree in Oboe Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music. After finishing her degree, she came to the harrowing conclusion that, despite decades of study, she no longer wanted to pursue a career as a performing musician. She went on to receive a master’s degree from the University of Denver in Arts and Culture with a concentration in Arts Management and Program Development and has been helping to connect audiences with transformative arts experiences ever since.

Josh Decker is a classically trained trumpet player from Columbus, OH. Josh studied music education at Ohio Wesleyan University, where he studied trumpet with Dr. Larry Griffin. Decker also holds a Master’s degree in trumpet performance from Carnegie Mellon University, and a performance certificate from the University of Denver. in the summer of 2023, Josh successfully won the second trumpet audition of Stratus Chamber Orchestra, Augustana Arts’ orchestra in residency. Josh has had the pleasure of playing as guest principal trumpet with the Denver Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, Arapahoe Philharmonic and can be seen performing with other Denver musical institutions such as the Denver Brass and the Denver Municipal Band. Josh is the co-founder of Mountain State Brass Quintet, a Denver-based collective of musicians that perform wedding ceremonies and other events in the Denver community. Prior to moving to Denver, Josh played second trumpet with the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra of Ohio, a relationship that spanned more than a decade. In 2013, Josh made a solo appearance playing the National Anthem at the NCAA Track and Field Finals. As an educator, Josh has taught hundreds of student musicians the trumpet. In 2021, Josh taught the trumpet studio at his undergraduate alma mater, Ohio Wesleyan. Many of Josh’s students have played in central Ohio’s illustrious youth ensemble programs and have gone on to studying at the university level. Josh is currently a brass instrument instructor at Parlando School of Musical Arts in Boulder, CO. He is fortunate to work with students from very diverse backgrounds in the Denver Public Schools, Jefferson County Schools, and Boulder Valley School Districts. The arts, particularly music, is incredibly important to Josh. He is constantly striving to teardown barriers to access for students in the Denver community, and is excited for his work with Augustana Arts.