Justine Pearson joined EMSO as a piccolo/flute sub in 2021 and as a member in 2024. Previously, she has played with St. Croix Valley Symphony Orchestra, Shoreview North Star Band, several local theater organizations, tour groups, and various sub/chamber gigs and seasonal orchestras, in addition to teaching private flute lessons. Outside of EMSO, Justine works
Woodwinds
Vivian Quam – Oboe
Vivian joined the EMSO in the fall of 2024. She plays oboe and English horn. Vivian is a homemaker and she and her husband take care of their two-year-old granddaughter two days each week. She also plays in the Gnu Woodwind Quintet which regularly performs at senior communities. She lived in Sweden, New Jersey and
Andrew Bean – Saxophone
Andrew joined the EMSO in 2022. His day job is at Animal Emergency and Referral Center of Minnesota, where works as a veterinary specialist in companion exotic animals. He is a native of the Twin Cities, though his work took him to Tucson, Arizona; San Diego, California; and Norfolk, Virginia before returning home. He lives
Jill Halberg – Bassoon
Phyllis Comstock – Clarinet
Phyllis Comstock joined EMSO in 2016 as 2nd clarinetist, playing on a Buffet R-13 with a Kaspar mouthpiece. Besides orchestral playing, she enjoys wind band and performs with the Encore Wind Ensemble, where she was a founding member in 1996, as well as the Como Pops during the summertime. Phyllis grew up in Chatfield, Minnesota where
Haley Martin – Oboe & English Horn
My name is Haley Martin. I first played with EMSO during our side-by-side concerts when I attended East Ridge High School in 2015. In 2018, when I was a member of the River Falls Wind Ensemble at UWRF, I was told to look into EMSO. I remembered how fun it was to join the group
Terry Wilson – Bassoon
Joyce Laidlaw – Clarinet
Joyce Laidlaw joined the 3M Symphony Orchestra in 1973 and continues to perform with EMSO. She is the principal clarinetist for the orchestra. Her instrument is a Buffet R-13 clarinet. Joyce is a retired hospital laboratory scientist. She grew up in Fergus Falls, MN and now lives in St Paul. Her favorite hobbies are genealogy,
Brenda Renalls – Flute
Brenda Renalls joined EMSO in 2007. She plays flute and piccolo. Brenda’s musical career started with piano and baton lessons (YMCA Marching Band) in grade school. She switched to the flute when the band director (also a female flautist) told her that she had the right mouth structure for flute playing and offered to give
Leanne Ekstadt – Oboe
Leanne was raised in Pipestone, Minnesota, and started playing oboe after switching from clarinet in the eighth grade. She earned a B.A. in music education from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, where she studied oboe with Thomas Tempel and Marilyn Ford, while playing in Concert Band and Orchestra. Upon graduating in 1979, Leanne was asked to join