Dr. Charles Laux is in his second year as the Director of Orchestras at Lassiter High School in the Cobb County School District. In addition to public school teaching, he also serves as an Essential Elements clinician, consultant, and contributor for Hal Leonard. Dr. Laux holds degrees in music education from Ohio University, the University of Nevada – Las Vegas, and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University where he worked under the tutelage of master pedagogue Dr. Robert Gillespie.

A full-time string educator since 1996, Dr. Laux has worked with diverse student populations from elementary school through the collegiate level. He taught at Alpharetta High School in Fulton County, Georgia from 2016-2022 where his duties include directing five levels of orchestra, including the nationally recognized AHS Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Laux served as Assistant Professor of String Music Education at Kennesaw State University from 2012 to 2016 where he taught string techniques and pedagogy, music education technology integration, supervised student teachers, conducted the KSU Philharmonic and coordinated string outreach activities, including serving as founding director of the KSU String Project. Previously Dr. Laux directed award-winning school orchestra programs in Nevada, Florida, and Ohio.  Under his direction, the Winter Park High School Philharmonic Orchestra was selected to perform at the 60th annual Midwest Clinic in 2006 and the Alpharetta High School Symphony Strings were selected in 2018.

Dr. Laux remains in frequent demand across the nation as an orchestra clinician, conductor, and adjudicator. Endorsed as an artist-educator by D’Addario Orchestral and Eastman Stringed Instruments, Dr. Laux has presented nearly 200 educational sessions at music conferences spanning 27 states. He regularly presents professional development in-services for school districts across the country and has presented internationally in Canada and Ecuador. His performing experience includes seasons with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, the Nevada Chamber Symphony, the Columbus String Quartet, and a collaborative solo performance with several members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Laux is a featured author in Rehearsing the High School Orchestra, published by GIA Publishing. His notable conducting appearances include honors, regional, and All-State Orchestras in California, Georgia, South Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, New Mexico, and Alaska. 

Dr. Laux's leadership includes serving as president of the Nevada and Florida chapters of ASTA, Southern Division Chair for the NAFME Council for Orchestral Education (2013-2016), K-12 Committee Chair of ASTA (2018-2020), and Secretary and webmaster of Georgia ASTA. Dr. Laux is currently serving a two-year term (2023-2025) as a Member at Large on the national board of ASTA. He was awarded Educator of the Year by Georgia ASTA in 2021. Dr. Laux enjoys giving back to his community by serving as a manager and coach for Sandy Plains Baseball and to the string and orchestra profession through “The Orchestra Teacher” website, YouTube channel, and podcast that can be accessed at www.orchestratteacher.net

Currently in his 26th year of teaching in the Bibb County Public Schools, John Sweat is the director of orchestras and the guitar ensemble at Howard High School and Howard Middle School. He holds degrees in Violin Performance from the University of Georgia and Georgia State University. In addition to teaching at the middle and high school levels, he has served as an adjunct faculty member for both Wesleyan College and Mercer University. In 2013, John received the inaugural Robert McDuffie Center for Strings Award from the McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University.

Under Mr. Sweat’s direction, the Howard High School Orchestra and Guitar Ensemble programs have earned consistent superior ratings from the GMEA Large Group Performance Evaluation. Both groups have performed for several local organizations such as senior citizens communities, children’s hospitals, and shelters. They have also performed at the Governor’s Mansion in Atlanta, The Walt Disney World Resort, the Universal Orlando Resort, Charleston, SC and St. Augustine, FL.  Students from both ensembles participated in presentations at the 2019 GMEA In-Service Conference as well as the 2020 ASTA National Conference and have performed at the 2019 and 2023 GMEA In-Service conferences.

John has served as the GMEA District XI Vice Chair as well as the District Chair for the Orchestra Division. He is active as an adjudicator and clinician for other districts throughout the state. He has presented sessions at the Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina Music Educators Association In-Service Conferences and the 2020 and 2022 American String Teachers National Conferences. John served as the Fine Arts Department Chair at Howard High School for over a decade and was the 2019-2020 Howard High Teacher of the Year. In 2024, John was named the GMEA District 11 Teacher of the Year and the 2024 GMEA Music Educator of the Year for the state. John resides in Forsyth where he is currently the organist at Grace UMC – Forsyth and Forsyth Presbyterian. He and his wife Jennifer, who is a fourth-grade teacher at Stratford Academy in Macon, have three beautiful children, Brian, Amber, and John Mark along with three fur babies.

Brian Rehm is a dedicated educator and accomplished musician with fifteen years of experience teaching strings. Currently, he is blessed to work at Northbrook Middle School in Gwinnett County and teach with his wonderful colleague, Janice Yoon. With a passion for music that spans over three decades, Mr. Rehm is a seasoned double bassist who has shared the stage with world-renowned artists such as Hilary Hahn, Joshua Bell, and Gil Shaham. He earned his Bachelor of Music Performance and Performer Diploma at Indiana University, where he studied with Lawrence Hurst and Bruce Bransby. Mr. Rehm resides in Atlanta with his wife, Erin and their two sons, Benjamin and Walter. 

Jeremy Woolstenhulme received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Brigham Young University and a Master of Arts degree in cello performance from University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Mr. Woolstenhulme currently serves as the orchestra director of four orchestras at Northview High School in the Fulton County School District (Georgia). The Northview Chamber Orchestra had the honor of performing at the 2022 Midwest Clinic under his direction. Mr. Woolstenhulme is also the director of the Atlanta Festival Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Festival Chamber Orchestra, both integral divisions of the Atlanta Festival Academy.

Prior to 2020, Mr. Woolstenhulme was orchestra director for 17 years at Hyde Park Middle School in Las Vegas, Nevada. During his tenure at Hyde Park, his award-winning orchestras performed at the Midwest Clinic and the ASTA National Conference. In 2015 and 2019, his orchestra earned first place honors at the ASTA National Orchestra Festival in the middle school division. Mr. Woolstenhulme also traveled with his orchestras to major cities around the United States and Europe. Additionally, he founded the Las Vegas String Workshop, an innovative weeklong summer camp for string students. Woolstenhulme also conducted the Las Vegas Youth Philharmonic Orchestra.

With a growing number of original and arranged works to his credit, Mr. Woolstenhulme is a commissioned and published composer, many which have been performed around the world. His works are included as J.W. Pepper Editors’ Choice selections and can be found on many state festival repertoire lists. He is co-author of String Basics Books 1, 2, and 3, and is author of curriculum supplements including Vibrato Basics, Intonation Basics, and a wealth of supplemental repertoire collections and performance literature. His specialty is to write for middle and high school orchestras where he composes to teach, challenge, and inspire.

Elizabeth Lamback is in her 22nd year serving as the Middle/Upper School Orchestra Director and Music Department Chair at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Sandy Springs.  The HIES Orchestras have received consistent superior ratings in GMEA Large Group Performance Evaluations and are represented at All-State and area youth symphonies.

A native of Macon, GA, Elizbeth began violin in the Bibb County Public Schools.  Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Furman University and Master of Music Education degree from Florida State University.  At Florida State, she served as the president of her college chapter of the American String Teachers Association.

Elizabeth plays with Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra and is a soprano in Atlanta Master Chorale. 

Mrs. Noelle Williams is the current director of the Pinckneyville Middle School Orchestras in Peachtree Corners, GA. Prior to her appointment at Pinckneyville, she was the orchestra director for 7 years at Sweetwater Middle School in Lawrenceville, GA where she received multiple Superior ratings at LGPE. Mrs. Williams was a finalist for Teacher of the Year at Sweetwater in both 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a Bachlor of Music in Music Education and a minor in Spanish, as well as Full University Honors. Her notable professors were Dr. Scott Rawls (viola) and Dr. Rebecca MacLeod (Music Ed). While at UNCG, Mrs. Williams served as chapter president of the Gate City ASTA, was an active member of CNAfME, as well as a part of the Mu Phi Epsilon music fraternity. Mrs. Williams also holds a Master of Music Education degree from the University of South Carolina under the guidance of Dr. Gail Barnes, and taught middle school, high school, private studio, and after-school gifted programs in Sumter, SC for five years. 

Mrs. Williams is an active guest speaker, performer, clinician, mentor, and adjudicator. She has presented at GMEA, ASTA, and the Midwest International Band and Orchestra In-Service Conferences. She has also served as head adjudicator for South Carolina’s Region 3 Music Performance Assessment. Mrs. Williams is the event chair for Gwinnett County’s Violapalooza festival as well as a co-chair for the GMEA District 13 Middle School Honor Orchestra. She is passionate about mentoring young teachers; she previously served as lead mentor for Sweetwater MS, a mentor teacher for the National ASTA young professionals cohort, and is currently a county mentor for GCPS. As a performer, Mrs. Williams plays viola in the Gwinnett Symphony Chamber Orchestra. She currently lives in Suwanee with her husband Wes, and pitbull fur babies Truly & Bebe.