J. Daniel Bowlds is a native of Lexington, Kentucky and an avid UK basketball fan. He earned an assistantship and a Master of Music degree at Kent State University, where his graduate woodwind quintet, Aeolus V, was a finalist in the 1997 Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition. While completing a Bachelor of Arts degree from Missouri Western State College, he studied both voice and bassoon, and was Principal Bassoon for the Missouri All-Collegiate Band and the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia National Assembly. Mr. Bowlds’ instructors include Richard Yeager, David Debolt, and Linda Harwell.