Sheryl Laukat, CEOPersonal Saxophone: Big Bell Stone Series Lacquered Alto Sheryl was raised in Utah. Saxophones were played by her family and extended family so she kept up the tradition. (Her mother still played and performed with her saxophone at age 78.) Sheryl graduated from Weber State University with a degree in Music Education and an emphasis in saxophone. She was the band director at Millcreek Jr. High School in Bountiful, Utah. Sheryl donated her time for over 11 years as the pianist and arranger of the International Children's Choir which performed for visiting ambassadors, royalty, and religious leaders from all over the world. She currently serves as the Vice President for the Board of Directors of the choir. Sheryl also serves on the National Advisory Committee for Weber State University and was honored as a Distinguished Alumni 2010. What does Sheryl do at Cannonball? She oversees all operations. While managing instrument production, she enjoys frequent communication with our partners in Taiwan, Germany and China. She also heads International Distribution. The marketing aspect of Cannonball is one of her favorite fortes, as is talking with musicians and dealers. When she can find a spare moment, she loves to write and arrange music. She has written a few pieces especially for Cannonball’s own saxophonists, Tevis Laukat, Randal Clark, and Ryan Lillywhite to perform. You can see the performances on our Videos Page. Above all, Sheryl loves happy customers.
Tevis Laukat, PresidentPersonal Saxophones: Vintage Reborn: Dark Amber Lacquer Alto, Dark Amber Lacquer Soprano Big Bell Stone Series: Raven Tenor, Raven Bari Tevis was raised in beautiful Sacramento, California. He started playing clarinet at a young age and he quickly added the saxophone and flute. As a junior in high school, he was invited to play with the Consumnes River College Jazz Band. He later attended Brigham Young University where he mastered all of the woodwinds and graduated with a music performance degree. During college, he was awarded outstanding soloist in several jazz festivals. As lead tenor sax player, he toured Hungary and Romania with BYU's Synthesis Jazz Band, which was the very first non-communist musical group allowed in each of those countries. After graduating, he had a successful career as a professional woodwind doubler in both Utah and California. He played in the Concord Pavilion with the Mills Brothers, Barry Manilow, Tom Jones, Johnny Mathis and the Spinners. He also played for the Donny and Marie Television Show, Ray Charles, Bob Hope, the Utah Symphony, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, just to name a few. He played in live musicals for 20 years in Salt Lake City's Pioneer Memorial Theater and Sacramento's Music Circus, which often included New York original casts. Besides live performances he has recorded for television, radio commercials, CD's, and many major motion pictures. What does Tevis do at Cannonball? He oversees and participates in hand acoustical customization of the horns. He also creates, experiments with and tests new ideas. Communication is his talent and it is a great pleasure for him to communicate with musicians and dealers. His dealer area concentrates on USA and Canada but he enjoys being involved with all Cannonball dealers and distributors worldwide. He provides laughter for the staff by using his kid-like enthusiasm for life, good food, cars, and especially great musical instruments!
Dr. Randal ClarkSaxophone Development, Acoustical Expert, Director of Media and Education Personal Saxophones: Big Bell Stone Series: A5 "Mad Meg" Alto, T5 "Mad Meg Tenor. Vintage Reborn: Dark Amber Lacquer Alto, S5-SB (Black nickel with Silver Keys) Dr. Randal Clark plays and acoustically customizes most of the Alto and Soprano saxophones. Randal holds a DMA in Conducting with an emphasis in Saxophone Performance from the University of Utah. He also holds a Master of Music degree in Music Education from the University of Utah with an emphasis in Saxophone Performance. Randal is also a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Utah teaching saxophone. In addition to working for Cannonball, he is a full-time high school band, orchestra, and jazz band teacher where ensembles have consistently taken top marks at the state assessments. He has been teaching high school band and orchestra for 18 years. Randal plays principal alto saxophone in the Utah Wind Symphony, one of the premiere wind bands in the country and was featured as a soprano saxophone soloist for the northwest premiere of David Maslanka's Symphony No.9 (3rd mvt). Randal performed along with The Utah Wind Symphony at the 2014 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. He is the conductor of the Utah Wind Symphony Youth Ensemble, an elite wind ensemble made up of the best wind musicians in the state of Utah. He is the conductor of the Canyons Symphony Orchestra, an honors orchestra involving students from all over the Salt Lake Valley. He has appeared at the Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival, the Park City International Jazz Festival, and the Benny Golson Jazz Festival as a featured performer. He has performed with artists such as: Gerald Albright, Winston Byrd, Don Menza, Carl Allen, Gordon Goodwin, Eric Darius, Elan Trotman, Keith Anderson, Gianni Vancini, The Cannonball Band, and many more. Randal is in demand as a guest soloist, clinician, conductor, and adjudicator. Randal loves to golf, loves fast cars, and is a home theater geek! We are happy to have such a wonderful saxophonist and educator on the Cannonball Team.
Ryan LillywhiteProfessional Saxophonist, Acoustical Expert, Parts Manager, International Representative Personal Saxophones: Vintage Reborn: Dark Amber Laquer Alto, Brute Tenor Big Bell Stone Series: Black with Silver Keys Tenor Ryan plays and acoustically customizes most of the Tenor and Baritone saxophones. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in business management and a minor in music. As the lead tenor sax player for three years in BYU's top jazz band, Synthesis, he toured with the band and was a frequently featured soloist. Ryan has performed with numerous ensembles throughout Utah including the Utah Symphony. He performs and records regularly and has taught saxophone and clarinet lessons. He can be heard on a number of soundtracks and CDs. An innovative musician, he has won awards in organ and piano competitions and played ukulele for a Tahitian dance team. Ryan is also fluent in French and Tahitian and volunteers his time to interpret these languages for worldwide conferences. He has had extensive training and experience in instrument repair, facilitating his roles as parts manager and contributor to the design of Cannonball instruments. Daron BradfordProfessional Clarinet, Flute, and Woodwind Artist Head Clarinet Acoustical Customizer Personal Clarinet: Piacere Daron Bradford, our main acoustical expert, was the principal clarinetist for the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra and played for the Donny and Marie Osmond TV show. He currently plays solo performances on clarinet, saxophone, and celtic instruments with the Utah Symphony and the Orchestra at Temple Square. Daron is a faculty member at Brigham Young University School of Music teaching saxophone and clarinet, and is also a first-call recording artist and freelance musician on all woodwinds. Local and national composers use him on all of the flute family, both in traditional and non-traditional playing techniques. His teachers were David Randall (BYU), Martin Zwick (Utah Symphony), Leon Russianoff (NYC), Robert Marcellus and Fred Hemke (Northwestern University).
Ryan LaukatProfessional Trumpeter, Acoustical Expert, Master Engraver Personal Trumpets: Ryan plays and acoustically customizes all of the Cannonball trumpets. He is a lifelong musician and has played trumpet at the University of Utah in the Jazz Band and Wind Symphony, as well as in community orchestras, musicals, and events. He is a current member of the Utah Wind Symphony, and has performed many times as a guest artist with the International Children's Choir. He is also a professional artist/illustrator; he works as the head of hand engraving at Cannonball and is part of the advertising team. His art is featured on many Cannonball products and advertisements. The new Lynx brace design is Ryan's original creation. He is also a freelance illustrator and specializes in books, board games, portraits, and advertisements. He is fluent in Spanish. He is also a trained saxophone and clarinet technician and runs all laser engraving at the Salt Lake City facility. Cannonball's Salt Lake City, Utah Staff 
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