New Hire: Dr. Justin Benavidez, Ithaca College

Dr. Justin Benavidez has accepted the Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium position at Ithaca College and will continue there after being in an interim position this previous academic year. At Ithaca College, he teaches all applied tuba and euphonium lessons and coaches chamber music ensembles. Dr. Benavidez is the tubist in Symphoria (formerly Syracuse Symphony) and the Syracuse Opera, and he is the Tuba Artist-Faculty at the Round Top Summer Music Festival Institute. Dr. Benavidez is a Buffet USA Artist performing on Meinl Weston tubas.

New Hire: Dr. Matthew Mireles, St. Mary's University

Dr. Matthew Mireles has recently accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Instrumental Studies at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. He will begin in August 2016. Dr. Mireles’ duties will include leading the Wind Ensemble and Athletic Band and teaching conducting. Dr. Mireles is in high demand as a performer, conductor, clinician, and educator. Prior to this appointment, he was the Director of Bands at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. He is also a member of the Boreas Quartet, which won the 2016 Roger Bobo Award for excellence in chamber music recording.

New Hire: Genevieve Clarkson, Northern Arizona University

Genevieve Clarkson will be the new Lecturer in Tuba/Euphonium at Northern Arizona University. Beginning in August 2016, Genevieve will be teach private lessons as well as associated activities, including juries and studio recitals, weekly master classes, and pedagogy and literature courses. In addition, she will be direct the Northern Arizona University Tuba Euphonium Ensemble (better known as NAUTEE) and will perform in the faculty brass quintet, Elden Brass. A native of Arlington, Virginia, Genevieve earned a Bachelor of Music Degree from James Madison University (Kevin Stees), a Master of Music Degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (Timothy Northcut), and is a current Doctoral Candidate in Tuba Performance at Indiana University (Daniel Perantoni). Genevieve served as Conference Manager for the 2014 and 2016 International Tuba Euphonium Conferences held in Bloomington, IN and Knoxville, TN, respectively. Having worked as a freelance musician and private instructor in and around Austin, Texas since 2014, Genevieve leaves behind a fantastically talented studio of 60 middle and high school tuba and euphonium students, but is looking forward to her new position at Northern Arizona University.

New Hire: Chris Olka, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Chris Olka has won the position of Principal Tuba with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He will begin playing with the CSO in September 2016 under the baton of Music Director Louis Langree. His duties will include performing with the Cincinnati Symphony, Opera, Ballet, and Pops ensembles. Prior to his appointment in Cincinnati, Chris has been the Principal Tubist of the Seattle Symphony and Opera since 1999 and the Tuba Artist Faculty at the University of Washington since 2001. Additional orchestral experience includes Guest Principal Tuba with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Cincinnati, and New Jersey Symphonies as well as principal positions with Maestro Seiji Ozawa’s Saito Kinen Festival Orchestra and Gerard Schwarz’s All-Star Orchestra and Aspen Festival Orchestra. From 1989 to 1996 he was a staff musician for the Walt Disney World Company in Orlando, Florida, where he was a member of many of the bands there, including the TUBAFOURS tuba quartet, the world’s only full-time professional tuba quartet. His education includes a B.M. from the University of Central Florida and an M.M. from the Juilliard School. Chris is proud to be a Yamaha Performing Artist.

New Hire: Dr. Adam Frey, University of North Georgia

Dr. Adam Frey is the new Assistant Professor of Low Brass at the University of North Georgia, where he will serve as the Director of the Brass Area and teach trombone, euphonium, tuba, chamber music, and brass choir. He will begin his position at UNG in August 2016. Dr. Frey has commissioned more than 100 new works and arrangements involving the euphonium and has been the Artistic Director of the International Euphonium Tuba Festival for 13 years. His degrees are from the University of Georgia, the Royal Northern College of Music, and Salford University. His website - www.euphonium.com - serves as a hub of euphonium information with more than 600 free PDF and MP3 samples.