New Hire: Matt Hightower, University of Kentucky

Matt Hightower has recently accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Tuba/Euphonium at the University of Kentucky. He will begin teaching there in Fall 2018, and his primary duties will be teaching applied tuba/euphonium, conducting the tuba/euphonium ensemble, teaching tuba/euphonium methods, and performing with the faculty brass quintet. Hightower is currently on the faculty of Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Prior to his appointment at TAMUK, he held positions at Murray State University and The University of Texas at Austin. As a professional tubist, Hightower’s performance experience covers a wide range of chamber, orchestral, and solo music that spans three continents and nine countries. Recent solo recitals include Baylor University, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, the 2017 & 2018 South Central Regional Tuba/Euphonium Conferences, and The United States Army Band Tuba/Euphonium Workshop in Arlington, VA. He is the tubist with the Corpus Christi Brass Quintet and a founding member of the Atlas tuba quartet. Hightower has also performed with the Bloomington Camerata Orchestra, The Columbus (IN) Symphony, The Evansville Philharmonic, The Iceland Symphony Orchestra, The Jackson Symphony, and David Baker’s 20th Century BeBop Band. In addition to performing, Hightower is an award-winning composer. In 2010 he was named the winner of the KMEA Intercollegiate Composition Contest. Many of his arrangements and original works are published through Potenza Music and Absolute Brass Publishing. Hightower earned a B.M. in Music Education from Murray State University, and an M.M. in Tuba Performance from Indiana University, and a D.M.A. in Tuba Performance from the University of Texas at Austin. His primary instructors were Ray Conklin, Daniel Perantoni, and Charles Villarrubia. Hightower is a B&S Performing Artist.