New Hire: Michael Waddell, Longwood University

Michael Waddell has recently accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Music at Longwood University. He will begin serving in this role in Fall 2022. His duties include conducting the Longwood University Wind Symphony and teaching applied lessons on euphonium, tuba, and trombone. Prior to joining Longwood’s faculty, Michael served as Director of Bands at Hiram College since 2018, where he directed the Wind Ensemble, Pep Band, Jazz Ensemble, taught low brass lessons, and many other courses, such as music entrepreneurship. Active as a performer, he can be heard on several recordings, including Sweet Appalachia by the Keystone Quartet, Versatile Southern Rock and Roll by Rye, Chronicle by Zach Collins, and several recordings with the Keystone Wind Ensemble. Michael holds a DMA in Low Brass Performance from West Virginia University, MM in Euphonium Performance from Georgia State University, and BS in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. His primary studies have been with Mark Mitchell, Zach Collins, Christian Dickinson, Carson McTeer, Hakeem Bilal, and Adam Frey.

New Hire: Mason Soria, Los Angeles Philharmonic

Mason Soria will be the new tubist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and he will begin performing with the orchestra in September 2022. Mason is originally from Burbank, CA but grew up in Frisco, TX where he began his tuba studies at the age of 10. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Performance from the University of North Texas and a Master’s degree in Music Performance from the University of Miami. His main teachers include Dr. Aaron Tindall, Donald Little, Matthew Good, and Warren Deck. Before winning the LA Phil tuba audition, Mason held the principal tuba position with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra and the Richmond Symphony.

New Hire: Alec Mawrence, West Point Brass Quintet

Alec Mawrence has recently won a position as tubist with the West Point Brass Quintet at the United States Military Academy. He will begin serving in this role in November 2022. The West Point Brass Quintet is the ceremonial brass quintet for the West Point Band. The quintet provides support for West Point ceremonies as well as other outreach events throughout the greater New York City area. Alec received a master’s degree from the University of Michigan in 2022 and a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in 2020. He spent three summers at the Aspen Music Festival, where he studied with Warren Deck, and he toured Europe with the National Youth Orchestra of the USA in 2016. His past teachers include David Zerkel, Gene Pokorny, Matthew Gaunt, Rex Martin and Jared Bulmer.

New Hire: Ricardo Carvalhoso, University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar

Ricardo Carvalhoso is the new Tuba Instructor at the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar in Germany. He began teaching in this role in October 2021. Ricardo is a Portuguese tuba player who is the Solo-Tuba with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also been Solo-Tuba of the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra in France and the Orchestra of the Zürich Opera House - Philharmonia Zürich. In addition he has performed regularly as a featured artist in several Music Festivals and Masterclasses in Europe, South and North America, and Asia. Ricardo is a Yamaha performing artist.

New Hire: Jean Xhonneaux, Brussels Philharmonic

Jean Xhonneux has recently won the Tuba Solo Position with the Brussels Philharmonic. He had already been performing with this ensemble as Guest Solo Tuba since December 2014. His new contract began in February 2022. His duties include playing the bass tuba, contrabass tuba, and cimbasso. Prior to winning this position, Jean earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees while studying with Hans Nickel in Maastricht, the Netherlands. He has won several prizes and competitions, including 3rd (2012) and 2nd (2016) prizes at the Concorso Internazionale Città di Porcia in Pordenone, Italy. He was also a finalist at the XVI Tchaikovsky Competition, the inaugural year for brass participants, in St. Petersburg, Russia. In addition, he is a member of the brass quintet called Eburon Quintet, with whom he won the 1st Prize at the 2012 Concours International de Musique de Chambre in Lyon, France. In addition to his competition success, Jean has performed with a number of different high-level orchestras in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Germany, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the WDR Symphony Orchestra Köln, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, the Belgian National Orchestra, the Opera House of La Monnaie, and more. As a teacher, Jean has been the tuba professor at the Institut Supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie IMEP in Namur, Belgium since September 2012 and at the LUCA School of Arts in Leuven, Belgium since September 2018.

New Hire: Klemens Vetter, Leopold-Mozart-Zentrum

Klemens Vetter is the new Lecturer for Euphonium at Leopold-Mozart-Zentrum at the University of Augsburg. He began teaching in this role in December 2021. His duties include teaching euphonium, with a goal of preparing students to win jobs in the police bands or to be able to teach or conduct, along with playing euphonium. Klemens’s students will also study historical instruments, such as the serpent and ophicleide, along with orchestral instruments, such as the bass trumpet and German Bariton. Klemens studied at the renowned University of Luzern with Professor Thomas Rüedi where he finished his Master of Arts in Music Pedagogy in 2019. Since then, he has lived and worked in Germany, playing in the Landespolizeiorchester of Rheinland-Pfalz. He has played as substitute in the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn and the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra.

New Hire: Marc Placencia, U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" Ceremonial Band

Marc Placencia has won a tuba position with the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” Ceremonial Band, where his duties will involve performing for funerals at Arlington National Cemetery as well as various other ceremonies at locations such as the Pentagon and the White House. He plans to begin performing with the band in Fall 2022. Currently, Marc is a tubist with the Navy Band Northwest of the Navy Fleet Bands located in Silverdale, Washington. Before joining the Navy, he was a freelance musician in Phoenix, Arizona. He is a graduate of Arizona State University and has been fortunate to be primarily mentored by Sam Pilafian, Dr. Deanna Swoboda, Patrick Sheridan and Gabriel Sears.