New Hire: Justin Benavidez

Dr. Justin Benavidez has accepted the position of Interim Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Ithaca College and will begin his appointment this fall. His responsibilities will include teaching applied lessons and performing in the faculty brass quintet. He previously served as the Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Texas A&M-Kingsville. Dr. Benavidez is the Artist Tuba Faculty at the Round Top Summer Music Festival and was the first tubist to receive both the New Horizons Fellowship and the Orchestral Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival. He was the recipient of the prestigious Horace H. Rackham Merit Fellowship for doctoral studies at the University of Michigan. As a soloist, he has received numerous awards and was most notably a two-time finalist at the Leonard Falcone Festival Competition. 

UT Knoxville Tuba/Euphonium Vacancy

Following the sudden passing of Kelly Thomas, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville has announced the need for a Lecturer of Tuba and Euphonium. See the full posting for more information.

In Memoriam: Robert (Bob) Rusk

Robert (Bob) Rusk, former tubist of the Milwaukee Symphony and well-known instrument design and repair person, has passed away. See the full obituary here: http://www.palmerfuneralhomes.com/notices/Robert-Rusk

Remembering Arnold Jacobs

June 11, 2015 was the centennial of Arnold Jacobs, former principal tubist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and renowned brass pedagogue. The CSO wrote a nice article about Jacobs' centennial, which you can read at this link: https://csoarchives.wordpress.com/2015/06/04/remembering-arnold-jacobs/

In Memoriam: Kelly Thomas

Our friend and newly elected vice-president/president-elect, Kelly Thomas, passed away very early this morning, June 8, 2015. Our collective thoughts and prayers are with Jana and Kelly and Jana's four children. When I spoke with Jana, I told her that she has our support as she goes through this very difficult time.

Everyone in our Association is aware that Kelly’s passing has several implications for ITEA in the immediate and longer term future. The Executive Committee will meet and discuss those issues after Kelly has been laid to rest, and we will keep everyone informed as we move forward. At this time, however, we all need to stop and take time to reflect on Kelly and his life, lend emotional support to his family, and think on the importance of our own families in our lives and how much we all mean to each other. We are a most fortunate group of people, and each one of us across the Association feels this loss very deeply – which is one of the things that makes our Association so special.


Sincerely,

Jerry Young
President, ITEA