Upcoming Event: Dublin Brass Week

Dublin Brass Week offers an intensive yet varied schedule of events in which players can perform and learn in multiple settings. These range from traditional masterclasses, individual lessons, concerts, and ensembles to more specialized classes such as audition training, lectures, screened orchestral audition, jazz, and improvisation classes. Additionally, the annual Dublin Brass Week Concerto Competition is held during the festival, offering the winner a solo performance in the DBW Closing Concert and an engagement as soloist with an Irish orchestra in the coming seasons. 

Each year, Dublin Brass Week invites a faculty of leading soloists and internationally renowned teachers to teach, play, and share their knowledge at DBW.  Dublin Brass Week's unique atmosphere provides a positive and encouraging setting for musicians from around the globe to meet, collaborate, and share their passion for brass music. 

Øystein Baadsvik is the tuba faculty member. There are only 4 places in total available on the course this year.

All tuba players will receive the following tuition during the week -

Tuba

• 3 x Masterclasses with Øystein Baadsvik  
• 1 x Masterclass with Peter Gane
• 1 x Screened Audition Class with Jörgen van Rijen
• 2 x Lectures with Kristian Steenstrup
• Ensembles, also performing in concert
• DBW 2016  Concerto Competition
• Tickets to all Faculty Concerts

The course fee for applications received before 1 May is €375 and a course fee of €425 will be payable until the final application deadline on 1 June.

Full information at www.dublinbrassweek.com/dbw-2016 

Also note that hosting with local families in Dublin is offered on a first come first served basis for the duration of the festival for an additional admin fee of €50.

2016 ITEA Inaugural Teaching Award Winner!

The ITEA Board of Directors is pleased to announce that the winner of the inaugural ITEA Teaching Award is David Zerkel, Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music.

Prof. Zerkel was one of several members of ITEA nominated for this new award, with supporting letters solicited from current and former students and professional colleagues.   He will be formally recognized in June at the Awards Banquet at ITEC 2016 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

New Hire: Christopher Leslie, West Point Band

Christopher Leslie has won a euphonium position with the West Point Band. He will ship out for basic training in July and start playing with the band in early October. His duties will include performing with the concert and marching bands, the tuba quartet, and other chamber ensembles. Leslie received a Bachelor of Music Education with Distinction from St. Olaf College and a Master of Music in Euphonium Performance from Indiana University. He will finish his D.M.A. at the University of Georgia in the spring of 2016. He has been a featured soloist with the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” the University of Georgia Wind Ensemble, the Indiana University Wind Ensemble, the St. Olaf Orchestra, and the St. Olaf Band and has appeared on Minnesota Public Radio. Leslie has garnered success in regional and national competitions, taking first place in the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium Competition, the ITEC Solo and Mock Band Competitions, and the U.S. Army Band National Collegiate Solo Competition. In addition, he has been a runner-up in the MTNA Brass Solo Competition. He attributes his successes to the guidance and support of his teachers David Zerkel, Daniel Perantoni, David Werden, and Hiram Diaz, and to his father, Ken.

New Hire: Gail Robertson

Dr. Gail Robertson has recently accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Tuba/Euphonium and Jazz at the University of Central Arkansas. She is currently serving in this role as a Visiting Assistant Professor. Her duties - now and in the future - include teaching graduate and undergraduate applied lessons, leading Jazz Ensemble II, teaching the Graduate Pedagogy and Repertoire courses, conducting the UCA Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble, and performing as the tubist with Pinnacle Brass, UCA's faculty brass quintet. Dr. Robertson earned degrees from the University of Central Florida, Indiana University, and most recently Michigan State University, where she completed her D.M.A. as a University Distinguished Fellow. Her research at Michigan State led to the Clifford Bevan Award for Excellence in Research, which she was awarded in 2014. Prior to her doctoral studies, Dr. Robertson performed for 10 years with the “Tubafours” at Walt Disney World. Her other performance activities include the SYMBIOSISDUO with Dr. Stacy Baker, an ensemble which has recorded two CDs. In addition, she has toured the U.S., China, and Japan with Keith Brion’s “New Sousa Band," is a member of the Brass Band of Battle Creek, and has recently performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Robertson is a Willson Euphonium Artist and uses a bronze Warburton/Gail Robertson mouthpiece.

New Hire: Itai Agmon

Beginning in January 2016, Itai Agmon will make his debut as the Principal Tubist with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra. Agmon is currently a sophomore at Indiana University. His primary teachers include Daniel Perantoni, Shmuel Adi Hershko, and Avital Handler. During his military service in the Israel Defense Forces Band (2011-2014), he was an avid freelancer and was the primary tuba player for various regional orchestras across the state. He recently toured with the IU Wind Ensemble to the National CBDNA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee and performed with the IU Philharmonic Orchestra and the IU New Music Ensemble. He has been supported by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation since 2011.

New Hire: Dr. Albert Miller

Beginning in January 2016, Dr. Albert Miller will be the new Instructor of Tuba and Euphonium in the Lionel Hampton School of Music at the University of Idaho. His duties there include teaching applied tuba and euphonium lessons and studio classes. A native of Columbus, IN, Dr. Miller received his D.M.A. from the University of Kansas, an M.M. degree from the University of Arkansas, and a B.M.E. from Indiana State University. Prior to his move to the Pacific Northwest, he was the Director of Jazz Studies and Instructor of Low Brass at Kansas Wesleyan University. His primary teachers include Scott Watson, Ben Pierce, Alex Lapins, and Brian Kiser.

New Hire: Dr. Alexander Lapins

Dr. Alexander Lapins has recently accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He is currently serving as the Lecturer of Tuba and Euphonium at UT-Knoxville for the 2015-2016 academic year. His duties as assistant professor will include teaching applied lessons, leading the tuba/euphonium ensemble, teaching chamber music, and playing in the faculty brass quintet. Dr. Lapins was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in the suburbs of northern Virginia. He studied at James Madison University, the University of Michigan, and Indiana University, as well as the Henry Mancini Institute and the Tanglewood Music Center. He has performed with the Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Chicago and Flagstaff Symphony Orchestras, the Cincinnati and Indianapolis Opera Orchestras, the New Mexico Philharmonic Orchestra, and many professional brass quintets. He has also performed as a session musician on hundreds of recordings. In addition to his duties at UT-Knoxville, Dr. Lapins is on the faculty of the Miraphone Academy and the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and was previously on the faculty of Northern Arizona University, Indiana State University, and the University of Indianapolis. His principal teachers include Daniel Perantoni, Fritz Kaenzig, Kevin Stees, Tony Kniffen, and Mike Bunn. Dr. Lapins is a Miraphone artist.