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.

New Hire: John Mangonon, U.S. Navy Band

John Mangonon has won a tuba position with the United States Navy Band in Washington D.C. He will begin performing with the band in April 2022. The primary mission for the Navy Band is to provide musical support to the President of the United States, the Department of the Navy, and other military and government functions. Duties include national and regional tours, public concerts and recordings, and various ceremonies in the greater Capital region including support for full honor funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. An avid performer and educator, John is a rising professional musician as both soloist and ensemble member. He has received degrees in Tuba Performance, Music Education, and Wind Conducting from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, and is currently working towards his Master’s degree in Tuba Performance at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. His primary tuba instructors include Dr. Aaron Tindall, Mr. Daniel Perantoni, and Mr. Sérgio Carolino.

New Hire: Franz Langlois, Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra

Franz Langlois is the new Solo Tuba with the Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra. He began in this role in October 2021. Duties include playing on all opera productions and symphonic concerts, including doubling on contrabass tuba and cimbasso as necessary. Franz grew up in the north of France to musician parents and began playing tuba at age 8. He took lessons at the conservatory in Lille and then pursued a Bachelor's degree at the National Supérieur de Musique in Paris. He then moved to Germany to pursue a Master’s degree in Karlsruhe with his mentor Dirk Hirthe. Prior to winning this position, Franz had been a finalist in many other orchestral auditions.

New Hire: Jerome Stover, Sam Houston State University

Jerome Stover is the new Assistant Professor of Tuba at Sam Houston State University School of Music. He began teaching there as an adjunct professor in August 2019 and went on to earn the Assistant Professor role, which started in August 2021. His duties include teaching applied tuba, co-directing the tuba and euphonium ensemble, playing in the faculty brass quintet, and teaching the History of Rock, Jazz, and Popular Music. Prior to joining the Sam Houston State University School of Music, Jerome held several adjunct teaching positions and maintained a large private tuba and euphonium studio. He is a former member of the Honolulu Symphony and has played with the Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Houston, Oregon, Jacksonville, New Mexico, and Korean Broadcasting System Symphonies. Jerome has performed and taught throughout North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. He is an Adams Brass Artist and also the owner of Professor Mouthpiece, an online store that specializes in tuba and euphonium mouthpieces.

New Hire: Dirk Hirthe, Stockholm Chamber Brass

In January 2022, Dirk Hirthe will join Stockholm Chamber Brass as the ensemble’s new tuba player. Dirk was born in Germany. After his studies with George A. Monch and Prof. Jens Björn-Larsen, he played one year at the State Opera in Stuttgart. Since 2008 he has been the tuba player of the Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe and is regularly invited to perform with the leading orchestras in Germany. He has also played with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Lucerne Festival Brass Ensemble as a guest member. As a soloist he has appeared with the Frankfurter Museumsorchester, the Bochumer Sinfoniker, and the Badische Staatskapelle, amongst others. Since 2014 Dirk has served as the Professor for Tuba at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe. Many of his students have won international competitions and play in orchestras across Europe. In addition, Dirk has given master classes at universities in almost every country in Europe including: Conservatoire Superieur Paris, Hochschule für Kunst und Musik Wien, Mozarteum Universität Salzburg, Musikhochschule Krakow, and Musikhochschule Vilnius. Dirk performs on tubas from the German brass manufacturer, Miraphone, and since 2014 he has helped them to develop their tubas. He particularly helped them with the development of their Elektra model F Tuba and their Hagen model BB-flat Tuba. Dirk became an official Miraphone Artist in 2015.

New Hire: Corentin Morvan, Conservatory Maurice Ravel

Corentin Morvan is the new tuba, euphonium, and saxhorn teacher at the Conservatory Maurice Ravel in Levallois-Perret, France. He began teaching in this position in September 2021. Solo saxhorn at the Republican Guard Orchestra and the 2018 first prize winner at the Jeju International Euphonium Competition, Corentin is an adventurous musician. He graduated from the Paris National Conservatory (CNSMDP) in the class of Philippe Fritsch, and he leads an eclectic career in chamber music with the Opus 333 quartet and orchestra. He is regularly invited by the main French symphony orchestras (Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, French National Orchestra, Paris Orchestra, and others) and all over the world (Berlin Konzerthaus, Granada Orchestra, and others). As a soloist, he performs regularly in recitals with piano or with orchestras.