IWBC Conference 2000: Artists

	The Aurora Trombone Quartet was formed in 1997 at the IWBC Conference in St. Louis. Members include (alphabetically): Susan Dustan – trombone Linda Pearse – trombone Rachel Thomas – trombone Julia Bantin – bass trombone At the suggestion of Linda’s teacher, Abbie Conant, the quartet has undertaken its first recording project. Aurora is planning a European tour following their IWBC Conference 2000 appearance.
	Kathy Brantigan received her Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees from the University of Michigan. She has studied with Abe Torchinsky and Sam Pilafian. She and husband Charles Brantigan are founders of The Denver Brass of which Kathy is Executive Director. She performs with The Denver Brass and the Aries Brass Quintet, is Chair of the Brass Department and Instructor of Tuba at the University of Denver Lamont School of Music, and is Treasurer of the International Tubist Universal Brotherhood Association (TUBA). In addition to her musical pursuits, Kathy and her husband restore Victorian homes and are the parents of four sons – Hans, Nathan, David, and Shay.
	Julia Louise Bantin won the Bass Trombone position with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec in the summer of 1995, prior to her final year at the University of Toronto. She has performed with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Montréal Symphony Orchestra, and in the summer of 1996 and 1997, she played with the Monarch Brass Ensemble. Julia is a member of the Aurora Trombone Quartet.
	The Besson Brass is an ensemble of Besson artists who have distinguished themselves in many areas of brass playing. This group performs in varied configurations. The artists in the Besson Brass include: Dennis Najoom – trumpet Glenda Smith – trumpet Carl Vale – euphonium and trombone Patrick Sheridan – tuba French Besson is the brass division of Boosey & Hawkes.
	Founded in 1980, the nationally acclaimed Blue Wisp Big Band features some of Cincinnati’s best jazz musicians. Winners of the Post-Corbett Award and the Cammy Lifetime Achievement Award, this ensemble has also made five recordings, including a live album in Hollywood. Downbeat magazine gives the band “points for honesty, commitment and live excitement” and the Cincinnati Enquirer considers the Wisp Band “an original and exceptional asset to the Queen City.” In England, the Blue Wisp Big Band has been called “one of the most formidable bands in America.”
	Carolyn Bremer came to composition at the age of 24 after intensive training as an orchestral bassist. Her compositions have been featured at festivals including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Bloomingdale House of Music Mostly Women Composers Concerts; Bowling Green New Music and Art Festival; 1995 UN Conference on Women’s Rights in Beijing; the 1999 International Congress on Women in Music in London; and MusicAlaskaWomen Festival. She has received multiple grants, and is currently co-director of a $264,000 grant in music technology from the FIPSE program at the U.S. Department of Education. Ms. Bremer is also head of the composition program at the University of Oklahoma.
	Velvet Brown has performed with the St. Louis Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, and has recorded with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra in which she has been Principal Tubist since 1989. Her teachers include Daniel Perantoni, Sam Pilafian and Roger Bobo. She has released a solo CD recording on the Crystal Records label. In addition to her career as a tuba soloist, she is also an active conductor, and Professor at Bowling Green State University.
	Barbara Butler is Professor of Trumpet at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Ms. Butler is also Co-Principal and Soloist with Chicago’s Music of the Baroque and Chicago Chamber Musicians. Former Professor of Trumpet for 18 years at the Eastman School of Music in New York, she also performed with the Eastman Brass and Eastman Virtuosi. Ms. Butler is Co-Principal Trumpet with the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra in Wyoming and was formerly Co-Principal Trumpet with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Principal Trumpet with the Grant Park Symphony, Acting Associate Principal Trumpet with the Houston Symphony and Acting Assistant Principal Trumpet with the St. Louis Symphony.
	The Canterbury Brass emerged in 1993 from the prestigious Indiana University School of Music, and currently performs across the United States. The group has won many chamber music competitions, including: First Place in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in South Bend, Indiana (1997); First Place at the 1997 New York Brass Conference Quintet Competition; Semi-finalist in the Concert Artists’ Guild Competition, in New York, New York (1997) and Honorable Mention at the Coleman Chamber Music Competition, in Pasadena, California (1995). Members include: Stephen Burns, guest artist – trumpet Dan Grantham – trumpet Stacy Simpson – trumpet Kathyrin Hagen – horn Mark Babbitt, guest artist – trombone Iain Hunter – trombone Todd Nix – tuba
	Rebecca Bower Cherian currently serves as Co-Principal Trombone of the Pittsburgh Symphony, as well as on the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University. A graduate of the Yale School of Music, she also has performed with the Israel Philharmonic, Boston Ballet and Opera Orchestras, and New York City Ballet.
	Abbie Conant received her Bachelor’s Degree (Cum Laude) from Temple University in 1977, studied at Yale University in 1976, received her Master’s Degree from the Juilliard School in 1979, and a Meister diploma from the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, Germany in 1984. She was solo trombonist of the Royal Opera of Turin, Italy from 1979 to 1980 and the Munich Philharmonic from 1980 to 1993. She has recorded a highly acclaimed CD of trombone and organ music and performs internationally as a concerto soloist, recitalist, improviser and performance artist. In 1992 she was named full tenured Professor of Trombone at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Trossingen, Germany. For her most recent project, entitled The Wired Goddess and her Trombone, she is working with composers to create works for computer and trombone based on the theme of the goddess.
	Karen Donnelly is Principal Trumpet for the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. She has a Master’s of Music from McGill University in Montréal where she performed with the Montréal Symphony Orchestra, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra and others. She has a busy chamber music schedule performing many concerts for CBC. As a member of the Riedau Lakes Brass Quintet, she is active giving educational concerts and workshops in schools in the greater national capital region.
	Romanian born Cristian Ganicenco is currently Principal Trombone of the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras. Prior to being appointed to that position, he was enrolled in the Doctoral Program in the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Before coming to the United States in 1994, Mr. Ganicenco was Principal Trombone of the Romanian National Radio Orchestra. He was a First prize winner in the Romanian National Instrumental Competition. Mr. Ganicenco holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University (MM), the Academy of Music, Bucharest, Romania (MFA) and the George Enesco School of Music also in Bucharest. His teachers include: Byron McCulloh, Joe Alessi, Rebecca Bower Cherian, and Nitzan Haroz.
	Bradley M. Goode is Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music. He has studied trumpet with Vincent DiMartino, Chris Gekker, William Adam, double bass with Larry Gray, improvisation with Vincent Lawrence Maggio and composition with Charles Argersinger and Ted Piltecker. He currently performs as a soloist/guest artist with many university and high school groups and at major music festivals and night clubs and is leader of the Brad Goode Sextet and Brad Goode Quartet. He has performed extensively as a member of the Woody Herman Orchestra, Ira Sullivan Quintet, Barrett Deems Big Band, Jack DeJohnette’s Chicago Reunion Band, Ernie Krivda's Thunder From the Heartland Quintet, Curtis Fuller Quintet, Eddie Harris Quintet and the Eddie Johnson Quintet. Mr. Goode is Artist in Residence with the Cuyahoga Community College Jazz Studies Program and Instructor at the American Conservatory of Music. He has recorded for the Delmark and Sunlight labels, with several new releases in progress.
	Robin Graham is currently Principal Horn of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, a position she has held since 1985, following a six-year tenure as Principal Horn of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. She began her professional career when, as a twenty-year-old senior at the Juilliard School, she won the Principal Horn position of the Houston Symphony, thereby becoming the youngest player in that orchestra’s history. Ms. Graham is also an active soloist and chamber musician.
	Don Greene, a sports psychologist specializing in the performing arts, works with instrumentalists, singers, dancers and actors, helping them attain their “Optimal Performance Level” through a series of practical techniques and proven strategies. His methods have aided a large number of musicians in earning positions with the Metropolitan Opera, the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony and the National Symphony Orchestra, among others.
	Paul Hillner is currently serving as Assistant Dean for Admissions and Student Services at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Before becoming Assistant Dean for CCM he was the CCM Admissions Officer and has been on the admissions staff at CCM for 21 years. Over this time period he has evaluated literally thousands of college entrance auditions. He received his BM in Trumpet Performance and his MM in Wind Conducting from CCM. Mr. Hillner is also on the staff of CCM's Preparatory Department as Conductor of the CCM Preparatory Department Brass Choir and Trumpet Instructor.
	Apo Hsu holds the posts of Artistic Director and Conductor of The Women’s Philharmonic in San Francisco as well as Music Director and Conductor of the Springfield Symphony (MO). Previously she completed a critically acclaimed six-year term with the Oregon Mozart Players as well as a highly successful three-year tenure with the Oregon Symphony in the coveted Affiliate Artist/NEA Conductor position. Ms. Hsu has worked with such esteemed artists as Andre Watts, Gil Shaham, Sarah Chang, Gary Karr, Angela Hewitt, Tony Bennett, Judy Collins, and many more. She will make her debut as the conductor of the Monarch Brass Ensemble at this year’s conference.
	Angie Hunter has appeared as a soloist at the International Tuba-Euphonium Conferences in Chicago (1995) and in Riva, Italy (1997), as well as at the 1997 IWBC Conference. Since that time, she has given recitals and workshops at several universities in the U.S. and completed a euphonium CD, Collage. Since 1989, Miss Hunter has been a music teacher at the German Bible Institute in Königsfeld, Black Forest, Germany.
	The Indiana University Faculty Brass: Edmund Cord – Professor of Trumpet John Rommel – Professor of Trumpet Tom Sherwood – Adjunct Professor of Horn, Associate Principal Horn, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Carl Lenthe – Professor of Trombone Dan Perantoni – Professor of Tuba
	Mary Judge is the Principal Librarian of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the proud single mother of three children. She graduated from the School of Music at Indiana University where her teachers included Roque Cordero and Juan Orrego-Salas. Her Fanfare for a Celebration was commissioned by the CSO in honor of their centennial season and was performed, along with her Fanfare for a New Decade, at Riverbend, the CSO’s summer home. She is former President of the Major Orchestra Librarians Association (MOLA) and hosted the 1991 international convention in Cincinnati.
	Keith Kavanaugh is a drummer, graphic artist and CD replication broker in Kansas City, Missouri. As founder of BauWau Design in 1996, he has created more than 75 CDs and numerous other self-promotional pieces for musicians from coast-to-coast. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Jazz Performance (Summa Cum Laude), and Park College in Fine Art and Graphic Design (Summa Cum Laude), he recently played with Claude “Fiddler” Williams at the American Jazz Museum. His latest recording with the Doug Talley Quartet, Night and Day: Musings on the Cole Porter Songbook, was released Fall 1998. His design portfolio can be viewed at www.bauwau.com.
	The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Horn Section: Julie Landsman is currently Principal Horn of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Prior to her 1985 MET appointment, she was Co-Principal Horn of the Houston Symphony, and Principal Horn of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. While a freelance musician in the New York area, Ms. Landsman appeared regularly with the New York Philharmonic and Orpheus. A faculty member of the Juilliard School since 1989, she has also taught at the University of Houston, Rice University, Purchase College, and Brooklyn College. Her many students include the “MET Horn Girls.” Michelle Baker is Second Horn with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and a former member of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. She has toured with the Marlboro Music Festival, and is a graduate of the University of Houston and Juilliard School of Music. Anne Marie Scharer holds a bachelor degree from Indiana University and has studied at the Juilliard School. Her teachers have included Julie Landsman, Myron Bloom and Michael Hatfield. She is currently Third Horn with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and performs with the Saint Luke’s Orchestra in New York. Previously held posts include Associate Principal Horn with the Columbus Symphony (Ohio) and Principal Horn in Oviedo, Spain. Barbara Jöstlein has been a member of the Jerusalem Symphony for one year, and has played Assistant Principal Horn with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for two years where she now holds the position of Fourth Horn. Her teachers have included Julie Landsman, Nancy Fako and Philip Farkas.
	The Monarch Brass: Conductor Apo Hsu – Artistic Director and Conductor of The Women’s Philharmonic in San Francisco, Music Director and Conductor of the Springfield Symphony Trumpet Lauraine Carpenter – Principal Trumpet, Toledo Symphony Orchestra Karen Donnelly – Principal Trumpet, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ottawa Theresa Hanebury – Second Trumpet, Houston Ballet Orchestra Cathy Leach – Principal Trumpet, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Carole Dawn Reinhart – Professor of Trumpet, Academy of Music in Vienna Judith Saxton – Principal Trumpet, Wichita Symphony Orchestra Stacy Simpson – The Canterbury Brass Susan Slaughter – Principal Trumpet, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Marie Speziale – Associate Principal Trumpet, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (retired) Horn Michelle Baker – Second Horn, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Lisa Ford – Principal Horn, Goteborgs Symfoniker National Orchestra of Sweden Nancy Goodearl – Third Horn, Houston Symphony Orchestra Barbara Jöstlein – Fourth Horn, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Julie Landsman – Principal Horn, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Kristy Morrell – Second Horn, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Laurel Ohlson – Associate Principal Horn, National Symphony Orchestra Anne Marie Scharer – Third Horn, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Trombone Rebecca Bower Cherian – Co-Principal Trombone, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Julie Josephson – New York freelance artist and soloist Lynn Mostoller – Principal Trombone, Tulsa Symphony Orchestra Donna Parks – Rotating Trombone Section, New World Symphony Debra Taylor – Principal Trombone, New Mexico Symphony; Second Trombone, Grant Park Symphony Bass Trombone Julie Bantin – Bass Trombone, Quebec Symphony Orchestra Euphonium Laura Lineberger – U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” Hitomi Yakata – Assistant Instructor, Indiana University School of Music Tubas Stacy Baker – Professor of Tuba, Morehead State University Kathy Brantigan – The Denver Brass Velvet Brown – Professor of Tuba, Bowling Green State University Percussion Christina Carroll – Principal, Houston Ballet Orchestra Alice Gomez – Extra, San Antonio Symphony Bonnie Hering – University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music Meredith Nelson – U.S. Marine Band “The President’s Own” Librarians Rebecca Beavers – Associate Principal Librarian, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Laura Lineberger – U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” Personnel Manager Theresa Hanebury – Second Trumpet, Houston Ballet Orchestra
	The Monarch Brass Quintet: Susan Slaughter – trumpet Marie Speziale – trumpet Laurel Ohlson – horn Rebecca Bower Cherian – trombone Velvet Brown – tuba
	Jennifer Montone is Third Horn with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and a freelance musician in New York City where she has played with the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. She also plays with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, touring with these ensembles in 1999. A graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, where she studied with Julie Landsman, Ms. Montone was a featured soloist in the 1999 International Horn Society Workshop in Athens, Georgia.
	Kristy Morrell holds the Second Horn position with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and works actively as a free lance performer and studio musician. She is also on the faculty at the University of Southern California. In 1993 she was awarded first prize in the International Horn Society solo competition and in 1997 won first prize in the solo competition at the International Women’s Brass Conference. She has a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Southern California and has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Rochester Symphony, Utah Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Santa Fe and Boise Philharmonic.
	Dr. Scott A. Nelson is Associate Professor of Trumpet and conductor of the Wind Ensemble at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. He received a B.M.E. degree from the University of Akron, a M.M. degree in Trumpet Performance and a D.M.A. degree in Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Dr. Nelson has performed with the Cincinnati Symphony, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Cincinnati Ballet Orchestra, Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, Washington Oratorio Orchestra, Washington Choral Arts Orchestra and many others.
	Laurel Ohlson has been the Associate Principal Horn with the National Symphony Orchestra since 1980. She appears frequently on the NSO’s chamber music series, is a member of the Capitol Woodwind Quintet, National Musical Arts, Music at Eden’s Edge, and the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, and has been a recitalist and clinician at several IWBC and International Horn Society Conferences. A graduate of Boston University’s School for the Arts, Ms. Ohlson majored in horn performance and mathematics.
	Dan Perantoni, Professor of Music, Indiana University School of Music, is a renowned tuba soloist, clinician, chamber musician, instrument designer and master teacher. He has been a featured artist at Carnegie Hall, the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Spoleto Festival USA, the Adelaide Festival in Australia, the Banff Center for the Arts in Canada, the Montreux Brass Congress in Switzerland, and as soloist throughout Japan. He is a founding member of Summit Brass, a member of Symphonia, the Matteson-Phillips Tubajazz Consort, and has released numerous solo and chamber music CDs. Along with Robert Tucci, he designed the Perantucci line of low brass instruments and mouthpieces that has become the equipment choice for thousands of low brass players worldwide. He serves as consultant/clinician and Vice-President of Educational Matters for Custom Music Company.
	Frank Proto’s compositions, which do not recognize established genres, range from works composed and arranged for Doc Severinsen to compositions for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Trained at the Manhattan School of Music as a bassist, he wrote his first composition for his graduation recital after being frustrated by the lack of available literature. Mr. Proto served for 31 years as a composer, double bassist and new music advisor with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Having recently left the orchestra, his full schedule includes composing, performing, master classes and lectures.
	Barbara Prugh is a soloist and freelance trumpeter from the Philadelphia area, who has managed to develop a very nice performance career and reputation in and beyond that area. She was a featured soloist at both the IWBC Conference in St. Louis in 1997 and the International Brass Conference (IBC) in Indiana in 1984. She has played with the Philadelphia Orchestra on occasion, and was a Finalist in the Concert Artists’ Guild Competition in NYC in 1983. All this while raising two kids, several cats, a dog (a big one), and a husband (whoops!), starting in her early 30’s. Her kids are now 16 and 12, and she thinks she’s beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel (she’s a very optimistic person!).
	Carole Dawn Reinhart graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Arts. A Fulbright scholarship took her to Vienna, Austria, where she was the first woman on a brass instrument to achieve the coveted “Reifezeugnis” with honors at the Academy of Music. Ms. Reinhart completed her education at the Juilliard School. She has made concert tours throughout Europe, the Orient, Australia, Africa, the U.S. and Canada. Since 1983, Carole Reinhart has been a professor at the Academy of Music in Vienna.
	Karen Schneider is widely known as an excellent teacher and embouchure problem solver. Many of her students have received sizable scholarships including a 16-year-old who won the International Horn Society Jon Hawkin’s Scholarship Competition. She has given master classes at the Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music, Penn State, Miami University and the University of South Florida where she also hosted a horn workshop with Philip Farkas. She has performed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Pops and the Florida Orchestra.
	Dr. Betty Scott is a full professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia where she gives brass instruction, teaches Music Appreciation and World Music and conducts the MU Brass Choir and MU Trumpet Ensemble. For the Honors College, she teaches a class entitled The Creative Process, among the most popular on campus, as well as other classes. She is the winner of several academic honors, including the University of Missouri Alumni Teaching Award, Alumnae Anniversary Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching, Honors Professor of the Year, and Faculty Honors Tap for Mortar Board. She plays “extra” with The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the MU Faculty Brass Quintet and the Clarion Brass Quintet in St. Louis. She also performs regularly and gives workshops for the International Trumpet Guild and has performed frequently with The Classical Music Seminar in Eisenstadt, Austria.
	Faye-Ellen Silverman is on the faculty of the Mannes College of Music and composes from her home in New York City. She is the winner of many composition awards and her works have been performed by orchestras across the country. She has over fifty five works published by Seesaw Music Corp., including several for brass.
	Susan Slaughter, Principal Trumpet of the St. Louis Symphony since 1973. She founded and organized the International Women’s Brass Conference in 1992 with an annual Holiday Brass Concert to raise funds for the IWBC scholarship fund. She also founded Monarch Brass in 1995 and is recognized as having been the first female principal trumpet of a major orchestra.
	Marie Speziale, who is acknowledged as the first woman trumpeter in a major symphony orchestra, retired from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra after having served as its Associate Principal Trumpet for thirty-two years (1964-1996). An Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Ms. Speziale is also Professor of Music at the Indiana University School of Music. Since retiring from the orchestra, she has remained quite active as a performer, teacher and clinician. In 1999, she was the only woman of six Americans invited by the Tokyo International Music Festival to perform in its first Super World Orchestra. She is President of the IWBC.
	Marvin Stamm attended North Texas University where he was discovered by Stan Kenton. Following graduation, he toured as Kenton’s trumpet soloist for two years, and also with Woody Herman in the mid 1960’s. An active jazz and studio trumpeter in New York since 1966, Mr. Stamm currently focuses more of his time performing singly as a soloist, or touring in either a duo or quartet. Involved in jazz education, he visits schools across the United States and abroad as a performer, clinician and mentor, perpetuating the traditions of excitement and innovation that Jazz represents. Mr. Stamm is a performing artist and clinician for Boosey & Hawkes Musical Instruments, Inc., and designs and performs on the Besson trumpet.
	At age 18, Amanda Stewart has already been playing the trombone for eleven years. She attended the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp in 1998 and was principal trombone in the World Youth Symphony Orchestra. In 1999 she won the Music Teacher’s National Association high school brass competition for the state of Maryland, the Eastern Region and the nationals in Los Angeles. In the summer of 1999 she attended the Tanglewood Institute’s trombone workshop and the Youth Artist Orchestra program.
	Mary, Kristin and Sarah Stoneback are nationally acclaimed trumpet players returning after a spectacular performance at the 1997 IWBC Conference. As a trio, these young women have soloed with bands and orchestras throughout the United States since age 10. They are 18-year-old identical triplets who provide a solid work ethic and positive role model to everything they do. Mary, Kristin and Sarah have received numerous regional, state and national honors as a trio and as individuals. As clinicians, the Stonebacks have worked with numerous elementary, middle school and high school programs and are partially funded by a grant from Selmer. The Stonebacks now reside in Interlochen, Michigan where they are attending the Interlochen Fine Arts Academy.
	Deanna Swoboda has earned degrees in Tuba Performance from Northwestern and the University of Idaho, during which time she spent a season performing at Walt Disney World. As Visiting Professor of Low Brass, Miss Swoboda taught at the University of Idaho for one year, and is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Tuba Performance at Arizona State University. As a video artist for Silver Burdette-Ginn, she shares her talents in elementary schools around the country. Recently signed as a Summit Recording artist, this year marks the release of her first solo CD.
	Ernest A. Toplis is a highly successful professional facilities and orchestra manager, with 20 years experience with internationally renowned facilities and musical organizations. Mr. Toplis is skilled in hall management, orchestra management, community relations, contract negotiations, tours and budget administration. Since 1997, he has served as Director of Operations for the Cincinnati Arts Association. Prior to 1997, he held the post of assistant manager / pops manager with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
	United States Military Brass Ensemble: Conductor Staff Sergeant Michelle Rakers – U.S. Marine Band “The President’s Own” Trumpet Staff Sergeant Michael Klima – U.S. Army Field Band Sergeant First Class Tammy Leverone – U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” Staff Sergeant Sandra Quaschnick – U.S. Army “The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps” Staff Sergeant Susan Rider – U.S. Marine Band “The President’s Own” Sergeant First Class Ginger Turner – U.S. Army Field Band Horn Gunnery Sergeant Kristen Davidson – U.S. Marine Band “The President’s Own” Master Sergeant Amy Horn – U.S. Marine Band “The President’s Own” Technical Sergeant Kate Monroe – U.S. Air Force Band Staff Sergeant Jessica Privler – U.S. Army Field Band Musician First Class Suzanne Rice – U.S. Navy Band Master Sergeant Deborah Stephenson – U.S. Air Force Band Trombone Musician First Class Natalie Arnold – U.S. Navy Band Sergeant First Class Mark Bowling – U.S. Army Field Band Staff Sergeant Kirsten Lies-Warfield – U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” Euphonium Sergeant First Class Laura Lineberger – U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” Tuba Senior Master Sergeant Jan Duga – U.S. Air Force Band Sergeant First Class Dan Sherlock – U.S. Army Field Band Percussion Staff Sergeant Julie Angelis – U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” Staff Sergeant Meredith Nelson – U.S. Marine Band “The President’s Own”
	The University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music Faculty Brass: James Ackley – Principal Trumpet, Bogota Philharmonic Alan Siebert – Associate Professor of Trumpet Randy C. Gardner – Associate Professor of Horn David Vining – Assistant Professor of Trombone Timothy J. Northcut – Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium
	Deborah Weisz, former trombonist with Frank Sinatra, has studied with trombonist Carl Fontana and pianist/composer Jim McNeely. She has been a featured guest jazz artist at the 1998 Many Colors of A Woman Festival, the 1999 International Trombone Festival, the 1999 International Women in Jazz Festival, the Eastern Trombone Workshop 2000, the New York Brass Conference 2000, and was featured with her quintet at the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center in May 2000. Ms. Weisz performs in Broadway pit orchestras, chamber and orchestral ensembles, the big bands of Jimmy Heath, Diva, Dennis Mackrel and Ed Palermo, and in small ensembles with jazz artists such as Freddie Hubbard, Louis Hayes and Emme Kemp. She released her debut CD, Breaking Up, Breaking Out, in 1997.
	Hitomi Yakata earned her Bachelor of Music in euphonium from the Tokyo College of Music and is currently pursuing her Artist Diploma at Indiana University School of Music where she also studies trombone and teaches euphonium and trombone as Assistant Instructor. She was a finalist in the Artist Division Euphonium Competition at ITEC 1998 and was a featured soloist during the Indiana University Wind Ensemble tour of Japan in May 2000. She also performs regularly with David Baker’s big band.

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