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GUEST ARTISTS
LOW BRASS DAY
DR. MARTIN McCAIN
Texas State University
S.E. Shires Performing Artist
FivE QUARTET
Professional Euphonium Quartet
Besson Performing Artists
DR. GENEVIEVE CLARKSON
Oklahoma City University
B&S Performing Artist
Bass trombonist Martin McCain’s career spans an impressive range of musical genres. He is a four-time winner of the Global Music Awards and was featured as their “Emerging Artist” in Billboard magazine. A third-generation musician, Martin maintains a versatile performance schedule as a soloist, recording artist, chamber, orchestral, jazz/commercial musician and educator. With performances described as "solid and masterful," (International Trombone Association Journal) with a “warm and beautiful,” tone (Glissando Magazine).
McCain’s international recital credits include concerts at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory (Singapore), Mahidol University in (Thailand), the Zagreb Academy of Music in (Croatia), and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. His performances and arrangements have been broadcast on CKWR Toronto, Radio Television Hong Kong, and NPR's "Performance Today."
As a recording artist, Martin has released three CDs, Trombone Czar: Russian Treasures Recorded Live! (2012), Shades (2014) and Trombone Czar: The Extended Version (2015). As a soloist, Martin has performed with the Croatian Army Wind Band, United States Army Concert Band "Pershing's Own" and the United States Army Brass Quintet. And as an orchestral player, he has performed with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra and the Houston Symphony Orchestra.
Martin is an Artist/Teacher of Trombone and the youngest faculty member to hold the rank of full professor at Texas State University. In addition to his duties at Texas State, Martin has spent summers on the faculty of the Austin Chamber Music Festival, the Interharmony International Music Festival (Italy), the PRIZM International Chamber Music Festival, the SliderAsia Music Festival (Hong Kong) and the English Brass Academy (Croatia).
Martin McCain is a performing artist for S.E. Shires, Reunion Blues Gig Bags and plays on the "McCain" signature mouthpiece series manufactured by Pickett Brass. In his spare time, Martin is an avid BBQ pitmaster and sports enthusiast.
For more information, visit www.martinmccain.com
An accomplished knitter, bundt pan aficionado, and Arlington, Virginia native, Dr. Genevieve Clarkson joined the faculty of Oklahoma City University in the fall of 2018.
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An active soloist and teacher, Genevieve has been featured at the International Women’s Brass Conferences in 2012 and 2014, as well as International Tuba-Euphonium Regional Conferences in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Her most recent recital and masterclass engagements have taken her to the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee and the Army Tuba-Euphonium Workshop in Fort Myer, Virginia where she gave a performance celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Woman’s Suffrage.
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Genevieve plays contrabass tuba in the In Motus Quartet, a tuba-euphonium quartet made up of professional players and teachers from across the country. Assisted by a recording artist grant, the In Motus Quartet released their first CD in the spring of 2016 through Emeritus Recordings and their second CD - featuring music inspired by Octubaween - in the summer of 2018. The quartet has given recitals in Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and was invited to perform as part of the 2019 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference in Iowa City, Iowa.
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Genevieve has performed with various symphony orchestras across the United States and has participated in music festivals around the world including the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute, the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, and the Spoleto Festival in Spoleto, Italy. In the summer of 2017, Genevieve’s tuba playing took her on a three-week tour of China where she ate her fill of dumplings and green onion pancakes, and tried cow throat for the first and last time.
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In addition to her experience as a performer, Genevieve is also a well-recognized clinician. She has presented at Regional and International Tuba and Euphonium Conferences in 2016 and 2017, the 2018 AMEA (Arizona) and TMEA (Texas) Clinics, and the 2020 OkMEA (Oklahoma) Winter Conference.
Genevieve received her DM in tuba performance from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music (2017), her MM in tuba performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (2011), and her BM in music education from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA (2009) where she graduated Magna cum laude and served as banner bearer for the School of Visual and Performing Arts. Her past teachers have included Daniel Perantoni, Timothy Northcut, Kevin Stees, John Cradler, and John Mueller.
FivE is a creative and innovative new quartet that pushes the boundaries of low brass chamber music. Combining comedy and theater with outstanding musicianship, FivE brings fresh energy to a unique musical product. Conceived in 2012, FivE has attracted national attention for its distinguished sound, popular YouTube videos, and success in chamber music competitions. In 2013, FivE was selected internationally as one of twelve ensembles to compete in the 40th Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, the largest of its kind in the world. FivE is the only euphonium quartet ever to advance to the Fischoff quarterfinals.
The recent emergence of euphonium quartet as a serious performing ensemble coincides with a need to expand the canon of original repertoire. As a result, FivE composes, arranges, and adapts new music and old favorites specifically tailored to the strengths of the ensemble while combating the difficulties of arranging for homogeneous instruments.
FivE performed their popular shows “NEON”, “#hashtags”, and “FivE Years of FivE” in over a dozen cities since 2015. Highlight performances include a featured recital at the International Tuba Euphonium Conference, a showcase at the TMEA convention, and four keynote appearances at ITEA conferences. The quartet also regularly gives clinics and has toured through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Florida, Indiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Individually, the members of FivE have excelled in prestigious solo and composition competitions. Their successes include first prizes in the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Festival, the MTNA Young Artist Solo and Composition Competitions, ITEC Young Artist Competition, Euphoniumcommissions.org, and University Concerto Competitions.
In the Fall of 2017, FivE released their first full album titled “Play” on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and other popular media platforms. FivE is a performing ensemble with Buffet Crampon and plays exclusively on Besson instruments.
ONLINE SUMMER WORKSHOP
DR. MARTIN McCAIN
Texas State University
S.E. Shires Performing Artist
Bass trombonist Martin McCain’s career spans an impressive range of musical genres. He is a four-time winner of the Global Music Awards and was featured as their “Emerging Artist” in Billboard magazine. A third-generation musician, Martin maintains a versatile performance schedule as a soloist, recording artist, chamber, orchestral, jazz/commercial musician and educator. With performances described as "solid and masterful," (International Trombone Association Journal) with a “warm and beautiful,” tone (Glissando Magazine).
McCain’s international recital credits include concerts at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory (Singapore), Mahidol University in (Thailand), the Zagreb Academy of Music in (Croatia), and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. His performances and arrangements have been broadcast on CKWR Toronto, Radio Television Hong Kong, and NPR's "Performance Today."
As a recording artist, Martin has released three CDs, Trombone Czar: Russian Treasures Recorded Live! (2012), Shades (2014) and Trombone Czar: The Extended Version (2015). As a soloist, Martin has performed with the Croatian Army Wind Band, United States Army Concert Band "Pershing's Own" and the United States Army Brass Quintet. And as an orchestral player, he has performed with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra and the Houston Symphony Orchestra.
Martin is an Artist/Teacher of Trombone and the youngest faculty member to hold the rank of full professor at Texas State University. In addition to his duties at Texas State, Martin has spent summers on the faculty of the Austin Chamber Music Festival, the Interharmony International Music Festival (Italy), the PRIZM International Chamber Music Festival, the SliderAsia Music Festival (Hong Kong) and the English Brass Academy (Croatia).
Martin McCain is a performing artist for S.E. Shires, Reunion Blues Gig Bags and plays on the "McCain" signature mouthpiece series manufactured by Pickett Brass. In his spare time, Martin is an avid BBQ pitmaster and sports enthusiast.
For more information, visit www.martinmccain.com
STEVEN MEAD
Royal Northern College of Music (UK)
Besson Performing Artist
Steven Mead is well known and respected by his high profile work in brass performance and pedagogy. He is Professor of Euphonium at the Royal Northern College of Music, and also teaches at several specialist schools across Europe, and in Japan. He was given the prestigious award of Fellow of the RNCM in 2008.
He needs no introduction to brass enthusiasts around the world as his playing and teaching have become known to virtually all who have a love for the instrument known as the euphonium.
This remarkable solo career followed on from the successes he achieved as a member of several of the UK’s leading brass bands. Nowadays he travels and performs regularly with some of the finest brass, wind and symphonic ensembles in the world.
He has played solo concerti with symphony orchestras in many countries of the world including Norway, Finland, Poland , USA, Canada, Italy, Japan, Lithuania and Germany. As a soloist he has played with most of the leading military bands in the world including Band of the Garde Republicaine (Paris, France) The Central Band of the RAF (London, UK) The Italian Police Band (Rome, Italy), The Dutch Marine Band (Rotterdam,Netherlands) The US Army Band (Washington DC, USA).
He has also given concert tours with several leading professional chamber ensembles in Europe, including Sound-Inn-Brass (Austria), Spanish Brass Quintet, Classic Quintet (Bolzano,Italy),Trombonisti Italiani (Italy) and London Brass.
His innovation is also evident with his premiere performances of new concerti and major works by Martin Ellerby, Philip Sparke, Torstein Aagaard Nilsen, Tadeusz Kassatti, John Reeman, Derek Bourgeois, Vladimir Cosma, Rolf Rudin, Thomas Dos, Howard Snell, Hermann Pallhuber, Stephen Roberts, to name but a few. To date he has given over 500 world premiere performances. He has been described as one of the world’s most recorded solo brass artists with over 75 CDs to his credit. In addition, his strong contribution to education literature for the euphonium is unmatched, such as specialist publications by publishers such as DeHaske and Studio Music and Band Press. He is the owner of a music label, Bocchino Music which produces and distributes his albums.
As an innovator for the whole low brass world in general, he has been the Artistic Director of all six of the National Tuba Euphonium Conferences, held in the UK. He was also the Artistic Director of the highly successful International Tuba Euphonium Conference (ITEC), held in Linz, Austria in June 2012.
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He was Artistic Director of the Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival, South Korea 2013-2020 and is currently Artistic Director of the Bolsover International Brass Band Summer School.
As a designer and instrument consultant Steven has worked with Besson for over thirty years and feels honoured to have an important role of Ambassador with Besson under the control of Buffet Crampon. His collaboration with the Denis Wick company has resulted is several lines of personalized products and accessories.
His webstore www.euphoniumstore.net is very popular with brass enthusiasts.
He has also been an adjudicator at some of the leading brass band, wind band and solo contests, including the British Open Brass Band Championships in 2007 and now spearheads a movement to introduce more criteria-based adjudication to brass band competitions worldwide.
It has recently been announced that Steven is to be presented with the 2021 ‘Mortimer Medal’ for his lifelong services and dedication to the Brass Band movement.
Deanna Swoboda is Associate Professor of Music at Arizona State University, where she teaches tuba and euphonium, Entrepreneurship and Music courses, coaches chamber music, and designs creative music performances.
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Prior to joining the ASU music faculty, Swoboda was Associate Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Western Michigan University where she was a full time member of the Western Brass Quintet. Prior to WMU, Ms. Swoboda was tubist of the Dallas Brass, a 6-piece ensemble that travels the United States and Europe presenting hundreds of concerts each year and working extensively in the public schools and at colleges and universities. Swoboda is also the creator and performer of a motivational recruiting video and music workshop called “Band Blast Off.”
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Swoboda has taught at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, at the University of Northern Iowa, University of Denver, University of Idaho. As an international performer and clinician she has been a guest at the National Conservatory of Madrid (Spain), Deutschen Tubaforum–Hammelberg (Germany), The Higher School for the Arts in Porto, Portugal, and the St Petersburg Conservatory in St Petersburg, Russia. As a clinician and performer, Swoboda has appeared at the national and northwest regional conventions of Music Educators National Conference (MENC) on numerous occasions, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, International Women’s Brass Conference, The Army Band Tuba Euphonium Conference, International Tuba-Euphonium Conferences, and for state music educator associations. Deanna Swoboda is a Past President for I.T.E.A., the International Tuba Euphonium Association.
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Her mentors are Roberts Spevacek, Rex Martin and Sam Pilafian.
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Her solo CD, “Deanna’s Wonderland,” was released on Summit Records in 1999. Her solo CD is entitled “Shamanic Journey” and features the music of women composers. “Table for Three” is a CD featuring music for low brass trio, recorded with ASU brass colleagues John Ericson and Douglas Yeo. It is available at Summit Records. “Fanfare and Flourish” is a tuba euphonium quartet recording featuring the music of women composers. It is published by Potenza Music and available at CD Baby.
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Deanna Swoboda is a Tuba Artist for:
Eastman Music Company and plays the EBC632 CC tuba.
CHRISTOPHER BILL
Renowned Youtube Musician
Denis Wick Performing Artist
Christopher is best known as the most subscribed brass musician on YouTube. He’s a trombonist, arranger, and marketing consultant based outside of NYC.
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Christopher’s YouTube Channel of all-trombone arrangements of popular songs has been gaining popularity since the spring of 2014 when a cover of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” where Christopher uses a looping station to compose the song on the spot went viral. His videos have since amassed over 45 million views and a following of over 250,000 subscribers. In February of 2017, Christopher independently released an original pop album called Half Man, Half Machine which mixes acoustic sounds with electronic instruments. He is the Youth Workshop Director of the International Trombone Festival and a marketing consultant for the International Trombone Association. In 2018, his collaboration with the International Trombone Festival of Bohemian Rhapsody went viral.
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He has been playing piano since he was 6 years old, trombone since he was 10, and he has been composing/arranging since he was 12. Christopher has a Bachelor of Music for Classical Trombone Performance from the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music in New York. While at the conservatory he studied with critically acclaimed trombonists Weston Sprott (Metropolitan Opera), Denson Paul-Pollard (Metropolitan Opera), John Fedchock (Grammy Nominated Jazz Trombonist), and the absolutely incomparable Timothy Albright (Atlantic Brass Quintet).
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Christopher enjoys a busy schedule of performances, clinics, and masterclasses. In addition to producing a new video every Saturday for his YouTube Channel, he often performs at festivals such as the American Trombone Workshop, Midwest Clinic, Texas Bandmasters Association, Con Brio Festivals, Western International Band Clinic, TMEA, the NAMM Show, and the International Trombone Festival.
DR. DANIELLE VANTUINEN
University of Florida
S.E. Shires Performing Artist
Dr. Danielle VanTuinen joins the faculty of the University of Florida in August 2019 as Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium. Danielle is a performer, educator, and entrepreneur based in Rochester, New Hampshire. She currently serves as Visiting Lecturer of Music at Plymouth State University where she teaches low brass methods and applied low brass lessons. She also serves as brass faculty at the Portland Conservatory of Music, adjunct staff for the marching band at the University of New Hampshire, Educational Representative with Music and Arts, and a private lessons instructor at Timberlane High School and throughout northern New England. Danielle is the co-founder of the Moreau | VanTuinen Duo and an active presenter, clinician, and performing artist throughout the United States and Europe.
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Prior to her work in New England, Danielle was the low brass instructor for the Phoenix Youth Symphony. Her responsibilities included small group and ensemble coaching for middle and high school students participating in the organization’s bands and orchestras. During the 2016-2017 academic year, she coached the Arizona State University concert band low brass section, comprised of first-year and non-major performers. Danielle has been invited to adjudicate at a variety of festivals, including the New Hampshire MEA Solo & Ensemble Competition, the Paul l. Willwerth Brass Competition at Central Michigan University, the Maine and Arizona All-State Festivals, and the AETYB Young Artist Competition in Spain. As a strong proponent of new music, she has actively participated as a member and coordinator of several commissioning projects for both solo euphonium/tuba and percussion/euphonium repertoire. This passion has resulted in over 15 new works from 2016-2019, three of which will be premiered by her in 2019.
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Dr. VanTuinen has performed with several ensembles throughout Arizona, Michigan and the New England areas, including the Phoenix Ballet, West Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Salt River Brass Band, and the New England Brass Band. As a co- founder of the Moreau | VanTuinen Duo, she has been invited to perform at the International Alliance for Women in Music, the International Tuba Euphonium Conference, Spanish Association of Tubas and Euphoniums, Northern Arizona University, Ithaca College, the Miraphone Academy of the Southwest, the United States Pershing’s Own Army Band Tuba- Euphonium Workshop, and the International Women’s Brass Conference as a guest artist and educational presenter.
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Danielle earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Performance from Arizona State University. Her culminating doctoral project, “Euphonium and Live Interactive Electronics: A Performer’s Examination of Three New Works”, sought to provide historical context and expand the electroacoustic repertoire for low brass. She holds a Master of Music degree in Music Performance from Arizona State University and a Bachelors of Music degree in Music Performance from Central Michigan University. Her principal mentors include Dr. Deanna Swoboda, Professor Douglas Yeo, Dr. Mark Cox, and Professor Scott Hanson. Danielle is an active member of the International Tuba Euphonium Association and the International Women’s Brass Conference.
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Dr. VanTuinen is a Shires Performing Artist.
With over two decades of performing on the world’s classical music stages, tubist Richard White has matured into a musician known for his clear sound and stylistic flexibility. He began his tuba studies with Ed. Goldstein at age twelve at The Baltimore School for the Performing Arts, where he graduated with honors. He then went to the Peabody Conservatory of Music to study with David Fedderly (Principal Tubist, Baltimore Symphony) where he received his Bachelor’s degree. On the advice of Mr. Fedderly, Richard traveled to Indiana University to study with the legendary Professor Daniel Perantoni. He continued his studies there receiving both his Master’s and Doctoral degrees.
Dr. White held the position of Principal Tubist with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra from 2004 until it’s untimely demise in 2011 and is currently in his ninth season as Principal Tubist of the New Mexico Philharmonic. Richard enjoys teaching at the University of New Mexico, where he is Associate Professor of tuba/euphonium, and Associate Director of the Spirit Marching Band. Dr. White has performed with the Canadian Brass Quintet, Indiana University Faculty Brass Quintet, New Mexico Symphony Brass Quintet, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic, Santa Fe Opera, Sphinx Symphony, Spoleto Music Festival U.S.A., Music in the Mountains, a summer festival located in beautiful Durango, CO, and many others. Dr. White is an Adams Artist, and performs exclusively on these instruments.
Prior to moving to New Mexico, Dr. White was one of the top freelance musicians in the Indianapolis area, where he recorded with such greats as movie film composer John Williams, Cincinnati Pops conductor Eric Kunzel, and the late great wind ensemble conductor Frederik Fennell.
Throughout his musical and educational career development, Dr. White has had a passionate interest in motivational speaking. That dream has recently materialized itself with the launching of his website rawtuba.com. Sharing inspirational thoughts and philosophies that have motivated Dr. White has taken him to Mexico, South America, Europe, South East Asia and across the United States of America – with more engagements on the horizon.