Born in Seoul, Korea, trumpetist Anna SeokYoung Ahn is an avid performer and soloist, recently chosen to solo with the Soloist Brass Band in July of 2022. At 19, Ahn was named a KeumHo Artist and debuted her recital at the KeumHo Recital Hall in Seoul. She was also invited to perform with distinguished orchestras such as the Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra and the Korean National Symphony Orchestra as principal trumpet. Ahn is a 1st prize winner of the International Trumpet Guild Competition in 2019 as well as the National Trumpet Competition in 2021.
Ahn studied at USC Thornton School of Music under the tutelage of Thomas Hooten. There she had the opportunity to perform extensively with the USC Thornton Symphony as well as chamber music, brass ensemble, and wind ensemble. Her love of chamber music led her to form the Libera Brass Quintet in 2015, with which she won 1st prize in the Music Associate of Korea Competition, Art Silvia Ensemble Competition, and the Jeju International Competition.
Anna SeokYoung Ahn is currently studying at the Colburn Conservatory of Music with Jim Wilt.
Sarah graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with David Bilger of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The past two summers she has been a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, where she studied with members of the Boston Symphony. She has performed as a substitute musician with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Louisiana Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Currently she resides in Chicago, where she is completing her master’s degree at Northwestern University.
Caeley Jackson hails from Arlington, Virginia where she began playing trumpet at the age of 13. Caeley graduated from Shenandoah Conservatory with her Bachelors in Trumpet Performance in 2020. In August of 2020 she joined the United States Navy Band in Washington D.C. where she performs with the Concert Band and provides ceremonial support across Washington D.C. Caeley has also been a member of the Navy Band Brass Quintet since May of 2021. Caeley has toured with the Orchestra of the Americas throughout Poland, Ukraine, Scotland, and Germany. She has also performed on tour with Seraph Brass, an award winning all female brass ensemble. Some of Caeley’s teachers include Woodrow English, Dr. Charles Seipp, Vince DiMartino, Dr. Jason Bergman, and Mary Bowden.
Whether playing suspended in midair on the Broadway stage or soloing on the Symphony Hall stage in Chicago, Amy McCabe enjoys performing in a variety of capacities. She was recently a solo recitalist at the International Trumpet Guild conference, the International Women's Brass conference, and was a soloist with the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain in London’s Regent Hall and in Prague, Czech Republic for the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. In January, Amy also recorded the premiere of Fernande Decruck’s Concerto for Trumpet and Horn, “Poeme Heroique", with the Jackson Symphony.
Amy is currently a co-principal trumpet with The “President’s Own” United States Marine Band, and has completed three national and international concert tours as a soloist in addition to her duties in Washington DC at the White House and Arlington National Cemetery. She is also an active chamber musician, and recently recorded the world premiere of Eugene O’Brien’s Elegy to the Spanish Republic with the 21stCentury Consort in addition to the premiere recording of Florence Price’s Octet for Brass with the Barclay Brass. Amy has also performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and has performed as principal trumpet with the National Symphony and the St. Louis Symphony. She was the “Loss” soloist in the first National and Japan touring cast of the Tony and Emmy-award winning show, “Blast!” in addition to touring with pop artist Michael Bolton on a national tour. Amy was also a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra, a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival, Spoleto Music Festival, Pine Mountain Music Festival, Artosphere Festival and was a member of the Walt Disney World Collegiate All-Star Big Band.
Amy holds a degree in elementary education from Illinois Wesleyan University studying with Steve Eggleston and Judith Saxton, and a Master’s degree in trumpet performance from Northwestern University, studying with Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer.
In her free time, Amy greatly enjoys volunteering with Sound Impact, a chamber music group dedicated to positive social change through authentic community engagement, and the Boulanger Initiative, dedicated to promoting music composed by women. She is also committed to encouraging her new rescue dog, Mojo, to sing along with the trumpet.
Morgen Low currently resides in Miami Beach,Florida where she is a trumpet fellow with the New World Symphony. Priorto this position, she was a freelance performer and brass instrument repairtechnician in the Chicagoland area. There she performed as Principal Trumpet ofthe Northbrook Symphony Orchestra and held an Associate Membership with theCivic Orchestra of Chicago. Morgen has also made substitute appearances withthe Louisville Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, LouisianaPhilharmonic, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In the fall of 2022, she wasnamed the First Prize winner of the Next Generation TrumpetCompetition.
In 2019, Ms. Low received a summer Fellowshipwith the Tanglewood Music Center, where her playing was lauded as “anunforgettable display of relaxed timing and dazzling technical mastery” by theBerkshire Edge. Other summers have been spent performing at SpoletoFestival USA, Aspen Music Festival, and the Eastern Music Festival.
Outside of orchestral and chamber music,Morgen has a soft spot for musical theater and has enjoyed playing in the pitfor numerous productions in addition to her on stage engagements. Recentperformances include Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera, La Cage Au Folles,Company, The Little Mermaid, Nine, Joseph and the Amazing TechnicolorDreamcoat, Guys and Dolls, Kiss Me Kate, and Annie.
Morgen completed her bachelor of music degree atOberlin Conservatory under the guidance of Roy Poper. She then received amaster of music degree from Northwestern University, where she studied withDavid Bilger, Channing Philbrick, Thomas Rolfs, Michael Sachs, and RobertSullivan. She is also an alumna of the Interlochen Arts Academy.
Adrienne Doctor is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she earned an undergraduate degree in Music Education and a master's degree in Trumpet Performance. An active freelance musician and teacher, she has performed with Monarch Brass, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and the Dayton Philharmonic. She has also been a judge for military band mock auditions and competitions at various conferences to include the International Trumpet Guild, the National Trumpet Competition, and the International Women's Brass Conference. An active clinician, she has performed at and given masterclasses at dozens of universities around the country. Adrienne also serves in a premiere band in Washington DC. She lives in northern Virginia with her husband, Barret, and two young children, Sarah and Elliott. She is excited for her second tour with Seraph Brass this coming season.
A graduate of both Northwestern University and San Francisco Conservatory, Chandra Cervantes has held positions with The United States Army Field Band, Tulsa Philharmonic, Shanghai Broadcasting Symphony, and Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Now an active freelance musician in the Washington, DC/Baltimore area, she is a member of the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, American Pops Orchestra, Washington Symphonic Brass and Inscape, a Grammy nominated chamber ensemble committed to presenting emerging American composers.
Chandra performs regularly with Wolf Trap Orchestra, Washington National Opera, National Symphony Orchestra and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Last fall she was part of the production of Anastasia at the Kennedy Center and was heard in Into the Woods at Ford’s Theater throughout Spring of 2019. Chandra has traveled with the National Symphony Orchestra on three international tours, performing across Europe, Poland, South America, Mexico, Trinidad, and Oman.
While maintaining a private home studio, Chandra also coaches brass and wind students for DC Youth Orchestra and is the regular horn clinician for MATS, a summer band program for adults. In addition she is the Horn Professor at University of Maryland Baltimore City, Montgomery College and Levine School.
Her recordings include three with the Washington Symphonic Brass: Classic Rock for Brass, Home for the Holidays and Trumpets Ring! Voices Sing!. In December of 2013 she recorded Marcos Galvany’s internationally successful new opera Oh My Son. Chandra can also be heard with Inscape on a new version of Petroushka, released in 2015, and on an exciting collaboration with Phillip Glass, The Fall of the House of Usher, produced in 2017.
In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her son August, practicing yoga, travel and fashion.
Minnesota-born horn player Victoria Knudtson joined the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Principal/Utility Horn during the 2019/2020 season. Born to a pianist mother and singer father, Knudtson found her artistic voice on the horn when she was 16 years old after a coincidental meeting with her first teacher, Wayne Lu.
In 2014, Knudtson began studying with Jeffery Nelsen at Indiana University. Thanks to the horn department at the Jacobs School ofMusic, she also benefited from the orchestral pedagogy of Dale Clevenger and studied early music performance on the natural horn with Richard Seraphinoff. During her undergrad, Knudtson also spent six months inVienna, Austria studying the quintessential and historic style of Viennahorn-playing. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she served as principal horn of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, and graduated in Decemberof 2017.
In March 2018, Knudtson joined the St. Louis Brass (a quintet started in 1964 by then-members of the SLSO) and toured around the country with them until they disbanded during the 2020 lockdown. Knudtson began an artist diploma at the Curtis Institute of Music under Jennifer Montone and Jeffery Lang before acquiring the position with the SLSO in September 2019. While in Philadelphia, Knudtson held a core horn position withthe ensemble Symphony in C, and performed frequently throughout the city with various chamber groups. As a soloist, she performed with the Indiana University Symphony Orchestra and the Yale New Music Ensemble, and frequently appeared in recitals on the Curtis stage. She ardently enjoys collaborating with composers and performing new music, especially with friends.
Knudtson was a horn fellow of the Boston Symphony's Tanglewood Music Center in 2019, and at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan with music director Valery Gergiev in 2018. Knudtson plays a leader/teacher role in the St. Louis Symphony's Peer-to-Peer program, and serves as a faculty member at Heartland Horn Camp in Carol, Iowa.
When not on stage or in the practice room, Knudtson is an avid dancer in the styles of salsa, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk, and enjoys getting outside to garden or go for walks in St. Louis's beautiful green spaces.
Hillary Simms is a Juno nominated freelance trombonist from Torbay, Newfoundland and Labrador. Praised as “one of the rising stars in the trombone world for her stellar playing, infectious personality and deep musicianship” (Jens Lindemann) Hillary is known as a solo, orchestral and chamber artist working in Canada and the United States.
Hillary’s most recent accolades as a soloist include being featured as one of CBC’s 30 under 30 Classical Musicians of 2020. Hillary was also a featured guest soloist with the National Arts Center Orchestra of Canada, making her solo debut playing Henri Tomasi’s Concerto for Trombone. Hillary later played Ferdinand David’s Concertino for Trombone and Elizabeth Raum’s Romanze with the National Arts Center Orchestra as a part of their 2022 Canada Day Celebrations. Hillary has also been a featured solo artist with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra.
As an orchestral musician, Hillary has played with various orchestras in Toronto and Atlantic Canada. She often plays with the Newfoundland Symphony orchestra and has played with the Canadian Opera Company.
As a chamber musician, Hillary is a core member of the Canadian Trombone Quartet and Saltwater Brass, two all female brass ensembles created in Toronto and Newfoundland. Hillary’s graduate “Bonus” Trombone Quartet from Yale University won the American Trombone Workshop Quartet Competition and were featured artists during the workshop. Bonus were additionally named semi-finalists of the M-Prize Chamber Competition at the University of Michigan.
Hillary also enjoys being a guest artist with Seraph Brass whenever she gets the chance.
Hillary holds a Bachelors in Music Performance from McGill University, a Masters in Music Performance from Yale University, an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School Royal Conservatory of Music and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern University while on faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Victoria Garcia is a freelance trombonist in the Boston and New England area who was born and raised on Long Island, New York. When it came time to pick an instrument to study at age nine, her mother, who was a tubist in college and working as a high school band director, left Victoria with the following instruments to choose from; French Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba and oddly, the Bassoon. When Victoria asked her mother why she couldn’t pick an instrument like the flute or clarinet her mother said, “you can not pick an instrument you can stick in your backpack!” With that, Victoria decided to go for the big guns and picked the instrument that was as tall as she was at the time; the trombone. There has been no turning back since.
Her primary studies began with John Lieto and continued to John Faieta, former professor of trombone at The Boston Conservatory where she received her Bachelor of Music degree in 2014. She received her Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory in 2016, studying with Stephen Lange, second trombonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Victoria also studied for a short time with Joseph Alessi, principal trombonist of the New York Philharmonic in the summer of 2017 as a Participant at the prestigious Alessi Seminar.
As an orchestral musician, Mrs. Garcia has played with numerous orchestras in the New England area. She often performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra. She also performs regularly in regional orchestras such as the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), Odyssey Opera, Berkshire Symphony, and Symphony New Hampshire. Besides her orchestral experience, Victoria and her colleagues formed a trombone quartet called “Boston Based” that competed and won the Trombone Quartet competition at the 2017 International Trombone Association (ITA) in Redlands, California.
Besides her musical career, Mrs. Garcia is also a certified Alexander Technique teacher. She received her certification after three years of studying the technique at Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2017 under the tutelage of Debi Adams. Victoria has found the beautiful joy of combining the Alexander Technique with her musical endeavors and loves teaching those who are interested in understanding how the technique can enhance and shape them as musicians.
Natalie Mannix is an avid soloist, chamber musician, orchestral performer and educator. She is currently Associate Professor of Trombone at the University of North Texas and trombonist with the Stiletto Brass Quintet. Previously, she was Principal Trombone in the Delaware Symphony for 14 years, and a member of the United States Navy Band in Washington, DC for over nine years.
Dr. Mannix has appeared as guest artist and clinician at colleges and conferences throughout North America, including the 2022, 2018, 2016 and 2013 International Trombone Festival, the International Women’s Brass Conference, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, and the American Trombone Workshop. She has performed with the Dallas Symphony, Dallas Opera, Baltimore Symphony, National Symphony, the Washington Opera and Kennedy Center Orchestras, the Washington Trombone Ensemble, the Monarch Brass, and several regional orchestras and brass ensembles. A new music advocate, she has commissioned several works for trombone and continues to perform and promote music by emerging composers.
Her recent recordings include a solo album, Breaking Ground: A Celebration of Women Composers, and chamber music CDs: Crossing Barriers with Lantana Trio, Scarpe! with the Stiletto Brass Quintet, And If All Were Dark with Dave Taylor and the Washington Trombone Ensemble, Mozart’s Requiem with the Dallas Chamber Choir and Orchestra, the grammy-nominated Interchange: Concertos by Rodrigo and Assad with the Delaware Symphony and LA Guitar Quartet; and Shadowcatcher: Music for Winds, Brass and Percussion.
An avid brass pedagogue, Natalie has adjudicated international solo and ensemble competitions and serves on the Executive Board and as chair of the Advisory Council for Diversity for the International Trombone Association and on the Executive Board for the International Women’s Brass Conference.
Natalie received her degrees from the University of Michigan,The Juilliard School and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Catholic University. She is a performing artist for the Edwards Instrument Company.
Gracie Potter is in her Senior year at the Colburn School where she studies with David Rejano. She has had the opportunity to perform with the LA Phil, The Phoenix Symphony, and the London Symphony Orchestra. She was a winner in the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle Competition and won the ITA Robert Marsteller Competition. She was also a finalist in the ITA Trombone Quartet Competition. She was a quarterfinalist for the Michel Becquet International Trombone Competition. In 2022, she won the Keston MAX Competition at Music Academy, placed first in the International Women's Brass Conference Trombone Category, placed second in the Final, and won the Phoenix Brass Collective competition. She is currently a Shires Rising Artist where she has received masterclasses from world renowned musicians. In 2021, she placed 3rd overall in Ian Bousfields International Trombone Competition and became a New World sub and has been subbing with them occasionally. In 2020, she received a New Horizons Fellowship from Aspen Music Festival and School and was a recipient for the Arizona MusicFest Scholarship.
This past summer she attended the Tanglewood Music Center and the year before she attended Music Academy where she studied with Mark Lawrence, Nitzan Haroz and Weston Sprott. During the summer of 2021 she attended the Aspen Music Festival where she received lessons and classes with James Miller, Peter Sullivan, Per Brevig, and Timothy Higgins. She took part in chamber ensembles, trombone choir, recitals, and orchestra concerts. She also won the Concerto Competition and performed the Frank Martin Concerto for Seven Winds, Timpani, and Strings with the Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra. In 2020 she attended The MasterWorks Festival and in 2019 she was selected to be a member of the National Youth Orchestra and performed in multiple countries on the NYO European Tour.
Lauren Casey-Clyde is a highly active freelancer in the greater Austin area, having performed with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Opera, Temple Symphony Orchestra, Central Texas Philharmonic, Waco Symphony Orchestra and Round Top Festival Orchestra. She recently made her debut performance at SXSW performing with Density 512 as part of the Graham Reynolds Showcase, and has recorded and performed with New-Orleans style Boss Street Brass Band. Internationally, Lauren was recently named a finalist for the 2023 International Trombone Association Quartet Competition and the winner of the Emory Remington Trombone Choir Competition. She has performed around the globe with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Royal College of Music Orchestra and Cambrian Symphony Orchestra under conductors such as Andris Nelsons, Bernard Haitink, and Robert Spano.
As a soloist, Lauren was selected as a special guest to perform at the Texas State Capitol for the 2022 International Peace Concert. She was a finalist at the 2023 Big 12 Tenor Trombone Solo Competition, a finalist in the 2022 University of Texas Concerto Competition, and a prize winner in the Susan Slaughter Solo Competition at the 2019 International Women’s Brass Conference. In 2016, she was named the winner of the Northeast Tuba and Euphonium Conference Young Artist Solo, and has since made solo appearances around the country with the University of Texas Concert Band, New England Brass Band, Saratoga High School Wind Ensemble, and Boston University Wind Ensemble.
Alongside her performing career, Lauren is dedicated to teaching the next generation of musicians. She is the newly appointed Assistant Professor of Trombone & Euphonium at Texas Lutheran University. She also serves as a private teacher in the Austin area to students ranging from 6-12th grade, and regularly serves as a clinician for public schools around the county. Her students have consistently won positions in region bands, all-state Ensembles, honor bands, and summer festivals.
Lauren is currently in candidacy for her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Texas at Austin, where she serves as the trombone studio Teaching Assistant.. She also holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a Bachelor of Music degree from Boston University, where she received the prestigious Brass Department Award, and studied abroad at the Royal College of Music in London for a semester. Her principal teachers include Nathaniel Brickens and Mike Roylance. Lauren has been published in the International Tuba Euphonium Association Journal and can be heard on the BBC Symphony Orchestra CD Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony, performing with the Royal College of Music Brass Band.
Lauren is a native of Saratoga, CA. During her free time, she enjoys climbing rocks, running marathons, and traveling the world, with an eye out for the perfect loaf of sourdough bread.
Christine Purdue Jones is a trombonist with The United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Ceremonial Brass, a position she has held since 2013.
An active soloist, Jones was featured as a guest artist at the 2021 International Trombone Festival. In 2019, she performed the U.S. premiere of Elgar Howarth’s Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra with the United States Army Orchestra at the American Trombone Workshop. She has soloed numerous times with Brass of the Potomac, including a performance at the 2017 American Trombone Workshop. Christine is committed to leveraging performance through the whole person concept, and spoke on this topic at the 2019 International Women’s Brass Conference. Additionally, she is an S. E. Shires artist.
Prior to joining the AirForce, Jones was Second/Assistant Principal Trombone with Florida Grand Opera and Palm Beach Symphony. She has also performed with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, New World Symphony and Palm Beach Opera, among others.
Jones holds degrees from Stetson University, The Juilliard School, and the University of Miami. Her primary teachers include Joe Alessi, Tim Conner, and David Schmidt, and additional studies with Jeff Dee and Pete Ellefson.
Sophie Volpe (she/her) is a dedicated trombonist and educator based in Houston,Texas. In addition to her ongoing studies as a master's student at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, Volpe maintains a busy schedule,freelancing and teaching masterclasses and private lessons.
Volpe has had the privilege of sharing the stage with renowned orchestras such as the Rochester Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, Jacksonville Symphony, and Erie Philharmonic. Her journeyin music began with a Bachelor of Music degree in Trombone Performance and Music Education from the Eastman School of Music, where she earned a Performer's Certificate and received the Steve Witzer Award of Excellence. In 2022, Volpe earned Honorable Mention at the International Women’s Brass Conference Mock Audition Competition.
Volpe’s commitment to music education led her to establish The Volpe Trombone Studio in 2019, offering ongoing comprehensive online and in-person instruction to students spanning ages 12 to 55 from all corners of the United States. Volpe has conducted masterclasses at institutions such as Interlochen Arts Academy and Arkansas State University, and high schools across the US. Volpe taught for many summers at Interlochen Arts Camp, initially serving as a Brass Teaching Assistant for three consecutive summers. Later, in 2021, she came back to the camp as the Trombone Teaching Fellow, offering private lessons, coaching chamber music, and performing with the Faculty Brass Ensemble.
Volpe has established her voice in marketing, serving as the Marketing Coordinator for the Horizon Chamber Series, a chamber music series based out of Washington D.C.and Erie, PA and fulfills the role of Social Media Intern for the SE Shires Company, based out of Boston, MA. Working in this sphere of the music industry allows her to connect to audiences beyond the stage, something that Volpe has great passion for.
Sarah Goldberg is a Nepali-American trombonist currently based in New York City. Sarah started her music journey in Dallas, Texas and eventually moved to Interlochen, Michigan to study at the Interlochen Arts Academy to pursue her musical interests at a prominent level. She is now pursuing her bachelor’s degree in trombone performance at The Juilliard School as a scholarship student.
Along with regularly performing across esteemed venues in New York with various ensembles, Sarah has made appearances with the Juilliard Orchestra, Juilliard Trombone Choir, Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra, Egalitarian Brass, National Youth Orchestra, and is also an apprentice conductor for the New York Youth Symphony. Sarah recently placed as a finalist in the Lowell Chamber Orchestra International Concerto Competition in 2023 as well as the International Competition for Young Instrumentalists "Gran Premio Povoletto" in Udine, Italy in November 2022. Sarah is also currently a fellow with the National Repertory Orchestra based in Breckenridge, Colorado where she will perform in the summer of 2023. Her teachers have included Joseph Alessi, Thomas Riccobono, John Rojak, Michael Repper, and Leslie Dunner.
Sarah is a performing artist for HAAG Brass established in Weinfelden, Switzerland.
Jasmine “Jazzie” Pigott began to play the tuba at the age of ten after accidentally choosing the trombone and playing that for a year, and she quickly excelled. In 2016, Jasmine became the first Black woman to place in the International Leonard Falcone Tuba Student Competition. As a college junior in 2018, Jasmine was invited to be a solo artist on the “Promising Artists of the 21stCentury” concert series tour in Costa Rica. There, she realized her true passion for performing for people of marginalized backgrounds. Since then, Jasmine has become an activist for increasing the diversity in the field of classical music. With this mission, she has participated in several research projects, performed concerts in marginalized communities, and developed performance-based projects and presentations. In February 2020, Jasmine was awarded the first prize in the Michigan State University Running Start Competition for her grant proposal to commission composers of color to write tuba pieces in Black music styles for her EP, Revolution: The Next Generation of Tuba Music released in July 2022. Jasmine is a co-founder and the historian for the Chromatic Brass Collective—an organization devoted to empowering women and non-binary people of color brass musicians.
Today, when she’s not studying, Jasmine actively performs, composes, writes, and researches with a goal to inspire the next generation of Black musicians. Outside of her musical endeavors, Jasmine enjoys a career as a certified personal trainer and runs a health and wellness blog and podcast, Harmony and Healing, to empower musicians and Black people to incorporate fitness into their lives.
Jasmine holds Bachelor of Music degrees in music education and tuba performance from Ithaca College and a Master of Music degree in tuba performance from Michigan State University. She is currently attending the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University for her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in tuba performance. Her teachers include Velvet Brown, Phil Sinder, David Earll, and Justin Benavidez.
Samantha Lake began her musical career with the study of classical piano at the age of five and continued to take lessons for 13 years. Unafraid to be different, Dr. Lake chose tuba in sixth grade and never looked back. Since then, she has been heard in venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall, the MetLife Stadium, and the streets of New Orleans.
While freelance performing tuba in multiple ensembles including Calliope Brass, the Pierre Monteux Music Festival Orchestra, Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, and the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra, Dr. Lake has also earned recognition as a soloist. Her passion for solo performances was ignited when she won the Young Artist Solo Competition in New London, CT in 2012, resulting in a solo performance accompanied by the U.S. Coast Guard Band. In the past few years, she has won the Rutgers Concerto Competition, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp Staff Solo Competition, and University of Connecticut Concerto Competition, and placed second in the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra Instrumental Competition.
Also passionate about her work as an educator, she teaches at Kutztown University and works with many students of all ages with Calliope Brass. Previously, she has served as a Morse Teaching Artist fellow and Music Advancement Program Fellow. Holding leadership roles in university and high school ensembles, Dr. Lake has also conducted rehearsals and led by enthusiastic example. Dr. Lake has taught group and masterclasses at Sichuan Conservatory of Music, Ohio University, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and various public schools.
Dr. Lake is from southeastern Connecticut and graduated with a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Connecticut. She recently earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts from Rutgers University and her doctoral research led to presentations at VTEC 2021 and IWBC 2022 on the exclusion of high voices in tuba multiphonic repertoire and the commission of two works for unaccompanied tuba. Her principal teachers are Alan Baer and Gary Sienkiewicz.
Bridget Conley (she/her) is an American tuba player residing in New Haven, Connecticut.
Bridget was the winner of the 2021 Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Solo Artist Competition. She was also a finalist in the 2021 Yale School of Music Concerto Competition, the winner of the 2020 Vanderbilt Wind Symphony Concerto Competition, the winner of the 2017 South Carolina Phi Beta Mu Solo Competition, and a semi-finalist in both the Mock Orchestral Audition and Small Ensemble Competition of the 2019 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference.
Bridget has performed with ensembles such as the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra; Yale Philharmonia; Aspen Festival Orchestra, Chamber Symphony, and Conducting Orchestra; Curtis Symphony Orchestra; and Conservatory of Amsterdam Philharmonic, among others. She is also a substitute musician with the New World Symphony.
Bridget has spent summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School, Spoleto Festival USA, Brevard Music Center, and the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute.
In addition to her experience as a performer, Bridget is also a passionate educator. She holds a minor in Pedagogy from Vanderbilt University, where she studied psychology, music cognition, and conducted independent research on brass pedagogy with Jeremy Wilson, Associate Professor of Trombone at Vanderbilt University.
Bridget is currently pursuing her Master of Music Degree in Performance from the Yale School of Music, where she studies with Carol Jantsch of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Tuba Performance with a minor in Brass Pedagogy from Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music (Gil Long, principal teacher). In the fall of 2019, she spent a semester studying at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Perry Hoogendijk, principal tubist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Bridget is a native of Charleston, South Carolina. When not playing tuba, she loves cooking, yoga, and a good book.
Vivian Kung is a Taiwanese American tuba player, music educator, and aspiring crazy cat lady. Ms. Kung currently serves as the principal tuba of Symphony in C, and is the first Asian woman to hold the position. She is an active freelancer in the New England area, and can be seen regularly performing with The Orchestra Now(TON), Symphoria, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Cape Symphony, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, and more.
Vivian has been the recipient of various solo competition awards. Ms. Kung is a two time prize winner in the Susan Slaughter tuba competition at the International Women's Brass Conference. While studying in Los Angeles, she was a winner in the brass division of the 37th Pasadena Showcase House Instrumental Competition. In 2019, Ms. Kung received first place in the Music Teacher's National Association brass division, placing first out of an initial 600 competitors. In 2018, she received first place in the Northwestern Tuba and Euphonium conference Young Artist solo competition.
Ms. Kung is an avid chamber musician, and has attended the Aspen Music Festival Quintet Seminar, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and Avaloch Farms Music Institute. Her quintet, Amo Brass, won gold prize in the Cambridge Chamber Competition and was a finalist in the 2023 Plowman Chamber Music Competition. Recently, they were awarded the ABQ Prize at the 50th Annual Fischoff Competition.
Vivian received training at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where she studied with Aubrey Foard. She graduated with Latin honors and three degrees in music education, tuba performance, and Asian American studies. In 2022, Ms. Kung received her masters from the Yale School of Music, where she studied with Carol Jantsch.
In addition to her musical pursuits, Ms. Kung is an avid proponent of racial/gender equity in classical music, and diversity in music education. She previously served as a representative on the Yale Graduate and Professional Student Senate and contributed on the Diversity and Inclusion board, where she worked to implement more equitable measures and actions for student life at Yale University. Vivian is an active member of the Chromatic Brass Collective, an organization that celebrates, performs, mentors, and educates to increase visibility for racially/ethnically underrepresented women & gender non conforming people in music. She was the inaugural Yaffe Postgraduate Fellow of the Yale Music in Schools Initiative, a teaching partnership between the Yale School of Music and New Haven Public Schools.
In her free time, you can find Vivi petting her cats, reading a book with unnatural speed, and watching cooking shows on Netflix.
