IWBC 2003 ARTIST'S GALLERY
Ensembles
MONARCH BRASS This all-star brass ensemble represents the greatest women solo and orchestral brass players performing throughout North America and Europe. This female "dream team" was created in the 1993 at the first International Women's Brass Conference and had their inaugural tour in 1996. Monarch Brass' vision is to display the special power, musicality, and lyrical sound so distinctive of a brass ensemble.
MONARCH BRASS ROSTER
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Ms. Buchman completed professional studies in conducting at the Juilliard
School in 2001. She holds an M.M. in orchestral conducting from the
University of Michigan and a B. Mus. degree and Performer's Certificate
in trombone from the Eastman School of Music. She studied conducting
with Otto Werner Mueller, Kenneth Kiesler, Michael Jinbo, Murry Sidlin,
and David Effron; and trombone with John Marcellus, Mark Lawrence, and
Edward Zadrozny. She served as Principal Trombonist of the San Diego
Symphony from 1988 to 2003. As a soloist she has won prizes in the ARD
International Music Competition in Munich, Germany, and the New York
Philharmonic Young Artists Concerto Competition, and has commissioned
and premiered several new solo works for trombone. |
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US ARMY BLUES The Army Blues jazz ensemble carries on a tradition
begun by the Army Dance Band which entertained soldiers and civilians
in the battle zone during World War II and later for ABC broadcasts
during the Korean War. It was then (about 1951) that the group was
dubbed "The Army Blues" by U.S. Army Band announcer, Roy
Meachum. Although not officially formed until 1972 to be the premier
jazz band of the U.S. Army, The Army Blues jazz ensemble strives to
never forget its heritage as it endeavors to excel in its present
day mission; to promote the growth and development of America's only
native art form: Jazz.
The Army Blues' performance
is partially sponsored by the generosity of Outback Steakhouse,
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Brass bands have their roots in England in the early nineteenth century. As society became more urbanized, business owners established bands to keep employees occupied and to bolster company support. As valved instruments were improved and perfected to modern standards, the technical and musical abilities of the bands also increased. Fierce competitions between rival bands have existed in England for more than one hundred years. Additionally, the Salvation Army established brass bands as a means of communicating God's word to the people. Today, the modern brass band movement is still largely amateur, although there are many players who have moved to professional playing positions as a result of their brass band experience. Phil Smith, principal trumpet with the New York Philharmonic had his first musical experiences through brass banding and the Salvation Army.The popularity of brass bands has spread throughout the world, with bands in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and several European countries. In the United States, the wind band has been the dominant musical avenue for amateur musicians to pursue, but in recent years, there have been several brass bands established. The North American Brass Band Association has been founded to promote and foster these bands and to educate the public about this unique art form.
What makes the brass band unique? All the brass music (with the exception of the bass trombone) is scored in treble clef, a characteristic that over the years has allowed for remarkable freedom among certain bands, making the transition from one instrument another somewhat easier. The number of members (instrumentation) is rigid, usually limited to between twenty-eight and thirty players, but the repertoire is unusually flexible, with concert programs consisting of anything from original works, orchestral transcriptions and featured soloists to novelty items, marches, medleys, and hymn tune arrangements. With the exception of the trombones, all instruments are conical in design, producing a more mellow, richer sound, yet one that has wide dynamic and coloristic variety.
The term "brass band" is not entirely accurate, since brass bands also normally include up to three percussion players who are called upon to play as many as twenty different instruments depending on the demands of the music. Standard acceptance of more than one percussionist in the brass band is really a phenomenon of the last forty years, but one that has added immense challenge, interest and variety to the sound.
The Athena Brass Band is the brainchild of Laura Lineberger, a Euphonium player and librarian with the United States Army Band. Upon her organization, a group of ladies from various North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) bands convened at the 2002 NABBA Championships, held in Cincinnati, Ohio. The result of this meeting was the enthusiastic formation of Athena Brass Band. Members of the band were selected from NABBA bands throughout the United States.
Anita Cocker-Hunt, the conductor, is the NABBA President
and director of the Cincinnati Brass Band. Athena Brass Band was chosen
as the name of the ensemble, paying homage to Athena, Goddess of Wisdom
who was regarded as the protector of all cities and states. She is,
above all, the Goddess of the City, the protectress of civilized life,
of artesian activities, and of agriculture. Soloists with the group
will be Amy Nelson, cornetist with the Chicago Brass Band; Lisa Galvin,
tenor hornist with the Brass Band of Columbus; Stacy Baker, tuba soloist
with the Lexington Brass Band; and Laura Lineberger and Gail Robertson,
euphoniumists with the Spires Brass Band and Central Florida Brass
Band.
Anita returned to Cincinnati to serve as Divisional Music Director for the Salvation Army in Southwest Ohio and Northeast Kentucky before leaving in 1997 to go back into public education as the Pendelton County H.S. Band Director. Currently, Anita is a school representative for Buddy Roger's Music in Cincinnati. She has been the Cincinnati Brass Band's primary conductor since its inception and serves on the Board of Directors for the band. Anita is currently the president of the North American Brass Band Association (NABBA). |
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UNITED STATES JOINT SERVICE BRASS & PERCUSSION
ENSEMBLE
The Joint Service Brass & Percussion Ensemble, established
in 1993, was formed specifically for the first International Women’s
Brass Conference. Their success has led them to subsequent IWBC conference
requested performances. The ensemble showcases top professional women
brass players representing their respective military organizations
from the Washington DC metropolitan area. Each member has distinct
performing duties covering a broad spectrum of performance and administrative
opportunities.
UNITED STATES JOINT SERVICE BRASS & PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE ROSTER
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ISU BRASS QUINTET Since its formation in 1974, the Illinois State University
Faculty Brass Quintet has enjoyed a reputation of excellence. In addition
to performing two recitals a year, the ISU Faculty Brass Quintet has
been a featured group in the New Sounds Festival in Canterbury England,
the Illinois Music Educators Convention, and the Midwestern Chamber
Music Workshop in Lawrence Kansas. Composer David Gillingham's work,
Quintessence for brass quintet and wind ensemble, was composed
especially for the ISU Faculty Quintet. |
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JUNCTION The tuba/euphonium quartet, JUNCTION, has gained international
acclaim through its performances at a wide variety of venues including
a July 2002 tour of Austria where the ensemble presented recitals
and masterclasses in Eisenerz, Obdach, Stallhofen, and Schladming.
The tour culminated with the premier of a new work for tuba/euphonium
quartet and band written for JUNCTION by Austrian composer Franz Cibulka.
JUNCTION premiered Cibulka's new composition at the Mid-Europe Festival
in Schladming, Austria. At the International Tuba Euphonium Conference
(ITEC) in Lahti, Finland, in August 2001, JUNCTION presented a program
that also included two world premiers: Brian Balmages, Central Junction
(2001) which was commissioned for the group by the Morehead State
University ITEA and a JUNCTION commission, El Bosque Verde (2001)
by Alice Gomez. In addition, Todd Fiegel's 2000 arrangement for JUNCTION
of J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor was given its European
premier during the 2001 conference. A recent work, Gabriel M. Stockhausen's
El Dorado (1998) was also programmed in an effort to introduce it
into the standard repertoire. |
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BONES APART Bones Apart consists of four young professional female
trombonists who formed at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester
in 1999. Bones Apart has already established a name for itself as
one of the leading young chamber ensembles to recently emerge out
of the UK. |
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Heather
Buchman is the Conductor of the Hamilton College Orchestra and
the Brass Ensemble. In 2003 she has instigated a new informal educational
concert series - Brainstorm! - with the Hamilton College Orchestra,
and conducted the Syracuse Society for New Music in a program of works
by emerging New York composers. She was also selected as a participant
in the American Symphony Orchestra League's Don Don Thulean Conducting
Workshop in May. 
Liesl
Whitaker is lead trumpeter with the United States Army Blues Jazz
Ensemble, based at Fort Myer, VA. She also is a charter member of
the all-woman big band "Diva" based in New York City, serving
as both Diva's lead trumpet player and personnel manager. She attended
college at both Appalachian State University (Boone, NC) and The University
of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music (Cincinnati, OH). She
studied trumpet with Bill Adam, Pat Harbison and Joe Phelps. She has
taught trumpet lessons privately throughout her career in New York
City, Cincinnati, Northern Virginia and North Carolina. Liesl has
had a wide variety of performance experience. In Cincinnati, she founded
and played in her own R&B band, "White Noise". In 1991
she traveled to Madrid, Spain, where she played trumpet on the late
night talk show "de Tu a Tu". From 1991 - 1993, she played
in the house bands of several Carnival Cruise Line ships. Liesl also
played lead trumpet with the "Ed Palermo Big Band" in New
York City, as well as other New York-area bands. In 1996, Liesl performed
on the A&E television special "Judy Collins Christmas Special
filmed live at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. She appeared
in the pit orchestra of "The Wizard of Oz" annually at Madison
Square Garden's Paramount Theater. She frequently performs on Broadway
in the pit orchestras for many musicals including "Fosse",
"Cats", "Cabaret", "Victor/Victoria",
"Guys and Dolls", and "Big". Liesl is a three-year
veteran trumpet instructor for the New York Pops' Salute to Music
Teaching Program. She can be heard playing lead trumpet on the Army
Blues "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" CD, DIVA's "Something's
Coming", "Leave It To Diva" and "I Believe in
You" CDs, as well as on the "Ed Palermo Big Band Plays the
Music of Frank Zappa" CD, Tommy Igoe's "New Ground"
CD and the Grammy-Nominated "The Wizard of Oz"-Original
Cast Album (Madison Square Garden Production) CD. 
Anita
Cocker-Hunt is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. She earned her
Bachelor of Music Education and Bachelor of Music in trumpet degrees
from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She
later returned to the College-Conservatory of Music to earn her Master
of Music degree in Instrumental Wind Conducting. She has held positions
as high school band and orchestra director in the Cleveland area,
private trumpet instructor at the Cleveland Music School Settlement,
and was a member of the Cleveland Women's Symphony Orchestra.
Major
Beth T.M. Steele |
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