The Highlands Brass Academy in summer of 2009 will feature the following clinicians:
- Larry Larson - trumpet
(Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony)
Larry Larson has been Principal Trumpet of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony since
1993. He is a graduate of DePaul University of Chicago and was a student of Adolph
Herseth, legendary Principal Trumpet of the Chicago Symphony. As a soloist, Larry
has been featured with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Orchestra London, and the
Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, and has been featured on CBC Radio in performances
of trumpet concertos by Malcolm Forsyth, Johnny Cowell and R. Murray Schafer. In
May, 2009, Larry performed the world premiere of Scott Good’s “between the rooms:
Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra” with the KWS. He has just released his first
solo CD of music for trumpet and harp with harpist Lori Gemmell.
In addition to performances of the classical repertoire, Larry has developed eight
critically-acclaimed Pops programmes for orchestra with conductor/trombonist David Martin.
Larry is in much demand by Toronto recording studios for his work on motion picture
soundtracks and commercial jingles. He has had the great pleasure to work in back-up
orchestras for Diana Krall, Brian Wilson, Jann Arden, Holly Cole, Anne Murray, Dennis
DeYoung, Roger Hodgson, and Yes.
After a dormancy of about 20 years, and with great encouragement from pianist and
composer Glenn Buhr, Larry has enjoyed re-awakening the sleeping giant that was his
jazz playing with his own combo, “Larry’s Jazz Guys.”
Larry is very proud to be a member of the faculty of the National Youth Orchestra of
Canada, sharing his knowledge and experiences with the next generation of orchestral
trumpet players. Performances at the Stratford Festival, the Elora Festival and the
Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival round out his summer playing.
- Michael Fedyshyn - trumpet (Hamilton
Philharmonic Orchestra); director of education
Michael holds the position of Principal Trumpet with the Hamilton Philharmonic
Orchestra, and can also be heard in regular performances with the Toronto Symphony
Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the Canadian Opera Company. While
primarily an orchestral player, Michael’s solo playing has been described as being
“delivered with style and care” and possessing a “haunting” quality (Hamilton
Spectator, Toronto Star). Recent recordings include "From Russia with Brass"(2005),
with Capital BrassWorks, and Owen Pallett's latest release "Heartland"(2009).
A student of Robert Oades, Vincent Cichowicz, and Andrew McCandless, Michael Fedyshyn
began playing the trumpet at the age of 12, in an elementary band room in Cornwall,
Ontario. A graduate of the University of Ottawa and an alumnus of the National Youth
Orchestra of Canada, as well as the National Academy Orchestra, Michael was invited
to play in the inaugural summer season of Helmut Rilling’s FestivalEnsemble in
Stuttgart, Germany, while finishing his studies at the Glenn Gould School of the
RCM.
Michael has taught trumpet privately since 1995, and has given clinics and coachings
in a variety of settings for trumpet and brass students of the Ottawa Youth Orchestra,
Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, RCM Glenn Gould School, Ottawa University,
and ScotiaFest. He has been Instructor of Trumpet for Canterbury High School, Instructor
of Brass for Grenville Christian College, Instructor of Trumpet for Royal St.George's
College, and is currently an Adjunct Instructor in the Music Department of Redeemer
University College.
- tba - trumpet
yeah -- there'll be three
- Christopher Gongos - horn (Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
Associate Principal Horn since 2003, Chris has been a member of the Toronto
Symphony since 1998, Chris has also held the positions of Principal Horn of the
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and the Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Associate Principal
Horn of the Winnipeg Symphony, and Second Horn of the Hamilton Philharmonic.
Educated at the University of Alberta and McGill University his teachers were Kay
McCallister and John Zirbel. Chris is an alumnus of Tanglewood, and the National
Youth Orchestra of Canada. He is extremely proud of his many horn students at the
Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music, and at the University of
Toronto.
- Steven Dyer - trombone (Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra)
Since September of 2001, Steven Dyer has held the positions of Trombonist with
the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Instructor of Trombone/Euphonium and Chamber
Music with the University of Manitoba Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music.
Prior to his arrival in Winnipeg, Steven was Principal Trombonist with the Thunder
Bay Symphony Orchestra and Instructor of Low Brass at Lakehead University. A past
recipient of the Boosey & Hawkes Ltd. Prize for excellence in brass playing, he
has appeared as soloist with the symphony orchestras of Winnipeg and Thunder Bay,
and also with the Northern Ontario-based early music ensemble Consortium Aurora
Borealis. He has toured internationally as both a chamber and orchestral
musician, and has presented recitals and master-classes in both Canada and the
United States.
Mr. Dyer is a dedicated and sought-after instructor whose students have shown
success in both major solo competitions and in auditioning for music organizations
of national prestige; others have gone on to meaningful careers as music educators
throughout Canada. During the summer months, Steven enjoys time spent in the
Pacific Northwest USA working as Assistant Director for Young Musicians and
Artists in Salem, Oregon.
Steven earned a bachelor of music degree from McGill University (Montreal),
graduating with high distinction in performance; and, with the support of the
Canada Council for the Arts, furthered his studies in Chicago where he obtained
a masters degree from DePaul University. He has shared the concert stage, as a
former member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, with many world-renowned
conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Zubin Mehta, Donald Runnicles and Christopher
Wilkins. On returning to Canada, Steven has performed with many of the country's
top ensembles, which include the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Toronto Symphony
Orchestra, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra London and the Manitoba
Chamber Orchestra.
Steven resides in Winnipeg, Canada with his wife Liz and his sons Miles and Felix.
- Chris Lee - tuba (Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra)
Chris Lee holds the position of Principal Tuba with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
He previously held the same position with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia (Spain)
and was Professor of Tuba at the ESMAE School of Music in Porto (Portugal). With
degrees from both McGill and Indiana University, Chris is currently Instructor of
Tuba at the University of Manitoba. An avid chamber musician, Chris performs
regularly as a member of Winnipeg's Metalmorphosis Brass Quintet, the Forest
Festival Brass Quintet and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared with the
Indianapolis and Tenerife Symphonies and toured North and South America with the
Verbier Festival Youth Orchestra under James Levine. Chris has recorded with the
Winnipeg Symphony, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Real Philharmonic de Galicia, the
Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Brass and numerous studio recordings in the
US. Chris has appeared as a soloist with the Winnipeg Symphony many times including
performing the orchestral premiere of the Victor Davies Concerto for Tubameister in
2009. When he is not playing tuba, Chris enjoys playing basketball and chess.
- Andrew Chung - music director
Andrew is the Music Director of Silverthorn Symphonic Winds, the Scarborough Concert Band,
the Canadian Chinese Choir of Toronto and The Brass Conspiracy. He has served as the Music
Director for the Pickering Philharmonic Orchestra, the Halton Chamber Youth
Orchestra, University Settlement Orchestra and the Scarborough Choralairs. While
attending the University of Toronto, he was the Assistant Conductor for the University
of Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Music Assistant at the Opera Mississauga
(now Royal Opera Canada).
He has attended the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the University of Hong
Kong, the University of Toronto and the University of Freiburg, Germany. His
trumpet teachers include Stephen Chenette, Robert Nagel, Henry Nowak, Jeffrey
Reynolds and Larry Weeks. He also studied privately with Arnold Jacobs and
Murray Crewe. A scholarship from the Centre d'Arts Orford allowed him to study
conducting with Raffi Armenian and Agnes Grossman. He has also participated in the
Conductors Apprentice Program with the Huntsville Festival of the Arts Orchestra.
His other conducting teachers include Dwight Bennett and Kerry Stratton.
Andrew Chung has guest-conducted the Hart House Orchestra, the North York Concert
Orchestra, the Toronto Philharmonia, Korean Canadian Symphony Orchestra, Northdale
Concert Band, the Toronto Chinese Youth Orchestra, the Mississauga Youth Orchestra,
the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra and the Milton Youth Choir.
As an orchestral musician, he was the principal trumpet with the Hong Kong Chamber
Orchestra, the Hong Kong Youth Symphony, the Asian Youth Orchestra (under the
direction of Yehudi Menuhin and Alexander Schneider) and the Toronto Symphony Youth
Orchestra. He made his solo debut with the Mooredale Festival Orchestra. He has
also played with Hamilton Philharmonic and Talisker Players.
- Travis Nixon - assistant music director; artistic co-director
After studying classical piano and looking to expand his interest in music, Travis
had the opportunity to study instrumental music in grade seven. Although his wish
was to play the French Horn, he was forced to learn the Alto Saxophone. In high
school, after much nagging, a teacher offered to lend him a Horn to learn at home
and so began Travis' musical journey with the Horn.
Travis graduated from the University of Windsor with a Bachelor of Music and
Bachelor of Music Education. At Windsor he studied horn with Mr. Martin Limoges
and Dr. Bernadette Berthalotte. While studying his playing opportunities included
Wind Ensemble, small ensemble, orchestral and solo playing repertoire.
Upon his return to Toronto, Travis has continued his studies and work in both
music performance, education and conducting. He has had the opportunity to work
with Dr. Gillian Mackay and Dr. Denise Grant to continue honing his conducting
skills and rehearsal techniques. Along with directing many ensembles at work,
Travis has also conducted the Thornhill Community Band and continues to do
conducting workshops throughout the G.T.A.
An active musician, he is a proud founding member of the Brass Conspiracy and
is principal horn with Counterpoint Community Orchestra and has played with the
Festival Wind Orchestra, Brassfully Yours quintet and Orchestra Toronto. Travis
is currently the Head of Music at Westmount Collegiate Institute in York Region
where he teaches instrumental music.