Building a Better Band Through the Chamber Ensemble Experience: How to Cultivate Critically Thinking and Independent Musicians
Clinic Synopsis:
This demonstration covers the aspects of developing middle and high school level chamber ensembles. The Seminole Trombone Quartet will explore the core aspects of what truly makes a chamber music experience. Included topics to be examined: appropriate literature, rehearsal techniques, self-sufficiency, collaborative skills, and imagery versus technical language to influence musical interpretation.
Seminole Trombone Quartet
- Biographical Information
The Seminole Trombone Quartet explores the powerful, elegant, and extraordinary sonorities of their genre. Though based in Tallahassee, Florida, STQ is known throughout the southeast region by way of traditional performance recitals and clinics, as well as entertainment for special events and functions. Recently, Seminole Trombone Quartet was the selected winner of the “Noles in NYC” campaign; this allowed a public concert in Weill Recital Hall at the legendary Carnegie Hall in May 2016.
The Seminole Trombone Quartet found success in the competition arena as a recent “First Alternate” for the International Trombone Association’s trombone quartet competition in 2015. This past spring, STQ concluded a recital tour that featured performances at over a dozen major universities and high schools throughout Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. The latest STQ journey in September has taken them to exclusively perform and present masterclasses at U.S. Army base Fort Benning, in southwest Georgia.
The individual members of the quartet are no strangers to the professional orchestral world. Dunwoody Mirvil, second trombone of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, David Ellis, principal trombone of the Sinfonia Gulf Coast, Stephen Ivany is the first call tenor trombone substitute for the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra and the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, and Christopher Brown is bass trombone of the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra.
The four members of STQ thrive as colleagues in academia as they all currently pursue Doctor of Music degrees at the Florida State University College of Music. Additionally, each member serves the trombone studio as Graduate Teaching Assistants. These professional and collegial bonds generate a personal, well-balanced, and strong performance ability that is uniquely natural and exclusive to the Seminole Trombone Quartet.
Christopher Brown - Biographical Information
Christopher Brown is currently the bass trombonist of the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with many diverse ensembles, such as the New World Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, Connecticut Lyric Opera, New Haven Ballet Orchestra, Nittany Valley Symphony, and the Freedom Brass Band of Northeast Ohio, to name a few. Christopher is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music degree from the Florida State University College of Music and holds a Graduate Teaching Assistantship through the trombone studio. Christopher recently received the coveted Artist Diploma degree from the Yale School of Music. He received his M.M. degree from the Pennsylvania State University, where he was the Graduate Trombone Teaching Assistant and a B.M. degree from the University of Akron. Christopher Brown is originally from Canton, Ohio.
www.thirdtrombone.com
David Ellis - Biographical Information
David Ellis is a Doctoral Candidate in Trombone Performance at Florida State University, where he is a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the trombone studio. He is also Principal Trombone with the Sinfonia Gulf Coast. Before discovering and pursuing a passion for teaching, David played Dixieland in jazz clubs and festivals around Colorado, as well as in California, Germany, and the Netherlands. He was a Graduate Teaching Assistant for music theory at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he earned his Master of Music in Performance, and he earned his Bachelor of Music in Performance and Composition at Colorado State University.
Stephen Ivany - Biographical Information
Canadian trombonist Stephen Ivany is currently a DM candidate at Florida State University and also holds degrees from Yale School of Music and Memorial University of St. John’s Newfoundland. With solo and chamber performances across North America, Stephen has appeared at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center. Stephen also recently released his first CD entitled, “This Shall Be For Music” featuring the romantic songs cycles of Brahms, Mahler and Vaughan Williams. Stephen was recently the interim principal trombone with the Gainesville Orchestra and regularly performs with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra. In 2017 Stephen will appear with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra as a guest soloist performing the Albrechtsberger Alto Trombone Concert and the Larsson Trombone Concertino.
www.stephenivany.com
Dunwoody Mirvil - Biographical Information
A native of Miami, Fla., Dunwoody Mirvil is the second trombonist of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with various ensembles, including Albany Symphony Orchestra, Big Bend Orchestra and Tallahassee Winds where he was a featured soloist. Throughout his nearly 20 years as a trombonist, Dunwoody has performed in front of audiences around the world, including Tokyo, Paris, New York City and Los Angeles, showcasing his musical versatility in genres such as jazz, R&B, gospel, funk and calypso. He served as Director of Bands at Amos P. Godby High School in Tallahassee, Fla. before deciding to pursue a Doctor of Music degree at Florida State University, where he currently serves as a graduate teaching assistant. Dunwoody also received his M.M. degree in trombone performance from Florida State, and his B.S. degree in music education from Florida A&M University. Dunwoody is also a Performing Artist for Conn-Selmer, Inc. and endorsed by Giddings Mouthpieces.
www.dunwoodymirvil.com
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