The Pedagogics Project – Masterclass Instruction for Brass and Woodwind Students
Clinic Synopsis:
The Pedagogics Project is an instructional service provided by Buffet Crampon USA to band and orchestra programs in the United States and Canada. This session will feature a panel of artist teachers from the Pedagogics Project who will demonstrate how the program works. Panelists will offer solutions for instrument specific performance issues commonly found in band literature. One $500 professional development scholarship will be awarded to a band director in attendance in a random drawing.
Hilary Abigana
- Biographical Information
Hilary Abigana is a founding member and flutist for the hybrid arts ensemble, The Fourth Wall. Praised by The Wall Street Journal for their “deft choreography,” The Fourth Wall explores a new hybrid of the performing arts in which musicians are also dancers and actors. Stretching the boundaries of instrumental performance, The Fourth Wall commissions new interdisciplinary works and reinterprets established repertoire to make music that leaps off the stage. In addition to performing hybrid arts shows, The Fourth Wall travels all over the continent conducting workshops in the basics of this genre, and encouraging participants to utilize music, dance and theater techniques in their performances. Hilary received her Bachelor of Music degree with Distinction and Performer’s Certificate from The Eastman School of Music and her master’s degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Passionate about teaching, Hilary was the Guest Artist at Floot Fire Dallas, choreographing over 100 young flutists in a performance of “I’ve Got Rhythm.” She then joined the Floot Fire faculty, was on faculty at the International Flute Symposium (with The Fourth Wall), and was co-director and Irish Flute teacher at the Irish Arts Academy of Indianapolis. Most recently, she was the Guest Artist for the Oklahoma Flute Society’s Virtual Flute Fair, giving masterclasses to all ages in addition to performing a virtual solo recital.
Preston Duncan - Biographical Information
An internationally acclaimed performer and educator based out of Minneapolis, Preston Duncan currently teaches saxophone at the University of Minnesota. He has been hailed as “displaying his saxophone mastery” (The Indianapolis Star) with “virtuosic brilliance” (the Muncie Star/Press) as a “terrific talent” (Marvin Hamlisch). He has appeared as a soloist throughout the United States, Latin America and Europe. He has performed as soloist with ensembles including The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, La Grande Orchestre des Alpes de la Mer of Nice, The National Police Band of Brasilia, The National Military Band of Slovenia, the University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra and many others. He has performed internationally in such prestigious venues as the Salle Verdi (Milan), the American Embassy (Paris), The Royal Conservatory (Brussels), Circle Theater (Indianapolis), and many others. As a chamber musician he has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Indianapolis Pops, The Minnesota Pops, The Indianapolis Symphony and performed with such acclaimed artists as Rosemary Clooney, Azmira-Woodward-Page, Marvin Hamlisch and Jeremy Denk. He is currently a member of the Klonos Trio, a saxophone piano trio that commissions and performs new works for saxophone trio. They recently released an album entitled “The Music of Marco Lombardi”. He is also a member of Rebeleo Duo with pianist Mariana Airaudo that has performed 15 recitals so far in 2024.
Matt Hightower - Biographical Information
Matt Hightower, an award-winning teacher, performer, and composer, is the Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the Florida State University College of Music and principal tuba with the Tallahassee Symphony. An avid chamber musician, Hightower is a member of the Emerald Brass Quintet and has previously been a member of the Corpus Christi, Kingsville, and University of Kentucky Brass Quintets. He has also performed with the Lexington Philharmonic Brass Quintet, the Mirari Brass Quintet, the Atlas Tuba Quartet, Backburner Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble, and Concert: Nova. Hightower, a product of entrepreneurship, firmly believes in the importance of 21st-century musicians who acquire and maintain a diverse set of skills. As such, Hightower’s career embodies every aspect of the music process from composing and arranging to recording and performing. Hightower’s debut album, Re(in)spiration, released in 2019, was a finalist for the 2021 ITEA Roger Bobo Award for Excellence in Recording. Hightower is also a dedicated educator whose students have won prizes at the Leonard Falcone Competition, Macauley Chamber Music Competition, and various regional and International Tuba-Euphonium Conferences including the inaugural ITEA Collegiate Ensembles Competitive Showcase Competition in 2023.
Amy Gilreath - Biographical Information
Dr. Amy Gilreath is a Trumpet Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Previously she held the position of Professor of Trumpet at Illinois State University from 1990-2019. Amy was one of the few women to hold a full-time university trumpet professor position in the 1990’s, the first woman trumpet professor at Illinois State University, and now the first woman brass professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. During her time at ISU, she was the first faculty member to be awarded the Illinois State University Outstanding Creative Arts Award for her numerous national and international performances as a chamber musician, soloist and orchestral musician and many publications in international journals. She was also a recipient of the Outstanding Teacher Award in the School of Music. Dr. Gilreath’s students have won numerous awards, and many are currently teaching throughout the United States at universities and public schools, and are performing in Canada, Portugal, Finland, and Italy, and in the United States Army Band, the United States Coast Guard Band, and numerous military field bands throughout the US. Amy served for many years on the Board of Directors for the International Women’s Brass Conference and served twice on the Board of Directors for the International Trumpet Guild. Amy was also a featured artist in the highly acclaimed international brass magazine “The Brass Herald.”
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