Woodwinds and Brass

Along with the core curriculum common to all degree programs at the School of Music, students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels may investigate degree programs geared toward mastery of performance techniques of their instruments of focus.

The School’s woodwinds and brass program includes a variety of degree pathways and opportunities for performance and preparation for professional careers in music.

Distinguished Faculty

Woodwinds Faculty
The School of Music woodwinds program offers performance degrees and opportunities for studio instruction by some of the city’s finest professional musicians. Faculty in the program include program chair Donna Shin, flute; and artists-in-residence Ben Lulich, clarinet; Dan Williams, oboe; and Michael Brockman, saxophone. In addition to holding principal chairs in Seattle Symphony, Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, and other notable ensembles, faculty members also are engaged with local and regional performing arts groups and organizations devoted to their instruments of focus. Areas of faculty research include traditional Asian repertoire, chamber music, repertory jazz, contemporary music, and orchestral repertoire.

Brass Faculty
Faculty in the brass program are among the city’s finest professional musicians.  Brass studio instructors  David Gordon, trumpet, John DiCesare, tuba, John Turman, horn, and Eden Garza, trombone, perform with Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Students in the program interact with these musicians in weekly applied lessons and occasional ensemble performance settings.  

Performance Opportunities

Woodwind and brass students at the University of Washington engage in a lively musical community at school and throughout the city. The School’s scholars and musicians represent a vast range of musical interests across the span of time from early music to the  present, yielding many intriguing possibilities for musical exploration. Students in the program enjoy performance opportunities with the School’s large ensembles, including the orchestra, bands, jazz ensembles, and smaller chamber groups. In addition, many students compete in the School’s annual concerto competition for opportunities to perform as soloists with the UW Symphony. The school’s Baroque Ensemble, Chamber Music Lab, and fully staged opera productions offer additional and unique performance opportunities. The school’s modern music ensemble, comprising talented graduate students from throughout the performance programs, explores contemporary classics and challenging repertoire from the mid-20th century and beyond. The school’s lively community of student and faculty composers, meanwhile, provides rich avenues for collaboration in the creation and presentation of new work by emerging and established composers. 

Non-Major Instrumental Lessons

Students who are not majoring in music but who are interested in taking private instrumental lessons with faculty are welcome to audition! Non-major lessons auditions occur in September, January, and February each year for admission into a faculty studio beginning Fall term. More audition information can be found on the Audition Dates page. Lessons are offered on a space-available basis in faculty studios and occur weekly over the course of the academic year. If admitted to private lessons, students will be given a faculty code to register for the appropriate MUSICP course number. In addition to tuition, non-major lessons require a $500 course lesson fee. 

Student Support

In addition to student support distributed by the University of Washington’s financial aid office, the School of Music distributes more than a half million dollars annually in merit- and need-based student support. Graduate teaching assistantships are competitive and  granted in all areas of study.  

HOW TO APPLY

For more information, contact SoMadmit@uw.edu