UW faculty brass instructors (and Seattle Symphony members) David Gordon (trumpet), John DiCesare (tuba), John Turman (French horn), and Eden Garza (trombone) are joined by SSO colleague Alexander White (trumpet) in this concert of works by Paul Dukas, Halsey Stevens, Paquito D’Rivera, Robert Weirich, Alexi Lebedev, Clay Smith, Anthony DiLorenzo, Anthony Barfield, and André Previn. With pianists Andrew Romanick and Alex Kostadinov.
Program
Fanfare from La Péri: Paul Dukas (1865-1935)
UW Faculty Brass Quintet: David Gordon, trumpet Alexander White, trumpet John Turman, horn Eden Garza, bass trombone John DiCesare, tuba
Sonata for Trumpet and Piano: Halsey Stevens (1908-1989)
1. Allegro Moderato
2. Adagio Tenero
3. Allegro
David Gordon, trumpet; Andrew Romanick, piano
Vals Venezolano and Contradanza: Paquito D’Rivera (b. 1948)
Steamboat Stomp: Robert Weirich (b. 1950)
John Turman, horn; Alex Kostadinov, piano
Concert Allegro: Alexi Lebedev (1924-1993)
Fancy Free: Clay Smith (1878-1930) arr. Blair Bollinger
Eden Garza, bass trombone; Alex Kostadinov, piano
INTERMISSION
Sonata for Tuba and Piano: Anthony DiLorenzo (1967)
1. Allegro Cantando
2. Andante Affettuoso
3. Allegro Giocoso
John DiCesare, tuba; Andrew Romanick, piano
Gravity: Anthony Barfield (1983)
Four Outings for Brass Quintet: André Previn (1929-2019)
1. Moderato, with energy
2. Blues Tempo
3. Slowly
4. Vivace
UW Faculty Brass Quintet : David Gordon, trumpet; Alexander White, trumpet; John Turman, horn; Eden Garza, bass trombone; John DiCesare, tuba
Biographies
Alexander White, trumpet
Alexander White performs with the Seattle Symphony as Associate Principal Trumpet. He previously served as Principal Trumpet of the Malaysian Philharmonic (2014-15) and Associate Principal Trumpet of the Seoul Philharmonic (2010-2012). He was the winner of the Olga Koussevitzky Young Artist Award (2009 Winds Division), the first time a trumpet player ever placed in the competition. White was admitted to The Juilliard School in 2004 with Presidential Distinction, and went on to receive his bachelor’s and master’s degrees there under teachers Raymond Mase and Mark Gould.
Andrew Romanick, piano
Andrew Romanick performs in the Seattle area and beyond as a collaborative pianist and opera coach. On faculty at the University of Washington School of Music, he instructs Opera Workshop and Collaborative Piano. This year Romanick has performed and premiered with soprano Carrie Henneman Shaw a number of pieces in Seattle and St. Paul by contemporary composers: Linda Tutas Haugen, Kate Soper, Jocelyn Hagen, Juliana Hall, and Karen P. Thomas. In January, Romanick also contributed to the reconstruction and performance by UW Opera of Joseph Haydn's Philemon and Baucis, or Jupiter comes to Earth. Previous professional performances have taken place virtually with Seattle soprano Chérie Hughes in the Barcelona Festival of Song; with Broadway and Metropolitan Opera Baritone Zachary James in the Hoku concert series in Kona, Hawaii; in the Canto Opera Festival in Louisville, Kentucky; in the Music in the Marche Opera Festival in Mondavio and Fano, Italy; and solo in the Gijón Piano Festival in Spain. Romanick earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts from University of Washington in 2018 in the studio of Robin McCabe.
Alex Kostadinov, piano
Bulgarian pianist Alex Kostadinov has been an active soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, China, Russia, Italy, Malaysia, and Bulgaria. He has performed with orchestras including Varna State Orchestra, Sofia Soloists, Baylor Symphony, and St. Petersburg Philharmonic, among others. Alex has been a pianist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council, Ima Hogg, National Association of Teachers of Singing, and the National Trumpet Conference. He has played for the Maryland Opera Studio, the Baylor University Opera, and the New York Opera Studio, amongst others. He also served on the music faculty at the Peabody Preparatory Conservatory, Soulfege Music Studio, and the Capital Piano Conservatory.
Throughout the years, Alex has won several international competitions including: First prize at the Joseph Dichler Piano Competition in Vienna, Grand Prix at the Amici del Pianoforte Competition in Venice, and Grand Prix at the Competition for Slavic Music in Moscow. Alex has also received several awards during his music education including: the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Performance from Baylor University, a special award from the mayor of Varna, Bulgaria, for high music achievements, and the Robert McCoy Award for Collaborative Piano at the University of Maryland.
He has collaborated with artists such as Renée Fleming, Carol Vaness, Matthew Guilford, Wiff Rudd, and has been pianist for the workshops of Chris Martin, Joseph Aleesi, Edward Berklee, and Lawrence Brownlee. Alex has performed as soloist and chamber musician in venues such as Carnegie hall, Rachmaninov hall, Bolshoi Theater, and the United States Supreme Court. In 2018, Alex was invited to go on a tour and give masterclasses in Hong Kong and Malaysia. Alex has participated in festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival and School as well as the Collaborative Piano Institute, where he worked with Golda Schultz, Stephen King, Lawrence Brownlee, Martin Katz, Kathleen Kelly and Rita Sloan.
Alex earned his doctorate degree in collaborative piano at the University of Maryland, where he studied under Rita Sloan. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music performance from Baylor University where he studied with Krassimira Jordan.
John DiCesare joins the UW School of Music faculty in Fall 2017 as artist-in-residence in the instrumental music program. Principal Tuba with the Seattle Symphony, he previously served as Principal Tuba of the Louisville Orchestra. DiCesare has performed with
orchestras nationwide; notably the Cleveland Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony and the St. Louis Symphony. During the summer months, he plays in the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder.
John is also an avid chamber musician and soloist. He is a founding member of the Pittsburgh Tuba Project and Iron City Brass Quintet. Iron City Brass was a quarter finalist in the Fischoff International Chamber competition at in 2012. John has played solos with the Duquesne University Orchestra, Kent State Orchestra, and Wright State University Band. He has given recitals and judged competitions at many tuba conferences.
DiCesare also has a love for teaching, giving masterclasses at universities across the country. He has held teaching positions at Kent State University, Cleveland State University, Indiana University Southeast, and Campbellsville University. John is also on faculty at the Cleveland Trombone seminar every June.
DiCesare holds degrees from Duquesne University, Kent State University, and is in the final stages of his Doctorate of Musical Arts at West Virginia University, where he was a prestigious Swiger Fellow. His teachers include Craig Knox, Tom Lukowicz, and John Bottomley.
DiCesare performs on Meinl Weston instruments and is a Buffet Group Performnig Artist. His instruments are the 6450 Baer CC tuba and 2250 F tuba.
Eden Garza, a native of South Texas, joined the Seattle Symphony September 2022. He received his Masters Degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with Dr. Nathaniel Brickens and his Bachelors Degree from Texas A&M University Kingsville, where he studied with Dr. Oscar Diaz. As a soloist, Eden has been featured with TAMUK’s Jazz Band I, the South Texas Trombone Sound, the TAMUK Trombone Choir, the TAMUK Wind Symphony at the Texas Music Educators Association Conference, the University of Texas Trombone Choir at the Texas Music Educators Association Conference, ITF with the University of Texas Trombone Choir, at the Midwest Clinic with the TAMUK Trombone Choir, and at the ITF’s Composers Workshop. Garza has been awarded first prize for various competitions that include the Edward Kleinhammer Orchestral Bass Trombone Competition, the Big 12 Bass Trombone Competition, the Donald Yaxley Solo Bass Trombone Competition, the ITA trombone quartet competition, and the Hungarian Online Trombone Competition. Eden also serves as a faculty member for the University of Washington School of Music.
David Gordon, whose playing has been described as “spectacular” by The Chicago Tribune, is Principal Trumpet of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Opera and the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, Chicago. Prior to his appointment in Seattle, he was Principal Trumpet of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra.
As a guest artist, he has performed, recorded and toured as Principal Trumpet of the London Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, and has performed as Principal Trumpet of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. As soloist, David has appeared with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (with whom he performed as soloist every season of his tenure), the National Repertory Orchestra, and the Lake George Chamber Orchestra. In an orchestral context, he has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the Savannah Symphony Orchestra, and has held the position of Principal Trumpet with the Jupiter Symphony and the Prometheus Chamber Orchestra.
Mr. Gordon has toured extensively in Europe, North America and South America, and has performed in such prestigious festivals as Tanglewood, Lucerne and Schleswig-Holstein. As a chamber musician, he has performed with Music of Remembrance, Seattle Chamber Players and as a member of the Seattle Symphony Chamber Series, among others. In addition to his performance activities, he records frequently for radio, television, and film. A committed educator, David is a faculty member at the University of Washington, and regularly presents master classes and coachings nationwide.
A native of Narragansett, RI, David Gordon was educated at Columbia University, from which he holds a degree in philosophy, and The Juilliard School. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Seattle Symphony Principal Harp Valerie Muzzolini Gordon, daughter Anaïs, and English bulldog Massimo.
John Turman joins the School of Music faculty in Autumn 2021 as an artist in residence in horn performance. Prior to becoming a member of the Seattle Symphony, John Turman was awarded the position of principal horn of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in the spring of 2015. During the 2013–2014 season, Turman performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as acting third horn. Additionally, he has performed with the Austin Lyric Opera, Austin Symphony, Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Symphony. Turman received his degree in Horn Performance from Rice University in 2015 where he studied with William VerMeulen.