Hello and welcome. Time for a long overdue update!

2008 has been quite a year! It began in Hawaii with a vacation over New Year’s. I highly recommend kicking off a new year in Hawaii, which I have been lucky enough to do a couple of times. Upon my return and freezing for a week, I headed to St. Barts for my yearly participation in the Festival de Musique de St. Barth. St. Barts is the most beautiful place I have ever been..and warm in January.

Other highlights of 2008 include:

•Awarded rank of full Professor at Indiana University

•Elected to ITA Board of Advisers

•With 17 of my students, watched Der Ring des Nibelungen in one day

•Organized mass Creston Fantasy performance

•Weeklong tour with Canadian Brass as part of a double quintet

•CSO concerts with Esa-Pekka Salonen, James Conlon and John Williams, including recording a new version of Memoirs of a Geisha with Yo-yo Ma

•Playing Brahms duets with my pal, Greg Flint in Milwaukee

  1. •Being a featured artist/clinician for Baylor Trombone Day with Joe Alessi and recording with Stentorian Consort



•Recorded “Horns for the Holidays” with Tower Brass, to be released soon

I played only one full recital this year (at Southeastern Oklahoma State University) as I played the Rouse Concerto at IU in March and Rob Deemer’s Monuments at Roosevelt University in May. Those two works kept me busy.




By far, the most important event was my wedding to Deborah in August, surrounded by our great friends and wonderful family. We had a two-week honeymoon in Italy and Sicily and another week in Mammoth Lakes, CA.







In the coming month I am looking forward to playing and recording Ein Heldenleben with the CSO conducted by Bernard Haitink, performing with the CSO Low Brass on a concert on December 3rd and playing the CSO Brass concert on December 18th.

2009 promises to be equally fulfilling with an Asian tour with the CSO, dates with the NYP, a recital at Western Michigan University and the 10th anniversary of the Alessi Seminar, an event that has become very dear to my heart.

I continue to share my musical world with my students at Indiana and Northwestern. I highly value the interaction with these fine students. It is important for me to pass along the knowledge that others have given to me.

Over the Christmas break, I will set up my photo galleries and get to the 25 blogs that await a break in my schedule.

Bass courtesy of Casey Maday’s expert guidance.