BRASS
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BRASS
Chamber music offers students the unique opportunity of performing music in which each individual part is of vital importance. Due to its nature, chamber music is where a musician can hone the skills to play the instrument since all parts are generally more complex and vital to the performance of the music. Ensemble precision, style, and intonation are clearly areas that will be improved. This is also a venue where people will learn how to work with others. Here at the Moores School of Music, we generally have four to six groups working each semester. Last semester we had a Brass Trio, two Brass Quartets, and three Brass Quintets. Chamber music groups generally meet at least twice a week and are coached as often as possible. Each Semester the chamber music students perform on a Brass Chamber Music Recital. Some of the groups have also performed out in the community for weddings, church services, and a variety of other occasions.
Tubist Mark Barton, Coordinator of Brass Chamber Music Studies, is currently tubist with the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, the Moores Brass Quintet, and teaches Applied Tuba and Chamber Music at the Moores School of Music. He is and active teacher and freelance artist, having performed with the Houston Symphony, Houston Ballet Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, and the Waco Symphony. Mr. Barton has presented workshops and masterclasses throughout the state. He has recorded in quintet and also has recorded world primier performances with the Houston Grand Opera. Mr. Barton received degrees in music education and applied music from Baylor University in 1981 and then taught for several years in the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD.
Jim Vassallo, trumpet, is a graduate of the Moores School of Music and a student of James Austin. He is currently principal trumpet with the Houston Ballet Orchestra and the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra in addition to teaching at the Moores School of Music. A teacher and frequent performer with the Texas Music Festival each summer, he has also performed with the Grand Tetons Festival Orchestra, the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, and the AIM Festival Orchestra in Graz, Austria.
James Austin, trumpet, is former principal trumpet for 17 years with the Houston Symphony Orchestra as well as former principal trumpet of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Houston Chamber Orchestra. He was the solo cornetist with the Eastman Wind Ensemble under Frederick Fennel and can be heard on numerous recordings on the Mercury label. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music.
Philip Stanton, horn, received his Bachelor of Music degree from Michigan State University and a Master of Music degree from Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C. After stints as principal horn with the Grand Rapids Symphony and as a member of the United States Navy Band, he began his current with the Houston Symphony Orchestra in 1974. Phil has taught on the faculty at Michigan State University, Sam Houston State University, and is currently teaching at the Moores School of Music.
Brian Kauk, trombone, is currently principal trombone with the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, second trombone with the Houston Ballet Orchestra, and performs extensively with the Houston Symphony. During the summer, Mr. Kauk is involved with the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Utah Opera Company, and the Texas Music Festival. He joined the UH Faculty as trombone instructor and became a member of the Moores Brass Quintet in 1995.
Mark Barton, tuba, is currently tubist with the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, the Moores Brass Quintet, and teaches Applied Tuba and Chamber Music at the Moores School of Music. He is and active teacher and freelance artist, having performed with the Houston Symphony, Houston Ballet Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, and the Waco Symphony. Mr. Barton received degrees in music education and applied music from Baylor University in 1981 and then taught for several years in the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD.
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The Moores Brass Quintet is an outstanding ensemble whose distinguished artists have had a long association with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Ballet Orchestra, and the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and, as full-time faculty and Affiliate Artists, with the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. The quintet's combined playing experience totals over one hundred years and has included performances with such renowned conductors as Leopold Stokowski, Sir John Barbirolli, Andre Previn, Leonard Bernstein, Robert Shaw, and Christoph Eschenbach. The Moores Brass Quintet had the honor of performing for President George Bush at the 1990 Economic Summit, and can frequently be heard on National Public Radio's "Performance Today."
