William Himes

 

Well-known for his compositions and arrangements, William Himes has more than seventy publications to his credit. These, along with numerous manuscripts awaiting publication, are continually featured on international broadcasts and recordings.

Mr. Himes earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Michigan. For five years he taught instrumental music in the public schools  of Flint, Michigan, where he was also adjunct lecturer in low brass  at the University of Michigan-Flint. Mr. Himes continues to be in demand as conductor, composer, lecturer, clinician and euphonium soloist and has appeared throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom.

Since 1977, Mr. Himes has been music director of the Salvation Army’s Central Territory, which encompasses the eleven Midwestern states. In this capacity he is also conductor of the Chicago Staff Band, an internationally recognized ensemble which has led on successful tours of Panama, Mexico, Chile, Canada, Singapore, The Philippines, Hong Kong, England and Australia. The band’s 1987 tour of England included performances in the Royal Albert Hall and Buckingham Palace, where Mr. Himes was privileged to meet The Majesty Queen Elizabeth.

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Jamie Hood

A native of Ayrshire, Scotland, Jamie started cornet lessons with his father James Hood at the age of four. He then started to play in the local Salvation Army Band when he was seven. In 1992 Jamie moved with his family to Alsace, France where he was influenced by Marc Ullrich (solo trumpet Basel Symphony Orchestra), Dr. Edward Tarr and Niklas Eklund (International Baroque trumpet soloist).

In 1999 Jamie left France and studied for two years at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with Nigel Boddice MBE and Dr. Roger Webster. Jamie then returned to Alsace and studied for two years in Freiburg, Germany with Anthony Plog before studying with French Master Trumpet teacher Mr. Pierre Thibaud in Paris. During his years of study with Mr. Thibaud Jamie was influenced by many of Thibaud’s former students including Mathias Persson (solo trumpet Monte Carlo Philharmonique), Jean-Christophe Haas (solo trumpet Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice) and Hakan Hardengerber (International Trumpet Soloist). In 2006 Jamie studied with Prof David King in Manchester, UK.

In 2004 Jamie became started working with Besson as a cornet artist and clinician giving recitals all over Europe as well as working for Besson as a brass band trainer and conductor having played with some of the best brass bands in the world including Grimethorpe Colliery, The Kirkintilloch Band, Scottish Coop and Brass Band Willebroek to name a few.

On December 1st 2006 Jamie immigrated to the USA where he took up the position of Performing Arts Director of The Performing Arts Academy for The Salvation Army in Houston, Texas. During his time in Houston Jamie worked as a freelance trumpet/cornet player playing with The Houston Grand Opera and was a private trumpet teacher for the local High Schools.

Jamie is now the Divisional Music Director for The Salvation Army in North and South Carolina where he continues to develop brass and vocal training within The Salvation Army as well as teach and play professionally all over the East Coast.

Jamie Hood is a Besson performing artist.

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Philip Sparke

     Philip Sparke was born in London and studied composition, trumpet and piano at the Royal College of Music, where he gained an ARCM.
 

     It was at the College that his interest in bands arose. He played in the College wind orchestra and also formed a brass band among the students, writing several works for both ensembles.

     At that time, his first published works appeared - Concert Prelude (brass band) and Gaudium (wind band). A growing interest in his music led to several commissions, his first major one being for the Centennial Brass Band Championships in New Zealand – The Land of the Long White Cloud.

     Further commissions followed from individual bands, various band associations and the BBC, for whom he three times won the EBU New Music for Band Competition (with Slipstream, Skyrider and Orient Express). He has written for brass band championships in New Zealand, Switzerland, Holland, Australia and the UK, including three times for the National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall, and his test pieces are constantly in use wherever brass bands can be found.

     A close association with banding in Japan led to a commission (Celebration) from and eventual recording of his music with the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. This opened the door worldwide to his wind band music and led to several commissions, particularly from the United States. In 1996 the US Air Force Band commissioned and recorded Dance Movements, which won the prestigious Sudler Prize in 1997. In 2005 Music of the Spheres won the National Band Association/William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest.
 

     His conducting and adjudicating activities have taken him to most European countries, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the USA. He runs his own publishing company, Anglo Music Press, which he formed in May 2000. In September 2000 he was awarded the Iles Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians for his services to brass bands.

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Demondrae Thurman

Demondrae Thurman is quickly becoming one of the most recognized names in a new generation of euphonium soloists. A native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Demondrae studied euphonium, trombone and conducting at the University of Alabama and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While studying in Tuscaloosa, Demondrae was the first ever undergraduate to perform solo with the Alabama Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Gerald Welker. In 1995, with that ensemble, he premiered Sinfonia Concertante by Dr. Frederic Goossen. In Madison, Demondrae was a featured soloist with the UW Symphony Orchestra, the UW Wind Ensemble as well as several high school bands in the area. His primary teachers are Daniel Drill, J. Michael Dunn, James Jenkins, and John Stevens.

Mr. Thurman has been extremely active as a soloist and clinician. His solo recording entitled Soliloquies was released on the Summit Records label in 2005. In 2004, he performed the solo euphonium part in Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote and Gustav Holst’s The Planets with the Atlanta and Honolulu Symphony Orchestras respectively. In 2003, he was a finalist for the Philip Jones International Solo Competition held in Alsace, France. In 2002, he served as guest artist and adjudicator at the International Tuba/Euphonium Conference held in Greensboro, NC and the prestigious Leonard Falcone Euphonium/Tuba Competition held at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Whitehall, MI. He was also a guest artist at the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Army Band Tuba/Euphonium Conferences, the 2000 U.S. Army Ground Forces Tuba/Euphonium Conference, and the 2000 International Tuba/Euphonium Conference held in Regina, Canada. As a champion of contemporary music, Demondrae has premiered numerous works for solo euphonium including Soliloquies by John Stevens and Fantasy for Euphonium and Orchestra by Doug Bristol.

Demondrae is also an active chamber musician. He is a founding member of the highly acclaimed Sotto Voce Tuba Quartet, winner of both international tuba quartet competitions in 1998. Since then, Sotto Voce has performed at several major conferences including the 2004 International Tuba/Euphonium Conference held in Budapest, Hungary, two U.S. Army Band Conferences in addition to many colleges and universities around the country. Sotto Voce has released two recordings on Summit Records, Consequences and Viva Voce!. Demondrae plays first baritone horn with the world renowned Brass Band of Battle Creek and is a member of the trombone quartet Quatuor du Sud.

Equally in demand as a trombonist, Demondrae has performed with the Alabama Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony, Hot Springs Festival Orchestra, and as a member of the Tuscaloosa Horns with such Motown recording artists as The Temptations, The Four Tops and The Supremes.

Currently, Mr. Thurman teaches at The University of Alabama where he is Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium. Before accepting this position in 2005, he taught at Alabama State University, the University of Montevallo, and Troy State University.

Demondrae Thurman is a Besson performing artist and plays Besson euphoniums and baritone horns and the Demondrae model mouthpiece designed by Warburton exclusively.

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Matt Tropman

Matt Tropman currently serves as adjunct professor in low brass at Eastern Michigan University and Executive Director of the Brass Band of Battle Creek. As a former member of the U.S. Marine Band (President’s Own) Matt performed frequently at The White House, and as a soloist in the DC area and throughout the U.S.

Matt has released two CD's on summit records; Continuum and From the Balcony, which have been featured on programs such as NPR’s “All Things Considered” and CBC Radio’s “Disc Drive” and “Music and Company”. From the Balcony was recently reviewed in the New York Times, which stated “Tropman makes a serious case for the euphonium as a solo instrument”. In addition, he has been featured in solo performances at such venues as Cleveland’s Severance hall, Baltimore’s Myerhoff Symphony Hall, and Music Hall in Cincinnati, among others.

Matt is an active clinician and recitalist, having performed and taught throughout the U.S., as well as engagements in Spain, Finland, Germany, Great Britain and Canada. He has given masterclasses and served as guest faculty at countless institutions and has performed with the Detroit Symphony on concerts requiring euphonium under conductors such as Leonard Slatkin, Neeme Jarvi and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Matt received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, his masters from Arizona State University, and recently completed the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in tuba performance from the University of Michigan.

Matt performs exclusively on Meinl-Weston euphoniums and tubas.

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