BrassFest 2022
The UVA Department of Music will host the 7th annual University of Virginia Brass Fest on Sunday, November 6th 2022 in Old Cabell Hall on the historic lawn at the University of Virginia. The 2022 Brass Fest welcomes guest performers Amy McCabe, trumpet; Robert Rearden, horn and trombonist Matthew Guilford to UVA. BrassFest events are free and open to the public.
Our guests will hold a Master Class with pre-selected students in 107 Old Cabell Hall from noon to 2pm.
Brass Fest culminates with a recital featuring Amy McCabe, Robert Rearden, and Matthew Guilford at 3:30pm in Old Cabell Hall and will include works by Libby Larsen, Regina Harris Baiocchi, Jacques Francois Gallay, Mark Nightingale, J.S. Bach and more!
The UVA Brass Fest began in 2015 when the Charlottesville Symphony professional principals and brass faculty in the Department of Music wanted to create an opportunity to present guest workshops, master classes and recitals for brass students from around the central Virginia area. Students from the University Symphony, the UVA Marching Band, Wind Ensemble, Concert Band and Jazz Ensembles, as well as students from regional High Schools and community performers have enjoyed the opportunity to study with and listen to visiting guest artists in a program designed specifically for brass enthusiasts in the past years. By necessity, the UVA Brass Fest transitioned into a virtual experience during the pandemic, so it is with delight that the UVA Brass Fest returns to the UVA Lawn on Sunday, November 6th when brass devotees can once again come together for a relaxed and enjoyable day of brass activities in Old Cabell Hall.
Amy McCabe
Whether playing suspended in midair on the Broadway stage or soloing on the Symphony Hall stage in Chicago, Amy McCabe enjoys performing in a variety of capacities. She was recently a solo recitalist at the International Trumpet Guild conference, the International Women's Brass conference, and was a soloist with the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain in London’s Regent Hall. In January, Amy also recorded the premiere of Fernande Decruck’s Poeme Heroique with the Jackson Symphony.Amy is currently a co-principal trumpet with The “President’s Own” United States Marine Band, and has completed three national and international concert tours as a soloist in addition to her duties in Washington DC at the White House and Arlington National Cemetery. She is also an active chamber musician, and recorded a brass quintet album under Summit records with Seraph Brass. She also facilitated and performed on the premiere recording of Florence Price’s Octet for Brass with the Barclay Brass. In addition, Amy has also played with the New York Philharmonic, the National Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, and The Brass Band of Battle Creek. She was the “Loss” soloist in the first National and Japan touring cast of the Tony and Emmy-award winning show, “Blast!” in addition to touring with pop artist Michael Bolton on a national tour. Amy was also a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra, a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival, Spoleto Music Festival, Pine Mountain Music Festival, Artosphere Festival and was a member of the Walt Disney World Collegiate All-Star Big Band.
Amy holds a degree in elementary education from Illinois Wesleyan University studying with Steve Eggleston and Judith Saxton, and a Master’s degree in trumpet performance from Northwestern University, studying with Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer. In her free time, Amy greatly enjoys volunteering with Sound Impact, a chamber music group dedicated to positive social change through authentic community engagement and the Boulanger Initiative, dedicated to promoting music composed by women. She is also committed to encouraging her new rescue dog, Mojo, to sing along with the trumpet.
Robert Rearden
Robert Rearden joined the National Symphony Orchestra horn section in 2016. He previously served as principal horn of the Florida Orchestra from 2010 to 2016. He has performed regularly as a guest musician with the Cleveland Orchestra since 2004, including multiple recordings and tours of Europe, Asia, and the U.S., and was a longterm substitute with the orchestra in the 2014-2015 season. He was a member of the New World Symphony from 2006 to 2010. He also performed frequently as guest principal horn of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra from 2010 to 2015. Rearden has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, All-Star Orchestra, Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, and with the Mainly Mozart, Britt, Artosphere, Steamboat Springs, Spoleto USA, and Eastern music festival orchestras. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of South Carolina as a student of Robert Pruzin and earned a Master of Music degree and artist diploma at the Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of Eli Epstein and Richard Solis. He also studied with Julie Landsman and with David Wakefield. He was a fellowship recipient at Tanglewood and the Aspen Music Festival. While with the Florida Orchestra, Rearden appeared as a soloist on several occasions, and was also a featured soloist on the orchestra’s most recent recording. He was a featured artist at the 2017 Southeast Horn Workshop. Rearden teaches horn at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.
Matthew Guilford
One of the foremost bass trombonists of his generation, Matthew Guilford was appointed solo bass trombonist of the National Symphony Orchestra by Mstislav (Slava) Rostropovich in 1991. He has performed with several of America’s leading orchestras including the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, Minnesota Orchestra, New York Philharmonic San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Symphony. He has also performed with Music of the Baroque, Chicago Chamber Musicians, Grand Teton Music Festival and Arizona Music Festival.
He holds bachelor and master of music degrees from New England Conservatory, and earned orchestral fellowships to Tanglewood and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute.
Guilford has appeared as guest soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, La Orquesta Sinfonica de Santa Fe (Argentina), the U.S. Army Band and Orchestra (Pershing’s Own), The Eastman Wind Ensemble and the Harvard University Band. His solo and chamber music recordings, The Road Not Taken with The Washington Trombone Ensemble and Brass Trios with the University of Maryland Brass Trio have been received to worldwide critical acclaim.
Matthew is Senior Lecturer and trombone studio chair at the University of Maryland School of Music in College Park. Many of his students have gone on to successful performing and educational careers in the U.S. and abroad. He has presented solo recitals and master classes at top universities, conservatories and festivals around the globe.
Old Cabell Hall is located on the south end of UVA's historic lawn, directly opposite the Rotunda (map). Parking is available in the Central Grounds parking garage on Emmet Street, in the C1 parking lot off McCormick Road, and in the parking lots at the UVA Corner.
Please call the Music Department at 434.924.3052 for more information.
All events are subject to change.