ANDREW STETSON

• Mikulka: Concerto - I. Aggressive

"Andrew Stetson [is heard] in a terrific program of four recently composed works... [Stephenson's Concerto for Hope] nicely balances virtuosity and lyricism, heroism and introspection, despair and optimism. Texas Tech's student orchestra gives it a terrific reading... [Hagerty's None of the Above  is a] fascinating work... Pianist Becca Zeisler plays beautifully.... [Mikulka's Concerto] has an epic quality... is witty and buoyant. Fine work by the Texas Tech Symphonic Band. Andrew Stetson is a fine trumpet player with all the skills needed for these excellent works."

Kilpatrick, American Record Guide [July/August 2020]

"The main interest here is likely to be hearing Andrew Stetson’s skilled performance in this world première recording [of Concerto for Hope by James Stephenson], along with his handling of three other world premières. Both the Moderato first movement and the Adagio second are meditative, with the second movement’s extended solo-trumpet focus inviting expressively elegant playing... Mikulka shows considerable skill in writing both for the solo instrument and for the ensemble... this work, along with Stephenson’s concerto, will be especially attractive for audiences interested not only in fine playing but also in well-wrought contemporary trumpet music."

Mark J. Estren, InfoDad [May 2020]

ANDREW STETSON maintains a versatile career as a performing artist, clinician and educator. He also serves as Associate Professor of Trumpet at Texas Tech University, where he won the 2016 Hemphill-Wells New Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award. As an orchestral musician, he has performed with the Alabama Symphony, Albany Symphony, Arkansas Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, Colorado Music Festival, Houston Symphony, Lubbock Symphony and Steamboat Springs Symphony. In addition to performances with the Texas Tech Faculty Brass Quintet, Stetson has performed with Boston Chamber Music Society and as part of the Monadnock Music Festival. As a soloist, Stetson presents numerous recitals throughout the United States and has appeared as a featured soloist with the Texas Tech Bands and Orchestras. Prior to his appointment at the University, he placed in the International Trumpet Guild Solo Competition and performed at the National Trumpet Competition. As a result of his commitment to education, many of his students have performed in both solo and ensemble rounds of the National Trumpet Competition, as finalists in the Ellsworth Smith International Trumpet Solo Competition, won positions with military ensembles and gained entry into top graduate programs. In 2017 and 2018, his entire applied studio was invited to compete in various ensembles as part of special by-invitation-only rounds of the National Trumpet Competition. As a clinician, Stetson has presented at numerous high schools throughout the country and at large educational conferences, including the Texas Music Educators Association Clinic and Convention and the Florida Music Educators Association Convention. Stetson received a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the New England Conservatory of Music, a Master’s degree in Music from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University. A Yamaha Performing Artist, Stetson’s principal studies were with Charles Schlueter, Eric Berlin, Terry Everson and Thomas Siders. On these recordings he plays a Yamaha 9445 CHS C trumpet (Gen 1 Chicago), a Yamaha 631G flugelhorn and a Schilke P5-4 piccolo trumpet.
 
Conductor Philip Mann, a passionate artist who conveys a sense of command over his musical forces, has a broad repertoire that spans symphonic repertoire, opera and new music. Previously the music director of the Arkansas Symphony, Oxford City Opera and Oxford Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, he has held conducting positions with the Indianapolis Symphony and San Diego Symphony, where he was promoted to Associate Conductor, directing hundreds of critically acclaimed performances. Having studied and taught at Oxford, he won the annual competition and consequently became the Principal Conductor of the Oxford University Philharmonia. Mann has served as Assistant Conductor with the Cleveland Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Additional engagements include L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Sofia Philharmonic. He has worked with Franz Welser-Möst, Simon Rattle, Jaime Laredo, Mario Venzago, Pinchas Zukerman and Leonard Slatkin as part of the Kennedy Center’s National Conducting Institute. Mann has also collaborated with Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in a League of American Orchestra master class on the Mozart Requiem, with Esa-Pekka Salonen and Jorma Panula in mentoring and master classics at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and with Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony. Additional studies came under Alexander Vedernikov at the Moscow State Conservatory, and Gustav Meir, Kenneth Keisler and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Robert Ward. Mann, who is also active in the music festival setting, is the recipient of numerous awards and commendations, including the Vienna Philharmonic’s Karajan Fellowship and an American Conducting Fellowship. As a recording artist, his Brahms collaboration with pianist Norman Krieger and the London Symphony Orchestra (Decca) has been widely praised. A Rhodes Scholar, Mann has also been recognized for his dedicated community engagement.
 
Pianist Becca Zeisler performs in a wide variety of venues in multidisciplinary settings. She serves as staff pianist at Texas Tech University where she performs in recitals with students, faculty and guest artists, and has spent the past five summers with the Houston Ballet improvising at the piano for dance classes. Prior to her work in Texas, she was a staff pianist for the Boston Ballet, Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre and Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Zeisler also maintains an active freelance career, and is engaged in a variety of projects, recital tours and performances. She has performed at music conferences across the United States, including the National Trumpet Competition, International Trumpet Guild, Big 12 Trombone Conference and the Texas Music Educators Association. Zeisler received her Master’s degree in collaborative piano from Boston University and her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
 
Eric Allen is a passionate conductor and educator who has contributed to the profession in diverse ways. His leadership with wind bands has yielded many exciting performances including multiple solo collaborations and prominent appearances throughout the United States, including College Band Directors National Association Conferences and the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. Allen’s regular work in church music and his interest in enhancing cultural environments led to him creating and serving as artistic director and conductor for a professional chamber orchestra, housed at LakeRidge United Methodist Church in Lubbock, Texas. His performances with the LakeRidge Chamber Orchestra have featured musical genres from Baroque to Contemporary, including world premieres and collaboration with choral ensembles. Allen frequently serves as a guest conductor throughout the country, leading ensembles from high school honor bands to professional chamber ensembles. As a teacher, Allen is equally committed to developing music educators as he presents pedagogical conducting presentations clinics throughout the United States. Allen is Associate Professor of Music and Associate Director of Bands at Texas Tech University. He serves as conductor of the Symphonic Band, teaches conducting, assists with the direction of the Goin’ Band from Raiderland, and teaches music education courses within the summer graduate program. He holds Bachelor and Master of Music Education degrees from Florida State University and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Minnesota. Allen is an active member of the Texas Music Educators Association, the College Band Directors National Association and the Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Mu. He holds honorary memberships with Phi Mu Alpha, Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma.

 
A portion of the proceeds from this recording will be donated to the Ryan Anthony Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created in 2014 to manage and support concert events hosted by Cancer Blows [ www.cancerblows.com ].
 
Donations may be sent to:
Ryan Anthony Foundation
1515 N Town East Boulevard – Suite 138-449
Dallas, TX 75150
  JAMES STEPHENSON (b.1969)
CONCERTO FOR HOPE - Concerto No.3 for Trumpet and Orchestra
I. Moderato
II. Adagio
III. Speranza

MARK HAGERTY (b.1953)
NONE OF THE ABOVE for Trumpet and Piano
I. None of the Above
II. B, C, and D
III. Other (explain)
IV. All of the Above

JUSTIN CASINGHINO (b.1978)
…AND SO THEN I THREW THE STONE for Trumpet and Electronics

MICHAEL MIKULKA (b.1985)
CONCERTO for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble
I. Aggressive
II. Languid, luxurious, molto rubato
III. Broadly, with motion


Recorded 5-7 March and 2-4 May 2017 at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas; 20 October 2017 and 13-14 January 2018 at the Amusement Park Studio, Lubbock, Texas. Mastering engineer: Silas Brown, Legacy Sound.



MSR Classics