Megumi Kanda, Principal Trombone of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra since 2002, is an internationally acclaimed performer, teacher, and author.

Megumi has performed as a soloist across the United States, Europe and Asia, including with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Pershing’s Own Army Band, the US Army Field Band, and the Prague Chamber Orchestra. She has commissioned and/or premiered works of numerous composers, including those of Amy Riebs Mills, Bruce Stark, and Geoffrey Gordon. She has been a featured guest artist at numerous trombone workshops and festivals, including the International Trombone Festival and the American Trombone Workshop.

Megumi has appeared as guest faculty at numerous music institutions, including the New World Symphony, National Youth Orchestra, and Interlochen Arts Academy, and has given master classes and recitals at many colleges and conservatories across the US and Japan.

In April 2006, Megumi was recognized by the Arion Foundation in Tokyo, Japan as one of the most influential Japanese classical artists. She has also received a Certificate of Commendation from the Consul General of Japan at Chicago in recognition for distinguished service contributing to the friendship between the United States and Japan. Megumi was named a 2017 Woman of Influence in the category of education by the Milwaukee Business Journal. In 2020, she was named the recipient of the International Trombone Association Award, which recognizes the highest level of creative and artistic output.

Megumi’s first book, The One Hundred, a collection of orchestral trombone excerpts with accompanying commentary, was published in August 2015 and is a resource widely used by aspiring young trombonists around the world. Her second book, Trombone Unlimited, a comprehensive method book, was published in 2020.

As a JVC/Victor Entertainment artist, Megumi has recorded three solo albums:  Amazing Grace, Gloria, and Mona Lisa. She also can be heard on Magnifique Live, a live recording of Megumi and other JVC artists in the August 2005 performance at Takemitsu Hall in Tokyo’s Opera City.

A native of Tokyo, Japan, Megumi began to play the trombone at age ten and continued her studies at the prestigious Toho High School of Music, where she studied with Sumio Miwa, formerly of the NHK Symphony. At age fifteen, she became the youngest player ever to be named as one of the top ten trombonists at the Japanese Wind and Percussion Competition. Two years later she won the Grand Prize in the National Competition for Solo Trombone and won best soloist prize upon graduation from the Toho High School of Music.

Megumi came to the United States in 1994, and received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with James DeSano, former Principal Trombone of the Cleveland Orchestra. Prior to joining the Milwaukee Symphony she served as Principal Trombonist of the Albany Symphony Orchestra, as a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music Community Education Division.

Megumi is proud to be a Greenhoe clinician and performs on a Greenhoe trombone.

An avid gardener, Megumi was chosen to participate in the 2013 Garden Tour in Shorewood, WI.  She also enjoys going to Milwaukee Brewers games and taking walks with her husband Dietrich Hemann and sons Hans, Max and Lukas.

JoAnn Lamolino is a Performing Artist and Educator in trumpet and yoga/mindfulness practices. Passionate about connecting cultures through music and mindfulness, JoAnn’s performances and presentations have seen her in such varied locations as lava fields on the Big Island of Hawaii, Carnegie Hall, the Greek Amphitheater in Taormina, Sicily, on Broadway in New York City and many more. 

Currently, JoAnn is the Associate Principal/Second Trumpet of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra and Lecturer in Trumpet at the University of Hawaii. In addition, she is a member of the Honolulu Brass Quintet, presenting education programs and performing in recitals throughout the Hawaiian Island chain. While on the mainland, JoAnn is the Second Trumpet of the Reading Symphony Orchestra in Reading, PA, often serving as Guest Principal. Other performance highlights include the Tucson, Charleston, Baltimore, Omaha, New Jersey and New World Symphonies, New York City Opera and as Guest Principal Trumpet with the American Ballet Theatre at Lincoln Center. In concert with Rene Fleming, Adele, Josh Groban, The Walkmen and on numerous Broadway shows. An Advocate for diversity in classical music, JoAnn is on the trumpet faculty of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s YOLA National Festival. As a Solo Artist, JoAnn has appeared internationally in both Europe and Asia. Domestically with the Charleston Symphony, Monmouth Symphony, Westchester Symphonic Winds, Trinity Concerts at One Wall Street, the Patriot Brass, RAI Italian National Television and was a 1st Prize winner in the Trumpet Competition at the IWBC, International Women’s Brass Conference. 

JoAnn has been a Kundalini Yoga practitioner for 17 years and received her Level 1 Teacher Certification from the Kundalini Yoga Research Institute in 2021. In order to integrate her passions of music and yoga/meditation, JoAnn founded the Mind.Music.Sanctuary, a yoga/meditation base for musicians to improve performance and practice through a mindfulness lens. Since inception, there have been online workshops and masterclass presentations at Boston University Tanglewood Institute, DePaul, Northern Arizona University, University of Arizona, University of Hawaii, Slippery Rock University, Purdue, Northern Illinois University and New York University; in addition to weekly yoga classes offered online. Since being introduced to this practice by Dr. Don Greene, JoAnn is able to balance out her busy career as a 21st Century musician flying around the country as freely as she does.

JoAnn holds a Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor’s degree from Boston University. Principal Teachers include members of the NY Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. 

When not on the road or on a tropical island, JoAnn can be found at home with her husband Edward Gattsek. They reside in Keyport, NJ and care for a Keyport Century Home, a Victorian cottage dating from 1867.  

Patrick Smith is associate professor of French horn and music history, and the coordinator of music history. An internationally acclaimed horn player, music educator, lecturer and clinician, Smith actively challenges and stimulates students in both performance and academic settings. Smith is an alumnus of the Aspen and Brevard Music Festivals and has performed with numerous professional and regional ensembles. He has appeared as a soloist with the Emerson String Quartet and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2008. An expert on jazz French horn history and repertoire, Smith is the author of Chronicle of a Phantom: The Julius Watkins Story, which chronicles the life and legacy of the first great American jazz French horn artist. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees from the University of Florida, and his Master of Music in horn performance from the Hartt School of Music.

Sterling Tanner is an esteemed performer, educator and clinician currently serving as the assistant professor of trombone at the University of Colorado Boulder.

As an S.E. Shires Performing Artist, Tanner has not only showcased his talents as a soloist across the United States but has also left an indelible mark internationally with notable performances in Hong Kong and Valencia, Spain. His global recognition is further enhanced by his regular performances with esteemed orchestras such as the Boulder Philharmonic, Boulder Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony and Opera Colorado. He also performs with the prestigious Professors Trombone Choir each summer at the Southeast Trombone Symposium in Columbus, Georgia.

​Several prestigious accolades mark Tanner’s journey as an accomplished soloist. He was the 2016 and 2018 American Trombone Workshop Division III Bass Trombone Solo Competition winner and the 2015 Southeastern Trombone Symposium S.E. Shires Solo Competition winner. His talent was further recognized as a finalist in the 2016 International Trombone Festival's Donald Yaxley Solo Competition. Tanner has had the privilege of performing alongside renowned trombonists, including Jim Markey, Charlie Vernon, Denson Paul Pollard, George Curran, Joseph Alessi, Bill Thomas, Brian Hecht and Gerry Pagano. From 2010 to 2014, he was part of a unique recording project at Columbus State University which led to the Summit Records release “A Beautiful Noise” featuring various trombone artists performing solo works with a trombone ensemble.

​A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Tanner earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Columbus State University as well as MM and DMA degrees in trombone performance from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied under Bradley Palmer and Nathaniel Brickens. He is a member of the American Federation of Musicians, the International Trombone Association, the Colorado Music Educators Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and the National Association for Music Education.

Paul Basler is Professor of Music at the University of Florida where he has been on the faculty since 1993. Prior to his appointment at UF, he served as the Fulbright Senior Lecturer in Music at Kenyatta University, taught at Western Carolina University and was the North Carolina Visiting Artist in Residence at Caldwell Community College. Basler is a frequent guest performer and composer at national and international music festivals, horn society workshops and educational institutions. He has been a member of the Brevard, Charleston, Valdosta, Greenville, and Asheville Symphonies and continues to maintain a busy performing schedule throughout the United States and abroad. Basler has received American Cultural Affairs Specialist Grants from the U.S. Department of State and for ten years served as Visiting Artist with the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Culture and National Conservatory of Music.

Basler's compositions have been performed throughout the world and have received performances at Carnegie Hall, the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Festival Internacional de Música de Cantonigròs, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, the Kennedy Center, the Sydney Opera House, Lincoln Center and by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.  His music is published by Carl Fischer, Colla Voce Music, jamesnaigus.com, Walton Music, Hinshaw Music, WaveFront Music, ALRY Publications, Veritas Musica Publications, and the IHS Press.

Basler received his B.M. degree from Florida State University, M.M., M.A. and D.M.A. degrees from Stony Brook University and has garnered teaching awards from the University of Florida, Western Carolina University, the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Culture, and the Kenyan Office of the President’s Permanent Music Commission. Basler's horn teachers have included William Purvis, William Capps and Barry Benjamin and his composition teachers have been John Boda, John Downey, Bülent Arel, John Lessard and Billy Jim Layton.

Chris Scanlon, D.M.A. is a dynamic performer and educator with a diverse performing career. He has appeared with orchestras and chamber ensembles in Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico, the Middle East and across the United States. An active chamber musician, Scanlon has recorded, performed and commissioned new works as a member of Axiom Brass, the Palisade Trumpet Collective and the Silver Spruce Trio. He has performed on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, the Kennedy Center in DC, Mexico’s Palacio de Bellas Artes, the Vienna Musikverein, the Zurich Tonhalle, Opera Houses of Dubai and Tokyo, and in Broadway theaters for Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, An American in Paris and Kiss Me Kate. Chris has performed as Co-Principal Trumpet of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra since 2008 with broadcasts on medici.tv and international tours with artists such as Joshua Bell, Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky, Daniil Trifonov, Andras Schiff, Yuja Wang, and others.

He has performed with orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, The Florida Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, Quad Cities Symphony, Elgin Symphony, Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra, Miami Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of New York, Boston Lyric Opera, Singapore Symphony, Vermont Symphony, Charleston Symphony, US Coast Guard Band, Westchester Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and under the batons of Valery Gergiev, Klaus Mäkelä, John Williams, Simon Rattle, James Levine, Kurt Mazur, Seiji Ozawa, Robert Spano, Daniel Harding, Gianandrea Noseda and others. Chris performed in NY and Mexico as a member of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas and served as Associate Principal Trumpet of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Nuevo Leon in Monterrey Mexico. Past festival invitations include Artosphere, Banff, Spoleto, Music Academy of the West, National Repertory Orchestra, Verbier and Tanglewood where he was the recipient of the Roger Voisin Award.

As a soloist he has performed Shostakovich Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Trumpet with Yuja Wang, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, Copland’s Quiet City, Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Trumpets, and with the Illinois Brass Band. Equally at home in contemporary music settings, Chris has recorded new music with the GRAMMY award winning Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Xenakis’s Eonta with the Callithumpian Consort, Andy Akiho’s Speaking Tree for 2022’s Oculus, premiers of works by Rodion Schedrin with the VFCO and the Elliot Carter Brass Quintet, coached by the composer, at Tanglewood’s Festival of Contemporary Music. Chris has commissioned and premiered chamber works by notable composers such as Augusta Reed Thomas, Kevin Day, Catherine McMichael and Jessica Meyer.

He has appeared on stage with popular artists such as Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, Harry Connick Jr, Neil Patrick Harris, Ben Folds, Hanson, Questlove, Paul Shafer, Patti Labelle, Rufus Wainwright, Paul Giamatti, with Broadway stars such as Brian Stokes Mitchell, Lena Hall, and Kelli O’Hara, and Latin stars such as Aleks Syntek, Natalia Lafourcade, Mariachi Vargas and Pedro Fernandez. Television credits include The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CBS Sunday Morning and the award-winning Amazon series, Mozart in the Jungle. Scanlon performed on stage in Sufjan Steven's ILLINOISE at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2024. Scanlon founded Banda Nueva York, a cross-cultural, Mexican brass band whose original arrangements by Latin Grammy winner Julio Lizarraga can be heard on iTunes, Spotify and YouTube.

Scanlon has been an adjudicator for the Next Generation Trumpet Competition, Illinois all-state and solo and ensemble competitions, and brass coach for the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. Scanlon has presented masterclasses at instututions such as Northwestern University and the University of British Columbia and performed at the International Trumpet Guild Conference, Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, International Women’s Brass Conference, Indiana Music Educators Conference and MOXsonic, the Missouri Experimental Sonic Arts Festival. Scanlon currently serves as the Chair of the Chamber Music Division of the Ryan Anthony Memorial Trumpet Competition for the International Trumpet Guild. Scanlon’s students have gone on to win positions with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and regional orchestras, graduate assistantships in top doctoral programs, and teaching positions in college and secondary education and have been invited to compete in the National Trumpet Competition, ITG Chamber Music Division and the National Brass Quintet Competition.

In 2024, Scanlon became Assistant Professor of Trumpet at the University of Florida where he also performs with The Florida Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony and as Principal Trumpet with The Gainesville Orchestra. Prior to his appointment at UF, Scanlon served as Assistant Professor of Trumpet and Brass Area Coordinator at Northern Illinois University where he also taught Banda and Mariachi ensembles performing traditional music from Mexico, performed with Axiom Brass and regularly appeared with the Milwaukee Symphony.

Scanlon received the Bachelor of Music degree from Boston University, the Master of Music from Rice University, Professional Studies Certificate from Manhattan School of Music and the Doctorate of Music Arts from Stony Brook University. His principal teachers include Thomas Rolfs, Mark Gould, Marie Speziale, Joseph Foley, Terry Everson and Kevin Cobb.

Scanlon can be heard on Naxos, Mode records, Mark Records, BMOP/Sound and Deutsch Gramophone. Chris’s work editing etudes and the Caruso method has been published by Hal Leonard and Charles Colin publications. Scanlon is a Bach Performing Artist.

Jemmie Robertson is Assistant Professor of Trombone at the University of Florida and is Principal Trombone of the Gainesville Orchestra. Dr. Robertson studied at Northwestern University (DM, 2006), Yale University (MM, 2003), and the University of Northern Colorado (BM, 1997). Jemmie was a founding member of the American Trombone Quartet, which released the “Premiere!” (2020, Mark Masters) and were featured artists at the  2019 Lille Trombone Festival in Lille, France and the 2017 & 2018 International Trombone Festivals.

In May 2019, Jemmie performed as the international guest artist at the ATPB 2019 Trombone Festival in João Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil. In June and July 2019, Jemmie performed Turrin’s Fandango at the Les Anches d'Azur Music Festival in La Croix-Valmer, France and chamber music at L'église de la Madeleine in Paris with the UF Wind Symphony. In July 2019, he gave a solo recital tour in Japan and returned for his twentieth season as a member of the Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestra (CO) where he appeared as a featured soloist with the ensemble in Robert Starer’s Concerto a Tre at the Vail International Dance Festival.

Jemmie is an active orchestral musician, having recently performed with the Florida Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, and the Jacksonville and Ocala Symphonies, as well as throughout the Midwest where he has performed with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Music of the Baroque, Chicago Chamber Musicians, Chicago Civic Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Tulsa Philharmonic, and many others. Jemmie, in addition to numerous ensemble recordings, has published four solo recordings: Red Dragonfly (2022, Mark Masters), Collaborations (2017), Conditions of a Solitary Bird (2014), and A New Day Dawning (2008, MSR Classics) of which the ITA Journal wrote in a July 2018 review: “expertly interpreted and performed with personality, charm, and precision.” and “Jemmie Robertson is not just an accomplished trombonist, but a true artist of the instrument who has taken the time to craft his artistic vision of each piece.” Before pursuing graduate studies, Jemmie was a member of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra (2000) and the USAF Heritage of America Band (1996-1999). Jemmie is an Edwards performing artist.

Dr. Danielle VanTuinen joined the faculty of the University of Florida in August 2019 as Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium. Danielle is a performer, educator, and entrepreneur based in Rochester, New Hampshire. She previously served as Visiting Lecturer of Music at Plymouth State University where she taught low brass methods and applied low brass lessons. She also served as brass faculty at the Portland Conservatory of Music, adjunct staff for the marching band at the University of New Hampshire, Educational Representative with Music and Arts, and a private lessons instructor at Timberlane High School and throughout northern New England. Danielle is the co-founder of the Moreau | VanTuinen Duo and an active presenter, clinician, and performing artist throughout the United States and Europe. 

Prior to her work in New England, Danielle was the low brass instructor for the Phoenix Youth Symphony. Her responsibilities included small group and ensemble coaching for middle and high school students participating in the organization’s bands and orchestras. During the 2016-2017 academic year, she coached the Arizona State University concert band low brass section, comprised of first-year and non-major performers. Danielle has been invited to adjudicate at a variety of festivals, including the New Hampshire MEA Solo & Ensemble Competition, the Paul l. Willwerth Brass Competition at Central Michigan University, the Maine and Arizona All-State Festivals, and the AETYB Young Artist Competition in Spain. As a strong proponent of new music, she has actively participated as a member and coordinator of several commissioning projects for both solo euphonium/tuba and percussion/euphonium repertoire. This passion has resulted in over 15 new works from 2016-2019, three of which will be premiered by her in 2019. 

Dr. VanTuinen has performed with several ensembles throughout Arizona, Michigan and the New England areas, including the Phoenix Ballet, West Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Salt River Brass Band, and the New England Brass Band. As a co- founder of the Moreau | VanTuinen Duo, she has been invited to perform at the International Alliance for Women in Music, the International Tuba Euphonium Conference, Spanish Association of Tubas and Euphoniums, Northern Arizona University, Ithaca College, the Miraphone Academy of the Southwest, the United States Pershing’s Own Army Band Tuba- Euphonium Workshop, and the International Women’s Brass Conference as a guest artist and educational presenter. 

Danielle earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Performance from Arizona State University. Her culminating doctoral project, “Euphonium and Live Interactive Electronics: A Performer’s Examination of Three New Works”, sought to provide historical context and expand the electroacoustic repertoire for low brass. She holds a Master of Music degree in Music Performance from Arizona State University and a Bachelors of Music degree in Music Performance from Central Michigan University. Her principal mentors include Dr. Deanna Swoboda, Professor Douglas Yeo, Dr. Mark Cox, and Professor Scott Hanson. Danielle is an active member of the International Tuba Euphonium Association and the International Women’s Brass Conference. 

Mr. John M. “Jay” Watkins, Jr. serves the Gator Nation as the Associate Director of Bands, Director of Athletic Bands, Assistant Professor in the School of Music and as the Director of The Gator Marching Band. Prior to his appointment at UF, he served as Assistant to the Director of Bands, Assistant Director of the Longhorn Band, and Conductor of the Longhorn Basketball, Volleyball and Concert Bands at The University of Texas at Austin, where he was the principle guest conductor of the Symphony Band and the show designer for the Longhorn Band. In the past, ensembles under his direction have performed and recorded with over 36 Grammy-award winning artists in a program he developed to integrate the academic, athletics and live music communities of Central Texas. Prior to his appointment at Texas, he served as the Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at Charleston Southern University (SC), where he was also the Coordinator of Instrumental Music Education. Mr. Watkins has received recognition as the CSU Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year and as a recipient of the National Band Association’s “Citation of Excellence”, and was the founder, Music Director and Conductor of The Lowcountry Winds, a professional wind ensemble based in Charleston, SC. He has also served as the Director of the U.S. Navy Drum & Bugle Corps and the Director of Instrumental Music at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, and as a teacher in the public schools in North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia. Prior to his work in music education, he worked for the US Naval Research Laboratory as a research associate in the areas of liquid fuel propellants and their stability and published over 75 articles in refereed science journals.

Mr. Watkins is a native of Falls Church, VA and earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Music Education degrees from George Mason University and Valdosta State University. He holds professional memberships in numerous organizations, served as South Carolina State Chair and Southern Division Chair for the National Band Association, and is an elected member of Phi Beta Mu, the International Bandmaster’s Fraternity. Mr. Watkins remains very active as a designer, clinician and adjudicator throughout the country. He is married to the former Natalie Kay McLain of Duncan, SC; they have one son, Jacob.

Hailing from Port Orange, FL, Carli Castillon is a doctoral candidate in Trombone Performance at the University of Florida. Alongside her DMA studies, Carli is getting a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies, where her research lies in the gender biases in music in higher education. She is the principal trombone of the University of Florida Symphony Orchestra and the University of Florida Brass Band. Carli is also a regular sub with the Ocala Symphony and Gainesville Orchestra, also playing with the South Florida Symphony. She currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Low Brass at the College of Central Florida.

She has performed at the International Trombone Festival, American Trombone Workshop, and Florida Music Educator's Conference. Outside of the classical world, Carli is a low brass technician for the Colts Drum & Bugle Corps, a brass consultant for Ethereal Winds Indoor, and a visual technician for the Buchholz High School Golden Regiment. In the past, she has worked on staff for the University of Florida and Colorado State University marching bands. Carli holds a Master of Music degree from Colorado State University and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Florida. Carli lives in Gainesville with her cat, Shark!