Graham Ashton is Professor of Trumpet, and Chair of Brass at Purchase College State University of New York. As a soloist, he has appeared with numerous symphony orchestras including the BBC Symphony, London Philharmonic, English Symphony, Adelaide Symphony, RTE Concert Orchestra, National Symphony in Johannesburg, and Cape Town Philharmonic. He has also performed with the English Chamber Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra and Irish Chamber Orchestra. Most recent solo appearances include the New York Virtuosi, New York Bachworks Orchestra and Orchestra of Our Time. Mr. Ashton has also performed recitals in New York and Los Angeles, and has given masterclasses at the Juilliard School, Boston Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, University of California, Oberlin College. Most recently he gave masterclasses at the Hochschules in Leipzig and Dresden, Germany and at the Conservatoires in Lyon and Bordeaux in France.

Mr. Ashton has made eight acclaimed solo recordings for EMI Virgin, Nimbus, IMP Classics, Koch and Claves with the English Chamber, English Symphony and Irish Chamber Orchestras. Of his BBC award-winning cd ‘The Contemporary Trumpet’ (EMI Virgin), The Gramophone wrote: "Graham Ashton shows himself to be an acutely thoughtful musician: virtuosity is never regarded as an end in itself, the sound never brazen and he conveys an unswerving clarity of vision which should be admired beyond the confines of the brass world".

Diversity being the essence of Graham Ashton’s life, he recently launched a new series of Graham Ashton Mouthpieces and is helping the Edwards Instrument Company in the new designs for their trumpets. He is increasingly in demand as both composer and arranger, and is Executive Editor of GABE Publications. During the 2006-2007 season Mr. Ashton was commissioned by the Australian Embassy to write the music for the ANZAC Day Service at the National Cathedral, Washington DC. He also composed a new work called ‘Birdsong’ for 2 trumpets, horn, trombone, didjeridoo, piano and percussion for Signum Records (London) and was commissioned by SUNY Fredonia to compose Concertino for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble premiered by John Roderick MacDonald in the King’s Hall at SUNY Fredonia on April 14th.

Mr. Ashton spends any spare time he has with his wife and two daughters, all of whom enjoy exploring the culinary delights of different world cuisine. He listens mostly to Bach, Mozart and Stravinsky, loves paintings by Picasso, Matisse and Dali, and has a strong appreciation for the complexity of exceptional wine.

Mark Gould was principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra from 1974-2003 and has been on the faculty of the Juilliard School since 1982 and the Manhattan School of Music since 2004. During his tenure at the MET, Mr. Gould participated in over 40 ‘Live from Lincoln Center’ performances on PBS. and numerous audio recordings of operas and symphonic works under the direction of James Levine. Several of these recordings have been awarded a Grammy including: The Ring Of The Nibelung and Parsifal for Deutsche Grammophon.

Since leaving the MET Orchestra, Mr. Gould has been able to devote more time to chamber music, solo performance and conducting. In addition to being a founding member of The Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble, his chamber music schedule includes performances and recordings with Speculum Musicae, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the MET Chamber Ensemble. Recent seasons have also seen Mr. Gould as conductor/soloist with the Seattle Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Colorado Philharmonic and Buffalo Symphony, as well as the Waterloo, Caramoor and Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestras. He has performed and recorded Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 with the Philharmonia Virtuosi for SONY, and an album of trumpet and guitar music called Café 1930 for Angel/EMI.

Much sought after as a teacher, Mr.Gould frequently travels throughout the United States, Japan and Europe giving masterlasses and as a clinician for the Yamaha Corporation. Many of his past students have won positions in major orchestras including: Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony and Seattle Symphony.

Mark Gould lives in Piermont with his wife, Annamae, a violinist in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and his two sons, Owen and Sam.

Carl Albach is a native of Dallas, Texas, and has been a freelance trumpet player in New York for more than 20 years. He performs regularly with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and is principal trumpet with the American Symphony Orchestra and the Bard Festival Orchestra.

Mr. Albach can be heard on many television and film soundtracks and has also played lead trumpet on the Broadway cast albums of ‘Candide’, ‘The Sound of Music’ and the 2004 production of ‘La Boheme’. He has also has performed with ‘Metallica’ at Madison Square Gardens.

As a soloist, Mr. Albach has performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in Europe, Japan and the United States, playing the Handel’s Suite for Trumpet in D,  Shostokovich’s Concerto for piano, trumpet and strings, Copland’s Quiet City and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto Nr. 2.

Mr. Albach has a particular interest in authentic performance practices and regularly performs baroque and classical repertoire on natural trumpet with the American Classical Orchestra.

A native of Providence, Rhode Island, Mr. MacDonald studied Mechanical Engineering as an undergraduate at University of Rhode Island and trumpet performance and conducting in graduate school at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.

Upon graduating from NEC in 1989, Kurt Masur appointed Mr. MacDonald as Principal Trumpet with the prestigious Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, a position he held until last season when he relocated to the US. During his tenure with the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Mr. MacDonald performed as a soloist on many occasions, he has also appeared as a soloist with the Japan Philharmonic, Virtuosi Saxonia, Bach Collegium Munich, Leipzig Bach Orchestra, Leipzig Chamber Orchestra and the Super World Orchestra in Tokyo. The most recent of his solo recordings was named ‘CD of the Month’ by Naxos Records. Of this cd, the American Record Guide commented: "MacDonald is an outstanding player who strives more for elegance and grace."

Mr. MacDonald won 1st prize in the Deutsche Dirigenten Forum in Leipzig in 1994 and in 2001, he received the Honorary Title of ‘Kammermusiker’ from the city of Leipzig. Now residing in his native America, Mr. MacDonald is busy performing and conducting, and giving master classes in universities across the US. His most recent appearances include Boston Conservatory, New England Conservatory and Purchase College, State University of New York.

Ann Ellsworth is a native of the California Bay area. She began studying horn with Arthur Krehbiel, principal horn in the San Francisco Symphony. After receiving her bachelor's degree from the Eastman School of Music, she continued her studies with James Chambers at the Juilliard School, Froydis Wekre in Oslo Norway and Vitali Bujanowski at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia. She is a former member or the Phoenix Symphony and has since performed with various orchestras around the world. For two years, Ms. Ellsworth played with the Esbjerg Ensemble in Denmark, a chamber music group with whom she continues to tour regularly in Europe and Scandinavia.

Ms. Ellsworth currently lives in New York City where she is involved in a diverse range of activities from performances on natural horn with period instrument ensembles to commercial recordings for film and television. She is a member of the Grammy-nominated Absolute Ensemble and is the co-founder of Music of the Spheres, a society for chamber music, science and philosophy.  

Ms. Ellsworth is an active recitalist and performs throughout the US and Europe. She is on the faculty of the Bloomingdale School of Music and the Juilliard School pre-college program.

Jim Pugh is Professor of Trombone at University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana, and is a regular in the studios of New York City recording music for films, CDs and jingles.  Film soundtracks include: ‘Primary Colors’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘When Harry Met Sally’, ‘A Chorus Line’ and ‘The Cotton Club’. Mr. Pugh has also recorded with Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Liza Minnelli.  His album, ‘Crystal Eyes’, has been released on Pewter Records.

A founding member of The Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble, he is a recipient of a National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences Virtuoso Award for his contribution to the music industry as a trombonist.

As a composer, Mr. Pugh has written and arranged music for numerous jingles including Chrysler, Johnson & Johnson, and Diet Coke. He has also written the theme tunes to National Public Radio’s ‘All Things Considered’, ‘Morning Edition’, ‘Weekend Edition’, and ‘Performance Today’. His composition ‘Lunch with Schrödinger's Cat’, was premiered in 1989 at Lincoln Center, by Marin Alsop and the Concordia Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Pugh premiered his Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra in May 1992 with the Williamsport Symphony, the work received a New York premier in March, 2000 with Joseph Alessi and the New York Philharmonic.

Richard Clark is principal trombone of the American Symphony Orchestra, American Classical Orchestra, Stamford Symphony and NY Pops Orchestra. Recent concert appearances also include performances with the New York Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Lukes and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

In recent seasons as a soloist, Mr. Clark has given acclaimed performances with the American Symphony and William Paterson Wind Symphony, Solisti New York Orchestra and the New Jersey City University Symphonic Band. Currently lead trombonist in the Lincoln Center production of Stephen Sondheim’s The Frogs, Mr. Clark was also invited to play lead trombone in the Broadway revivals of ‘The Music Man’, ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘The King and I’, ‘Candide’, ‘Gypsy’ and, ‘42^nd Street’.

Richard Clark has recorded for SONY, Capital, Columbia, Warner Bros., Nonesuch, and Koch International labels and is Professor of Trombone, and chamber ensemble coach at William Paterson University and New Jersey City University.

Jeff Nelson graduated from the Fredonia School of Music, State University of New York in 1985. He has since become one of New York’s leading bass trombonists playing with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and on  Broadway where he was a member of the four TONY Award winning shows: ‘Sunset Boulevard’, ‘Titanic’, ‘Fosse’  and ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’.

Mr. Nelson has toured and performed with many renowned artists including Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Maria Schneider, Harry Connick, Jr., Slide Hampton and Louie Bellson. Also in demand as a studio artist, and has recorded, numerous tv themes, radio jingles and movie soundtracks.  He has performed, and recorded with the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and the Mingus Big Band and also with Terence Blanchard, Dave Liebman, and Vanessa Williams. He has appeared on stage backing James Taylor, Diana Ross, Sting, Michael McDonald, Billy Joel, and Elton John, and can be heard with his group, the New York Trombone Conspiracy, on a cd called  ‘A Matter of Time’, available on Walking Frog Records.

Born in New York City, Marcus Rojas trained at the Boston Conservatory of Music. He is one of Manhattan’s busiest tuba players and is actively involved in the New York recording and Broadway scene.

As a recording artist, Mr. Rojas was the tuba soloist for the film ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ and the PBS American Masters documentary ‘Knute and his Fighting Fish’. He has also recorded for CBS and SONY, and can be heard on numerous other soundtracks for film and television. Mr. Rojas enjoys a growing reputation as a composer and was the co-writer for the soundtrack for ‘Pinocchio’.

Diversity being the essence of life as a tuba player, Mr. Rojas has performed with many varied ensembles and orchestras from the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet and American Symphony Orchestras,  to ensembles led by Gil Evans, Lionel Hampton and PDQ Bach. An avid proponent of contemporary improvised music, Mr. Rojas is a founding member of Single Tree and Henry Threadgill’s Very Very Circus.

Marcus Rojas is an Adjunct Professor of Tuba at Purchase College, State University of New York