Low Brass Workshop
Saturday, March 25, 2023
The UNI Tuba/Euphonium and Trombone Studio will host this one-day event that focuses on low brass performance and pedagogy. Events will include masterclasses, Q&A sessions, performances by attendees, and guest artists. Open to middle school and up. Registration for this event is FREE. Registration deadline is Thursday, March 24 at 5 p.m. Please contact Stephanie.Ycaza@uni.edu to learn more.
Guest Artists
Jamie Lipton
Jamie Lipton is the Professor of Low Brass at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. As a Willson performing artist, Dr. Lipton has performed throughout the United States and all over the world – she will have her third solo performance in Brazil in June 2022. She is a past winner of the ITEC Euphonium Artist and Falcone Euphonium Artist competitions, and she is now the ITEA Competition Coordinator and a Falcone board member. Dr. Lipton has been on faculty at many of the leading American brass workshops and frequently appears as a clinician and adjudicator. Currently, she is a board member and principal euphonium of the Natural State Brass Band in Little Rock. She is also a member of Trio di Velluto, which will perform at the 2022 IWBC and IHS conferences, and recently completed a tour of Wyoming.
In her position at Henderson State University, Dr. Lipton teaches applied trombone, euphonium, and tuba. Many of her alumni are now successful music educators throughout Texas and Arkansas. Under her direction, the HSU Tuba Choir has performed at several tuba/euphonium conferences, most recently at SCRTEC in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and the HSU Brass Band (Arkansas’ only collegiate brass band) tours twice a year. Dr. Lipton is the faculty advisor to HSU’s chapters of Sigma Alpha Iota and Tau Beta Sigma, and she is an honorary member of both organizations as well as Kappa Kappa Psi.
Dr. Lipton holds music education and euphonium performance degrees from Northwestern University and the University of North Texas, and her major influences include Rex Martin, Dr. Brian Bowman, and the late Dr. Vern Kagarice. In her free time, she enjoys travel, studying Spanish and Portuguese, watching soccer, playing with her three dogs, and attempting to be entertaining on social media.
Kenneth Thompkins
Kenneth Thompkins was appointed Principal Trombone of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra by Neeme Järvi. Prior to this appointment, he held positions in the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Florida Orchestra and performed with the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. A former participant in the Detroit Symphony’s African American Fellowship Program, he has been a mentor to several Orchestra Fellows over the years.
Thompkins has been invited to perform and conduct master classes at many music schools, including the Curtis Institute of Music, Mannes College, the University of Michigan, and Interlochen Arts Academy. An active chamber musician, Thompkins performs frequently in recital and is a member of Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings. Thompkins has performed concertos with both the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and New World Symphony.
Thompkins has toured Europe with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and has also performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He can be heard on recordings by Detroit Chamber Winds, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In 2017 Thompkins recorded Sonatas, Songs and Spirituals featuring the music of Alec Wilder, William Grant Still and Philip Wharton. Sonatas, Songs and Spirituals was the winner of The American Prize in Instrumental Performance for 2018-2019. He has also contributed a chapter to The Brass Player's Cookbook: Creative Recipes for a Successful Performance.
Thompkins received his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, where he studied with the late Frank Crisafulli of the Chicago Symphony, and a Master of Music degree from Temple University, where he studied with Eric Carlson of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Faculty Artists
Anthony Williams
Anthony Williams is Associate Professor of Trombone at the University of Northern Iowa. He teaches courses in applied trombone, chamber music, trombone pedagogy, trombone literature, and low brass techniques. He also serves as a member of UNI’s jazz faculty by teaching courses in applied jazz trombone and directing the UNI Jazz Trombone Ensemble.
Dr. Williams maintains a high frequency of performing in classical, jazz, and new music settings. His debut solo album, “Synthesis,” is a collection of five newly-commissioned works for solo trombone scored with various ensemble settings that combines classical, Latin, and jazz music. Other recent recordings include Dr. Williams performing as lead trombonist with the Mike Waldrop Big Band on recently released albums, “Origin Suite” and “Time Within Itself.” Additional recording credits include “Grosso for Trombone and Electronics” for Mexican-born composer, Jorge Sosa’s album, “Plastic Time,” and albums by UNI alums Ryan Middagh and Dave Lisik.
He is principal trombonist of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony and performs regularly with other orchestras in the region. His current jazz and commercial music performance activity includes appearances with local and regional groups such as The Des Moines Big Band, Orquesta Alto Maiz, NOLA Jazz Band, Big Fun, and many others. Dr. Williams’ past experiences include engagements with the Memphis Symphony, Memphis Jazz Orchestra, Ray Charles Orchestra, Arkansas Symphony, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Natalie Cole, and Aretha Franklin.
He is a member of the International Trombone Association and the Jazz Education Network.
Stephanie Ycaza
Stephanie Ycaza is the Instructor of Tuba and Euphonium at the University of Northern Iowa, where she teaches applied lessons and conducts the UNITUBA ensemble. She has served as adjunct instructor of low brass at Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University, Longwood University, and the University of Richmond. She also taught courses in music theory, aural skills, and world music at VCU, Longwood, and Shenandoah University. Stephanie is a faculty member at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, where she teaches tuba and music theory. Stephanie also regularly serves as a clinician for middle and high school bands.
Stephanie is an active orchestral and band performer, and has appeared with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, the Virginia Symphony, the Williamsburg Symphony, the Capital Wind Symphony, and the Virginia Grand Military band. She performs with chamber groups and large brass ensembles, including the James River Brass, Cathedral Brass, and Annandale Brass. She has also contributed to recording projects at Spacebomb Records in Richmond, VA. Stephanie’s recent solo performances have focused on Latin American music, music by women composers, and her own transcriptions and arrangements for low brass. She has appeared as a soloist at the Northeast Regional ITEA Conference, and in ensemble performance at the Army Band Tuba-Euphonium Workshop. Stephanie has researched and written on the topic of mindfulness in the practice and performance of music. She presented "Mindfulness in Practice: Incorporating mindfulness concepts into the practice room and the applied studio" at the Army Band Tuba-Euphonium Workshop, and is also scheduled to present on the topic at the Great Plains ITEA Regional Conference.
Stephanie holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Shenandoah University, a Master of Music degree and Artist Diploma from Yale University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. She studied with Dr. Ross Walter, Toby Hanks, Mike Roylance, Andrew Hitz, and Michael Bunn. Stephanie is a Miraphone tuba artist.