Belmont University School of Music presents
Belmont University School of Music
Faculty Brass Quintet
Monday September 21, 2026 8:00 P.M. McAfee Concert Hall
Scherzo
John Cheethem (1939-2024)
Suite from the Monteregian Hills I. Marche II. Chanson Melancolique V. Valse Ridicule VII. Danse Villageoise
Morley Calvert (1928-1991)
Quintet
Michael Kamen (1928-2003)
Intermission
Fanfare for a Boulevard
Passacaglia
Bandera for Brass I. Allegretto II. Sempre Legato V. Vivace
*Premiere*
Wesley Knox Ramsay (b. 1955) Lauren Bernofsky (b. 1967)
Lorrie Baum (b. 1947)
Rolling Thunder
Henry Fillmore (1881-1956) arr. Bill Bjornes
Ensemble Personnel Patrick Kunkee, trumpet Jacob Haymans, trumpet Tara Johnson, horn Jeff Phillips, trombone Gerald Cates, tuba
*Premiere* Fanfare for a Boulevard for Brass Quintet Wesley Knox Ramsay Fanfare For A Boulevard was composed in August of 2026 as a celebratory piece to open the 2026-2027 academic year. The title is a tribute to Belmont’s historic place in the life of Nashville, from a nineteenth-century mansion and estate, to ‘finishing school’ Ward-Belmont College, to a modern university overlooking historic Belmont Boulevard to the south, and downtown Nashville to the North. Ramsey has been blessed with great Belmont friendships: administrators, faculty, and alumni. He dedicates this short piece to them all, and especially to Dr. Jeffrey Phillips— musician, teacher, minister, and friend. He is an alumnus of the Aspen Music Festival, a publisher, composer, performer and teacher. Ramsey is a student of Henry Romersa, founder of the International Trombone Festival, which was held at Belmont for a number of years. He graduated cum laude from the University of Louisville, returning to his hometown of Nashville to work in the record industry. His clients included Al DeLory (producer of Glenn Campbell’s Wichita Lineman), and Jimmy Bowen (producer of Frank Sinatra’s Strangers in the Night). He performed as trombonist on recording sessions, in chamber and orchestral settings, and arranged for a number of clients. His work life
gradually evolved into record production, choral arranging and composition, and music publishing through his firm August Press LLC. An advocate for music education, Ramsey serves as a Representative of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM). His professional affiliations include ASCAP, American Choral Directors Association, International Trombone Association, and American Federation of Musicians. Working from his desk on a farm in Burns, Tennessee--a short drive from his golf club— Wes Ramsey is blessed to be married to renowned harpist, teacher and composer Carol McClure. He is the proud father of son Parker, a concert artist in New York, and daughter Susannah, a nurse practitioner specializing in women’s health care in Annapolis. Program notes by Dr. Jeffrey Phillips, School of Music Faculty
The Quintet Patrick Kunkee joined The Nashville Symphony in 1991. Previously, he was second trumpet with the Utah Symphony. Kunkee holds a Bachelor of Music degree from California State University, Northridge, where he was a student of John Clyman, Roy Poper, and Mario Guarneri. He received a Master of Music degree from the University of Southern California, studying with Boyd Hood. Additional studies at the Manhattan School of Music were with Mel Broiles. As a free-lance musician in Los Angeles, Kunkee performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, and the Fine Arts Brass Quintet. He has also studied with Anthony Plog, James Stamp, Rob Roy McGregor and Nick Norton. While at Tanglewood, Kunkee was the recipient of the Shapiro Award for outstanding brass musician. Jacob Haymans has been playing trumpet in the Nashville area for twelve years. He stays active playing for local bands, churches, weddings, and recording sessions. A graduate of Belmont University (B.M.) and the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music (M.M), he has studied trumpet with Dr. Joel Treybig, Alan Siebert, and Phil Collins. Haymans tours the country regularly with local band, Miki Fiki, playing trumpet, flugelhorn, and keys. His passions outside of trumpet playing include rock climbing, fly fishing, and going to concerts. Tara Johnson is an Adjunct Instructor of Music at Belmont University, teaching Horn and Aural Skills courses. Originally from Hudsonville, Michigan, Johnson began her studies in French horn at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. From there she moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University, where she received a Bachelor of Music degree in Horn Performance, with a minor in Music Business. She
worked in Nashville as a freelance music transcriber and copyist. Johnson earned a Master of Arts in Music degree in Horn Performance from Middle Tennessee State University in 2012, where she studied with Angela DeBoer, and worked as a teaching assistant in the brass department and in general music and music theory courses. She currently plays as 3rd Horn of the Evansville Philharmonic in Evansville, Indiana, and 2nd Horn of the Owensboro Symphony in Owensboro, Kentucky. Additionally, she has performed with the Nashville Symphony, Huntsville Symphony, Chattanooga Symphony, and the Jackson Symphony. She has taken her horn playing to China with the Hollywood Film Orchestra, and to other parts of the world such as Israel, Romania, and Hungary. As an active freelance horn player, she can also be heard on several soundtrack recordings for movies, video games, and television shows, recorded in Nashville at Ocean Way Studios. She maintains a private studio of horn students across the Nashville area and enjoys playing as a member of the Music City Horn Quartet. Dr. Jeffrey T. Phillips has been the adjunct professor of trombone at Belmont University since 2004. He retired from secondary school teaching after thirty-four years, which include twenty-nine as the Director of Bands at Hendersonville High School. In addition to teaching at Pope John Paul II High School, he teaches at Western Kentucky University and is also the low brass professor at Trevecca Nazarene University. Phillips continues to be active conducting clinics throughout the Southeast for students in middle school through college and is active as an adjudicator for music groups of all genres. He has served as President of the Middle Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association, Tennessee Chapter of the International Association for Jazz Education, Tennessee Music Education Association, as well as the American School Band Directors Association. Phillips also continues to perform as a Jupiter XO Trombone Performing Artist and Educational Clinician and is the Principal Trombonist for the Nashville Praise Symphony and the Belmont University Faculty Brass, as well as leading his own big band, “The New Serenaders.” He has earned degrees from MTSU, WKU, APSU and CCU. In addition, he has earned a Diploma and Fellowship in Trombone Performance (FRSM) from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. He is the pastor at Saundersville United Methodist Church in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Gerald Cates is a native of Tullahoma, Tennessee. He received a bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Technological University in 1985 and a master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1986. In 1989 he was selected as tuba soloist with the U. S. Military Academy Band at West Point, New York, a position he held until his retirement from the United States Army in 2009. While at West Point, he performed
with the West Point Tuba Quartet, Regimental Brass Quintet, and the West Point Dixie Players. He currently teaches tuba and euphonium at Belmont University School of Music and has taught tuba and euphonium at Indiana State University, Nyack College, and Tennessee State University.
Upcoming Concerts & Events Music and Discourse: Ben Wadsworth “The Leitmotivic Cell, Faith, and Doubt in Leonard Bernstein’s Mass” Wednesday, September 23, 10:00 a.m. Hitch 130 Faculty Concert Series - Bethany Merritt, voice Thursday, September 24, 7:30 p.m. Massey Concert Hall Belmont University String Chamber Orchestra Friday, September 25, 12:00 p.m. Wilson/Massey Performing Arts Center Atrium
For more information on upcoming concerts and events, please visit https://cmpaevents.belmont.edu/