Faculty Chamber Ensembles: Georgia Brass Quintet and Georgia Wind Quintet
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
RAMSEY CONCERT HALL
Tuesday, September 16, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Concert Hall
UGA Performing Arts Center
Georgia Wind Quintet
Angela Jones-Reus, flute
Brandon Quarles, saxophone
D. Ray McClellan, clarinet
Amy Pollard, bassoon
Jean Martin-Williams, horn
Georgia Brass Quintet
Brandon Craswell, trumpet
Gilbert Villagrana, trumpet
James Naigus, horn
Joshua Bynum, trombone
Matthew Shipes, tuba/euphonium
with Damon Denton, piano
Georgia Wind Quintet
4 Miniatures for 4 Wind Instruments
Allegro spiritoso
Vivace
Cantabile
Allegro
Fabio Massimo Capogrosso (b. 1984)
Angela Jones-Reus, flute, D. Ray McClellan, clarinet, Amy Pollard, bassoon, Jean Martin-Williams, horn
Sextet, op. 45 Theme and Variations
I. Improvisation
II. Capriccio
III. Pastorale
IV. Slavic Dance
V. Romanze
VI. Humoreske
VII. Finale
Theodor Blumer (1881-1964)
Angela Jones-Reus, flute, Brandon Quarles, saxophone, D. Ray McClellan, clarinet
Amy Pollard, bassoon, Jean Martin-Williams, horn, Damon Denton, piano
Fanfare for Bima
Suite - From the Monteregian Hills
Marche
Chanson Mélancolique
Valse Ridicule
Danse Villageoise
Long I Stood
Amparito Roca
Georgia Brass Quintet
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Morley Calvert (1928-1991)
James Naigus (b. 1987)
Jaime Texidor Dalmau (1884-1957)
Hailed for his “inspiring energy, clear musical conviction, and warm lyrical tone” (International Trombone Association Journal), Josh Bynum keeps an active schedule balancing roles as educator, soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral trombonist. In addition to serving as Professor of Trombone at the University of Georgia, a position he has held since 2010, Josh spends his summer as Trombone artist faculty for the Sewanee Summer Music Festival and is an artist & clinician for the Edwards Instrument Company.
Josh performs regularly as a first-call substitute with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, including the entire 2015 season. With the ASO, he appears on two commercial recordings featuring the music of Jonathan Leshnoff and Christopher Theofanidis. Bynum is also a member of the Iris Orchestra and enjoys performing with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Atlanta Ballet Orchestra. He plays regularly with the Atlanta Opera Orchestra, including the entire 2025 season.
Josh has given clinics and featured performances at the American Trombone Workshop, International Trombone Festival, and Georgia Music Educators Association Conference. He has also been an invited artist and lecturer at various workshops and universities across the country and has given consortium premiere performances of several new works for trombone and wind ensemble. His solo CD Catalyst was the recipient of the UGA Creative Research Medal in Arts & Humanities and has been featured on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Classical Today. Bynum’s contemporary chamber group the Mod[ular] Ensemble is featured on the album New Cartography, performing the music of Peter Van Zandt Lane.
His students have distinguished themselves by winning international and national competitions, attaining positions with professional performing organizations, placement at prestigious graduate programs, and appointment to academic positions (from university-level to the public school system). Bynum was recently awarded the UGA General Sandy Beaver Teaching Professorship, in recognition for sustained excellence and innovation in teaching.
Josh is a member of the ITA Pedagogy Council and serves as editor and contributor to the quarterly Pedagogy Corner column of the International Trombone Association Journal. His research interests include concepts of effective section playing and creative problem solving in the practice room.
Brandon Craswell holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in trumpet performance from Indiana University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Kentucky. Currently he is Professor of Trumpet at University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia where he teaches and performs with the Georgia Brass Quintet.
In demand as an orchestral musician, Craswell performs regularly with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Iris Orchestra in Memphis, Tennessee, and the Charleston Symphony. Additional orchestral engagements include playing with the Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Honolulu, and Virginia Symphonies, including a performance at Carnegie Hall with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In the summer of 2010, he played principal trumpet with the Santiago, Chile Philharmonic. He was also a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago for two seasons, working with Adolph Herseth, former principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for over fifty years.
Damon Denton was born in Charleston, South Carolina and grew up in Severna Park, Maryland. He is a graduate of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and the Juilliard School where he received a Master of Music degree studying under Russian pianist, Oxana Yablonskaya. He has been a faculty accompanist at the University of Georgia since 2010.
During his career Damon has performed concerts in England, Ireland, Mexico, Germany, South Africa and throughout the United States. Venue highlights have included: Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall; Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall; The University of South Africa; The State Theater of Pretoria; The Royal Dublin Society in Ireland; The Lyric Theater in Baltimore Maryland; The Leighton House Museum in London; The Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara; The United Nations; Le Theatre de Queretaro in Mexico, among others. Denton has performed as collaborator with Fred Mills (UGA professor and former member of the Canadian Brass), with members of the New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras as well as with soloists from the St. Lukes Orchestra, New York’s “Winds of New Amsterdam”, and the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble. Damon was also a close friend and studio pianist in New York City for the late Metropolitan opera star, Anna Moffo.
Early career honors have included prizes at the Annapolis and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Young Soloist Competitions, the Peabody “Concours”, the Kosciuszko Foundation’s Chopin Competition in NYC, the Music Academy of the West (“A brilliant performance…” Santa Barbara Press) and Aspen Music Festival’s Concerto Competitions, the First National Young Keyboard Artist’s Competition in Grand Rapids Michigan; the Fourth International Piano Competition in Pretoria, South Africa. In South Africa, Denton’s performance of Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 was nationally broadcast by the SABC from Pretoria’s State Theater: “He has a huge range of tone and articulation……. an exquisite performance by the American pianist....” (The Pretoria News). Orchestral performances within Georgia have included opening the UGA Thursday Scholarship Series with the Gershwin Concerto in F as well being a featured artist on the Macon Symphony Orchestra’s Masterworks Series performing Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2: “….Denton has a warm straightforward interpretation ….a magical tone…drove the final movement to a thundering climax…” (The Macon Telegraph).
An International Trumpet Guild prize winner, Craswell spent a year playing trumpet on the North American tour of the Broadway musical 42nd St. He has been a featured soloist at numerous international festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, the International Trumpet Guild Conference, and the International Romantic Trumpet Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. He has also shared the stage with pianist Olga Kern and the National Gallery of Art Chamber Orchestra. Aside from performing throughout the United States, he has performed and taught in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Kenya, Italy, Spain and Russia.
Angela Jones-Reus is currently Professor of Flute at the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music and Principal Flutist of the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra. She is active as a soloist, chamber artist, orchestral player and teacher with appearances throughout the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, Asia and South America.
Among Jones-Reus’ performances are a concert in Carnegie Hall with Jean Pierre Rampal and Julius Baker, a London Debut Recital at St John’s Smith Square, a Japan tour as soloist with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and five performances—stepping in with one day’s notice—of the Jacques Ibert Flute Concerto with the San Remo Symphony Orchestra, Italy.
PROGRAM NOTES
In 1991 Jones-Reus won the Principal Flute position of the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, Germany, where she played until 2000. She performed with this orchestra extensively throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States and South America and can be heard on recordings on over 12 labels including EMI Classics, ECM Records, Koch International and Naxos. Her solo compact disc entitled Mostly French was recorded in Prague with I Virtuosi di Praga for the Koch International label.
Ms. Jones-Reus has been performing as a regular guest with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra since 1999 including seven Carnegie Hall performances, a three week concert tour of Asia (China, Korea, Taiwan and Japan) and concerts in some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including the London Royal Albert Hall, Salzburg Festspielhaus, Berlin Philharmonie, Chicago Symphony Hall, Lucerne Konzerthaus and Tokyo Suntory Hall. Jones-Reus performed on the Berlin Philharmonie’s latest recording of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, with conductor Sir Simon Rattle for EMI Classics, recorded in Berlin, Germany.
Acclaimed for “a remarkable technique, tone and lyricism”, D. Ray McClellan is Professor of Clarinet at the University of Georgia, and a member of the Georgia Woodwind Quintet. Prior to his appointment at University of Georgia he held professorships at James Madison University and Henderson State University. McClellan is a former clarinetist and soloist with “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, he has appeared internationally in recitals and as concerto soloist in Canada, Taiwan, Japan, Italy, Brazil, Kenya, Tanzania and the Czech Republic.
McClellan has been principal clarinetist of The Savannah Orchestra, guest principal clarinetist with the Augusta Symphony, Charleston Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, and the Garden State Philharmonic and has performed with The Ying Quartet, the Nostich Quartet in the Czech Republic. McClellan performed recitals at the International Clarinet Convention in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 and in 2014. He has recorded chamber music discs with ACA Digital and the Clarinet Concerto by Gerald Finzi with Phoenix USA. Many of his students occupy clarinet positions in orchestras, military bands and universities.
McClellan holds three degrees from The Juilliard School where he studied with world-renowned pedagogue David Weber. Formerly the Co-Artistic Director and Host of ClarinetFest® 2006 in Atlanta, McClellan is an Artist/Clinician for Buffet Crampon clarinets. His website is www. draymcclellan.com.
Jean Martin-Williams is Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music. She teaches horn, directs the University of Georgia Horn Choir, coaches chamber music, and is a member of the Georgia Woodwind Quintet. Martin-Williams served for eleven years as the Director of UGA’s Lilly Teaching Fellows program, under the auspices of the Center for Teaching and Learning. She has a passion for teaching and improving pedagogy and served on the University committee that established the First Year Odyssey Seminar program. From 20162024 she also served as an Associate Dean for the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences as an advocate for the arts and undergraduate instruction. In 2022 she received the University Professor award from UGA.
Before joining the University of Georgia faculty, she was a full-time performer in New York City,
performing in a variety of chamber and orchestral settings including the Metropolitan Opera, the Mostly Mozart Festival, and the New York Chamber Symphony. She continues to be an active performer and is a member of the New York Pops Orchestra. During the summer, she has served on the artist faculty of the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina and the Chamber Music Center of the Northeast at Bennington College in Vermont.
As a soloist, chamber musician, and lecturer, Martin-Williams has appeared at the Georgia Music Educators conference, the Southeast Horn Workshop, the International Horn Society conference, the International Trumpet Conference, the International Double Reed Society, and Music Educators National Conference.
As a dedicated teacher, active performer, and prolific composer, James Naigus seeks to inspire the next generation of musicians and creative thinkers through artistic empowerment and enthusiastic innovation. He is Assistant Professor of Horn at the University of Georgia and hornist with the Georgia Brass Quintet. He is co-founder of the Cor Moto Horn Duo with Drew Phillips, and co-editor/contributor of the Creative Hornist and Technique Tips columns in the Horn Call, the journal of the International Horn Society. In 2024 he was awarded the prestigious Michael F. Adams Early Career Scholar Award from UGA.
He frequently plays with the Atlanta Symphony and Charleston Symphony, and has played with the Wichita Symphony, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, Orchestra Iowa, Brevard Symphony, Gainesville Chamber Orchestra, Valdosta Symphony, and Ocala Symphony Orchestra. In 2019 he was selected to perform with the WCIT World Orchestra in Yerevan, Armenia. He has toured Europe in 2017 & 2014 and South America in 2011 as a member of the American Chamber Winds. He also frequently performs on recitals at the Midnorth, Midwest, Midsouth and Southeast Horn Workshops, and International Horn Symposiums, and in 2024 hosted the Southeast Horn Workshop in Athens, GA.
Naigus has been a member of the faculty and staff at the prestigious Kendall Betts Horn Camp for the last several years, as well as the Heartland Horn Camp. Additional teaching interests include music theory, concert and commercial composition, film music, and technology.
With a catalogue of over 100 published works, Naigus’ compositions have been performed throughout the United States and beyond, with enthusiastic reception and rave review. Venues of note include the New York Philharmonic, the West Point Band, Music Academy of the West, and the Rafael Mendez Brass Institute. He is also an award winning film composer, and has written commercial compositions for clients such as Google.
He is a graduate of the University of Iowa (DMA) studying with Jeffrey Agrell, studied horn and composition with Paul Basler at the University of Florida during his masters degree, and while attending the University of Michigan for his undergraduate degree studied with Soren Hermansson, Bryan Kennedy, and Adam Unsworth. Prior appointments include the University of Central Missouri and the University of Iowa.
Amy Pollard is the Professor of Bassoon and Associate Director for Performance at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia. During the summer she teaches at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival and has also been on the faculty of the Interlochen Arts Center Advanced Bassoon Institute, the UGA Study Abroad program in Alessandria, Italy, and the Saarburg Music Festival in Saarburg, Germany.
PROGRAM NOTES
Pollard holds positions as principal bassoon with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra and second bassoon with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. She is an active freelancer and frequently performs with orchestras throughout the Southeast and around the country. Pollard also serves on the administrative board for the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition and Symposium.
An avid chamber musician, she has performed at venues throughout the United States and also in Ireland, Belgium, Argentina, Italy, Germany, and Thailand. Her bassoon-percussion duo, Col Legno and her bassoon duo, Dueaux, have performed recitals and presented master classes at numerous venues throughout the country.
Pollard’s debut solo album, Ruminations: Bassoon Works of Eugène Bozza, and the Georgia Woodwind Quintet’s CD Chroma were both released by Mark Records and are available on iTunes.
Pollard received her Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Louisiana State University, studying with William Winstead and William Ludwig.
Brandon Quarles is the Assistant Professor of Saxophone at the University of Georgia’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music. Quarles was previously the Lecturer of Saxophone and Allied Areas at UGA where he directed the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble and taught courses on entrepreneurship and the history of music in Athens, GA. Prior to joining the faculty of UGA, Quarles was the Associate Lecturer in Classical Saxophone at the University of WisconsinMadison and was an Instructor for Northwestern University’s general music curriculum where he taught a course on The Beatles.
A multi-instrumentalist and composer, Quarles’ performance experience spans a wide array of genres and styles. He was a founding member of the Chicago-based saxophone quartet ~Nois, serving as the ensemble’s Executive Director and soprano saxophonist from 2016-2021. Quarles has performed in 22 states and five countries, and has premiered over 70 works for the saxophone to date. He has performed with symphony orchestras such as the Grant Park Symphony (Chicago); contemporary chamber ensembles such as Eighth Blackbird, Ensemble Dal Niente, and ensemble vim; and indie rock bands such as My Brightest Diamond and Night Palace, among others. Quarles can be heard on over 10 commercially available recordings, including All My Ghosts by his band The Employment Pages. He is a proud alumnus of the University of Georgia (BM 2015) and Northwestern University (MM 2017 and DMA 2021).
He is honored to have been the student of saxophonists Clint Schmitt, Connie Frigo, and Taimur Sullivan.
Matthew Shipes is the Associate Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at The University of Georgia and tubist with the Georgia Brass Quintet. A dedicated advocate of tuba and euphonium performance and pedagogy, Matt has also worked with the International Tuba Euphonium Association (ITEA) as Membership Marketer and Social Media director, communicating with an international audience of enthusiasts, students and professionals.
In 2020 Matt created the first-ever international euphonium mock-band e-competition, Stars and Shipes, engaging over 100 participants from several countries around the world and
featuring a judging panel of top euphonium performers from the premier military bands in Washington D.C. over three years.
Matt was a member of The United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C as a euphoniumist in the Ceremonial Brass, a position he held until 2016. While in the band, he had many opportunities to perform for former President Obama, several foreign leaders, and for hundreds of ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery.
Matt has performed recitals and given masterclasses across the country, including a featured solo recital at the 2019 United States Army Band’s Tuba and Euphonium Workshop. He was also an invited speaker at the 2019 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference (ITEC) at the University of Iowa, and presented his class, “A Guide to Military Band Auditions,” which he has presented at several regional tuba and euphonium conferences as well. He also performed at the 2016 ITEC at the University of Tennessee, and has most recently been a featured soloist at regional ITEA conferences.
Gilbert P. Villagrana, a conductor, trumpeter, and educator from El Paso, TX, currently serves as Limited-Term Assistant Professor of Trumpet and Conductor of the British Brass Band at the University of Georgia. He is also pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting at UGA, where he previously served as a Doctoral Conducting Associate with the UGA Bands. He earned his Master of Music in Trumpet Performance under Philip A. Smith at UGA and his Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of North Texas.
Prior to his graduate studies, Villagrana served in the United States Marine Corps with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC, performing as a trumpet instrumentalist, principal trumpet, brass quintet leader, and assistant enlisted conductor. He is also the first-call substitute trumpet with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra and has performed with ensembles including the Quantico Marine Corps Band and the UGA Symphony Orchestra, in addition to being a multi-year finalist in the National Trumpet Competition.
As an educator, Mr. Villagrana has taught conducting at UGA, contributed to the Community Music School, and worked with young musicians through UGA’s Summer Music Camps. He has served on staff with the Redcoat Marching Band, where he helped shape both musical and visual instruction, and has maintained a private teaching studio while working as a clinician across Georgia, Texas, and the Carolinas. Since 2017, he has been a brass technician with the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps, contributing to multiple Jim Ott Brass Caption Awards while mentoring hundreds of performers. His primary teachers include Philip A. Smith, Christopher Martin, Allen Vizzutti, Dr. Jason Bergman, and John Holt.
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Gifts of all amounts are greatly appreciated. However, annual giving at the $1,500 level and higher provides membership in the Director’s Circle, our Hugh Hodgson School of Music Honor Roll. Director’s Circle members are invited to exclusive events and performances throughout the academic year.
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA HUGH HODGSON SCHOOL OF MUSIC.
JOIN US FOR A FULL SEASON OF FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS AT UGA
On stage and in the gallery — over 100 performances, exhibitions and lectures await you this season at the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Enjoy a dazzling variety of free events plus explore our ticketed seasons in dance, theatre and music starting at just $15. Students, faculty and guests of UGA fine and performing arts offer Athens premier programming all year round.
THURS 9/18
7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Concert Hall
$18, Adult
$6, Student
FRI 9/19
3:30 p.m.
Ramsey Concert Hall FREE CONCERT
TUES 9/23
7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Concert Hall
ImaginePossibilities the
“ON AGAIN, OFF-AGAIN” BY FRERER UGA WIND ENSEMBLE
Thursday Scholarship Series Performance
Described as “exciting…combining boomcrash orchestration with woozy portamenti and jazz elegance” by The New York Times, and “a force to be reckoned with” by Observer, the music of Australian composer Jack Frerer (b. 1995) blends influences from a diverse array of musical languages to craft dynamic and evocative works. His music combines bold, expressive gestures with vivid storytelling.
REPERTORY SINGERS
The Repertory Singers is a mixed chamber choir directed by graduate student conductors. Its format offers laboratory rehearsal and performance experience for conductors and singers alike. This concert is free with no tickets required.
FACULTY RECITAL: ANGELA JONES-REUS, flute; ERICA McCLELLAN, piano
Featuring works by composers Zyman, Schumann, and Olbersleben.
This concert is free and no tickets are required.
TUES 9/9
TUES 9/23
7:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
Hodgson Concert Hall
WIND SYMPHONY & SYMPHONIC BAND
As one of the University of Georgia’s large wind bands, the Wind Symphony has performed extensively throughout the Southeast, including concerts at regional conferences of the College Band Directors National Association. Wind Symphony is conducted by Jack Eaddy, Jr.
University of Georgia Symphonic Band is one of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s large wind bands. The Symphonic Band focuses on the classic band repertoire as well as exciting new music, and has recorded for C. Alan Publications. Symphonic Band is conducted by Michael C. Robinson.
