Southern Stars Symphonic Brass Band

Dwight Wages, founder/cornet/flugelhorn, is a Chemical Engineering graduate of Iowa State University, but music has always been an important activity and creative outlet for him. Dwight is a former member of Clairon Brass Quintets (in Springfield, MA; Cincinnati, OH; and in Belleville, Ontario) and he has recently established another Clarion Quintet “franchise” here in Tennessee. While living in England, Dwight was exposed to the UK’s hugely popular brass band movement which piqued his interest and resulted in the past 10 years of involvement in brass bands including the Cincinnati Brass Band and the Intrada Brass Band of Toronto, Canada. Dwight is President and Founder of the Southern Stars Symphonic Brass. Dwight is the principal trumpet for the Cookeville Community Band and Crossville Community Band, and is a frequent soloist for concerts, weddings and church services.

Dr. Donald Ryder, Conductor is Associate Professor of Music and Associate Director of Bands at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Dr. Ryder’s duties include working extensively with the “Pride of the Southland” Marching Band, conducting the UT Symphonic Band, and teaching undergraduate instrumental conducting. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, a Master of Music Education degree from the University of Iowa, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting from the University of Iowa. Dr. Ryder studied conducting with Myron Welch and Mark S. Kelly. Dr. Ryder was also a private conducting student of William D. Revelli. Prior to his appointment at the University of Tennessee, Dr. Ryder was on the faculty at Sam Houston State University in Texas. Dr. Ryder successfully taught public school instrumental music in Ohio and Iowa for numerous years where his marching and concert bands were nationally recognized for superior levels of musicianship and performance. During his tenure, he has received many honors and awards including Teacher of the Year. In 1991, Dr. Ryder was recognized by the American School Band Directors Association as the top high school band director in the country and was presented with the coveted Stanbury Award. This award recognized Dr. Ryder for his outstanding levels of teaching achievements with the Troy High School Band in Ohio. In 2003, Dr. Ryder was inducted into the Newton High School Hall of Fame. In 2006, he received the “Distinguished Alumni Award” from Bowling Green State University. Dr. Ryder serves as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor in the field of instrumental music education and holds membership in many professional organizations such as the College Band Directors Association, National Band Association, American School Band Directors Association, East Tennessee School Band & Orchestra Association and the Tennessee Music Educators Association.

Adam Featherston is currently the band director at Smith County High School in Carthage, TN. Mr. Featherston has also taught band at Knoxville Central High School and Gresham Middle School in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was a trombonist and guest conductor in the Knoxville Concert Band, and served on the Board of Directors from 2002–2003. He is a 2002 graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville earning a Bachelor of Music degree in Education. While at Tennessee, Mr. Featherston studied trombone with Don Hough while performing with the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, “Pride of the Southland” Marching and Pep Bands, Jazz Big Band, jazz combos, and the UT Trombone Choir. He recently earned a masters degree from Tennessee Tech where he studied conducting with Mr. Joseph Hermann and served as a Graduate Conducting Associate with the University Band program.

Tracy Luna is 35 years old and taking break from teaching. I have taught for 12 years as a high school/middle school band director and music teacher. A bachleor of music in music education was obtained in 1997 from UT. My primary teachers have included James Garrett, EJ Eaton, Gil Long, and Winston Morris.

Tracy is currently employed with Pacesetters in Cookeville and am pursuing a Masters of Education with a cognate in music ed. at Tennessee Tech while study conducting with Joe Hermann and privately with Winston Morris on the tuba. Tracy has studied with Morris for four years now.

Chris McCormick is Professor of Jazz Studies at TTU. Mr. McCormick directs TTU’s two jazz ensembles. In addition, he teaches jazz improvisation, jazz arranging, jazz history, Harmony, Ear Training, and Computer Applications in Music. Mr. McCormick is an active clinician, and adjudicates at festivals throughout the United States and Canada. As a trumpet player, Mr. McCormick is an active performer in both jazz and classical styles. He has performed all over the United States as well as Canada and Mexico. At TTU he is a member of the Bryan Symphony and the Brass Arts Quintet. In addition to playing in groups such as the Kadillacs, Jazz Arts Group, Nashville Jazz Orchestra, Paul Ross Orchestra, Top Brass, Jimmy Dorsey Band, and the Guy Lombardo Band, he has worked on cruise ships and backed such artists as Dennis Deyoung, The Temptations, The “Four Tops, Trace Adkins, and The Blues Brothers. Mr. McCormick is an active composer and arranger. His compositions include works for small and large jazz ensembles, and for brass quintet. Mr. McCormick holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Capital University, and a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music.

Wayne Robbins has performed around the world with Celebrity Cruise Lines and can be heard locally in over 200 shows per year at The Cumberland County Playhouse. Upon graduating Tennessee Technological University, Wayne attended The University of Texas at Austin where he received his Master of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees in trumpet performance. Wayne has taught trumpet at Texas A & M Kingsville, Mary Hardin Baylor University, and was the Director of Jazz Studies and Trumpet Professor at Abilene Christian University. He has performed with many guest artists including Bobby Shew, Michael Brecker, James Moody, and Ray Charles. He has performed with The Austin Symphony and Lyric Opera, The Waco Symphony, and The Abilene Philharmonic. Wayne is a student of Charles Decker and Ray Crisara.

Tubist Sean Greene is the instrumental music coordinator for Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN. Sean holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in tuba performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While at the UW, Sean studied tuba with world-renowned tubist/composer John Stevens. His undergraduate degree is from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville where he studied tuba with Sande MacMorran, principal tubist with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra.

Sean has performed with the Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Madison, Kingsport, Dubuque, Sheboygan and Oshkosh Symphony Orchestras as well as the Orquesta Sinfonica UANL in Monterrey, Mexico. While in Wisconsin Sean was the music director and conductor of the Madison Brass Band, the Madison TubaChristmas concerts and was on the faculty of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras and the UW-Madison Summer Music Clinic. A frequent soloist and clinician, in 2009 Sean will perform John Williams’ Tuba Concerto with the Orange County (CA) Symphony Orchestra. An active composer and arranger, his original compositions are published through Beautidel Music Press. Sean lives in Knoxville with his wife Melissa and their daughter Addie.

Joseph (Joe) Christian graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2002 with a degree in College Scholars and emphases in Pre-Law and Music. While at UT, he was an active member of the trombone studio where he studied with Professor Don Hough and performed with the Trombone Choir, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Marching Band and various small ensembles. For the 2000 and 2001 football seasons, Joe served as the Drum Major of the Pride of the Southland Marching Band.

After graduating college, Joe attended Vanderbilt University Law School and is now a practicing attorney in Knoxville. He currently plays with the Old City Brass Quintet and is an active member of the Sevier Heights Baptist Church Celebration Orchestra. Joe’s wife, Megan, is the Director of Bands at Bearden High School.

Scott Eddlemon is a graduate of the prestigious Julliard School in New York where he studied with Saul Goodman. He has been Principal Timpanist of the Colonial Symphony of New Jersey and the Victoria Symphony as well as the Spoleto Festival where he played under the directorship of Thomas Schippers and Spoleto Founder Gian Carlo Menotti. He has played for many of the great conductors of our time such as; Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Pierre Boulez, Sergiu Comissiona, James Conlon, Sixten Ehrling, Walter Hendl, Erich Kunzel, and composer Howard Hanson. While in Victoria, Scott was the Percussion Instructor at the University of Victoria. He has also taught at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. Scott is a regular performer with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and is currently the Principal Timpanist of the Oak Ridge Symphony where his wife, Susan, a violinist, serves as Concertmaster.

Chuck Lyons, bass trombone, is a charter member of the Southern Stars Symphonic Brass. While Chuck is currently employed as an IT consultant in Nashville, he has had the opportunity to pursue his love of music through teaching high school music at McGavock and White House High Schools in Middle Tennessee as well as performing in numerous groups throughout the region from quintets and ensembles to bands and orchestras.

A 1985 graduate of Tennessee Technological University with a B.S. in Music Education, he has had the privilege to perform with such notables as The Cab Calloway Orchestra, Slide Hampton, Marvin Stamm, Don Menza, Ernestine Anderson, David Baker, Dominic Spera, Bob Mintzer, Dave Liebman, Deborah Brown, Buddy Baker, Deborah Brown, Lorna Luft…just to name a few. Chuck currently resides in Goodlettsville, TN, with his wife, Missy, and their children Brittany, Chelsey and Brandon.

David Butler is the Director of Bands at Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, a position he has held since 1994. Under his direction the bands at CSAS have consistently received superior ratings and recognition at state and national levels. Mr. Butler is a six time recipient of selection by Who’s Who Among America’s High School Teachers, and has twice been recognized as an outstanding teacher by the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts. In addition to his duties at CSAS, he has also served as the Band Chairman and the President of the East Tennessee School Band & Orchestra Association.

A native of Chattanooga, Mr. Butler received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Tennessee Technological University, where he studied tuba with R. Winston Morris. Mr. Butler is currently an active performer in the Chattanooga area, and has performed with the Chattanooga Symphony, Chattanooga Brass Quintet, Jericho Brass, Enigma Tuba Quartet, Chattanooga Concert Band, Monday Night Big Band, River City Red Hots and the New Orleans Jazz Trio. As an arranger of music for the tuba, the majority of his work has been written specifically for the Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble. His works have been performed by groups at all levels, recorded by several prominent collegiate and professional ensembles, and are published by TUBA Press. He continues to serve as an active adjudicator and clinician throughout the Southeast for both band and the tuba.

Helen Watson, originally from Harriman, TN, received her bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Tennessee Technological University in 2006. While attending TTU, Ms. Watson was an active member in many ensembles including Golden Eagle Marching Band, Golden Eagle Brass, Symphony Band, Wind Ensemble, University Orchestra, Bryan Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band, Jazz Band, and the national award-winning Trumpet Ensemble. Ms. Watson now resides in Crossville, TN where she is in her second year of teaching at Stone Elementary School and is responsible for Pre-K-8th general music program and grades 5-8 band.

John Bohlen is a Product Development engineer with Oreck Manufacturing in Cookeville and an avid hobbyist trumpet player. Originally from Indiana, he graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering where he played with the Purdue Jazz Band. John and his family have since relocated several times for different jobs including locations in South Florida, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and now here in beautiful Tennessee. Although not formally trained in music, he has extensive playing experience as a soloist and as an ensemble performer with church and civic orchestras, a variety of community bands and ensembles, big bands, jazz combos, opera and theater pits, and several professional brass quintets. He is currently active with the Cookeville Community Band and Southern Stars Symphonic Brass. John is grateful for his family’s unwavering support through the years for his “music habit” and also to the many wonderful players and audiences who have made music such a special part of his life.

A native of Carthage, TN, Stephen Collins holds music degrees from Tennessee Technological University and The University of Kansas. He has performed with the St. Joseph Symphony, the Kansas City Civic Orchestra, the Lawrence Chamber Orchestra, the TTU Faculty Brass Quintet, and the Kansas Brass Quintet. Stephen currently serves on the music faculty of Crown College and the Crown Music Conservatory in Powell, TN. He resides in Knoxville, TN with his wife and three children.

John Gardner, cornet, currently holds the position of Director of Instrumental Music at Stevens Street Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN. There he serves as the administrator of the church’s School of Performing Arts, as well as directing the 30-piece orchestra and leading worship for a 20somethings worship service on Tuesday nights. A graduate of Tennessee Technological University, where he studied Music Therapy and Psychology, John loves performing music of nearly all genres whenever his job affords him the time.

When he’s not making music, John can usually be found drinking coffee while taking in a play, reading a book, or at a hockey game. On March 8, 2008, John married the love of his life, and is now living the high life with his beautiful bride, Laurie.

Jack Strotman, euphonium, began his musical career in Philadelphia Pa where he studied trumpet with Victor Hugo of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and trombone with Michael Buglio, formerly of the West Point Academy band. Following a brief career with the 505th Air Force Band of the Mid West on trombone, Jack returned to the Philly area and resumed playing in various ensembles. A transfer with General Electric brought him to middle Tennessee in 1969 where he has performed with various groups ranging from R&B to big bands. Most notably, a 34-year stint with the Nashville-based “The Establishment” big band, one of the areas most popular dance/jazz bands and a group that was featured with the Nashville Symphony as part of their pop series. Now retired from the business world, he continues to play both the high and low brass in his church praise band, several area community bands, and the Cookeville-based Big Band Sound which plays regularly at Fairfield Glade in Crossville.

Joel Tillman, cornet, is in his fourth year as band director at Karns Middle School in Knoxville, Tn and in his 20th year of teaching in the public schools of East Tennessee. A freelance performer, he has also performed or is currently performing with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra of Madison, WI, the Knoxville Wind Symphony, and the Oak Ridge Symphony. In addition to his performing duties, he is an active clinician for the East Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association, The Tennessee Secondary School’s Band Director Association, and has conducted for the Middle Tenessee School Band and Orchestra Clinic. He is a member of ETSB&OA, TSSBDA, Phi Mu Alpha, Phi Beta Mu, Music Educator’s National Conference and Professional Educators of Tennessee.

Sarah Chumney, cornet is a freelance trumpet player and teacher in the Knoxville area, where she has performed with many groups, including the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, the Knoxville Wind Symphony, the Johnson City Symphony, Southern Stars Symphonic Brass Band and the Tennessee Brass. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she earned a Masters Degree while serving as the graduate teaching assistant to Dr. Cathy Leach. While at UT, Sarah performed with the Faculty Brasswind Quintet, the Loose Lips Graduate Brass Quintet, the UT Symphony Orchestra, UT Trumpet Ensemble, and directed the J.V. Trumpet Squad.

Prior to UT, Sarah earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she studied primarily with Barbara Butler. While at Northwestern, Sarah played in many ensembles including the concert band, symphonic wind ensemble, chamber orchestra, symphony orchestra, brass ensemble, and brass quintet. In her first year, Sarah was the first freshman to win a position in Barbara Butler’s excerpt class since its inception. While in the Chicago area, Sarah performed with the Evanston Symphony, Northbrook Symphony, Whiting Park Festival Orchestra, the South Bend Symphony, the Chicago Brass Band, and was principal trumpet of the Northwestern Summer Orchestra.

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, she was a member of the Memphis Area Youth Wind Ensemble and the Memphis Youth Symphony, the latter of which she toured with to Austria, Germany and Hungary. She also won a scholarship to Interlochen Arts Camp in the MYS concerto competition. She studied with Scott Moore and Elizabeth Carter, and earned the principal chair in the Tennessee All-State band. For her senior year of high school, Sarah went to Interlochen Arts Academy where she studied with Dr. Stanley Friedman and Richard Stoelzel, and was principal trumpet with the Interlochen band and a member of the brass ensemble.

Greg Danner, alto horn, is Professor of Music at Tennessee Technological University, where he teaches music theory and composition. Dr. Danner has received annual ASCAP awards for composition since 1989. Other awards include the College Band Directors National Association Music for Young Band prize, vocal category and grand prize in the Delius Society composition contest, first prize in the Composers Guild composition contest, first prize in the Taghkanic Chorale composers competition, and the Louisiana Music Teachers Association Composer Commission Award.

An active performer (horn), he has held positions with the Baton Rouge and Acadiana orchestras in Louisiana and has performed with the Huntsville (AL) Symphony, the Lake Charles and Rapides orchestras in Louisiana and the Saint Louis, Saint Louis Municipal Opera, and Webster Groves orchestras in Missouri. Dr. Danner is currently hornist with the Brass Arts Quintet, the Bryan Symphony Orchestra, and Murfreesboro Symphony. He frequently performs on alto horn with the Jack Daniels Silver Cornet Band and is a freelance and studio musician in the Nashville area.