Alumni Spotlights
JOE BUSUITO (B.M.'09, M.M.'15) (NEW)
Meet Dr. Joe Busuito, associate director of bands and director of athletic bands at East Carolina University. His prior appointment was as the assistant director of concert and athletic bands at Rutgers University, where he was also a member of the music education faculty. Joe has published research in the WASBE Journal and has been a presenter at the CBDNA National Conference. Read more about Joe's success.
eVAN CLIFTON (B.M.'15) (NEW)
Evan Clifton is a freelance bass trombonist and studio musician in Nashville, TN. He has been a frequent substitute bass trombonist with various orchestras, including The Cleveland Orchestra and Grand Rapids Symphony. He is a regular university clinician and guest artist, and he is active in commissioning new works for trombone. He is a performing artist for Edwards Instrument Company and Dansr, Inc. Read more about Evan's success.
JARED DALGLEISH (M.M.'17) (NEW)
Jared Dalgleish is the adjunct professor of low brass at California State University, Bakersfield, as well as the principal trombonist of the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra. A former trombonist with the American Wind Symphony, Jared enjoys a varied career as band director at Norris Middle School in Bakersfield. Read more about Jared Dalgleish.
SANDRA KESSLER (B.M.'99) (NEW)
Sandra Kessler, Director of the Banda Sinfónica Juvenil de Santiago de Querétaro (Mexico), is an in demand arranger and brass instructor. She has taught at the University Autónoma de Querétaro and the Conservatorio J. Guadalupe Velázquez. Sandra is a former soloist, guest conductor and current arranger with the Querétaro State Band, and she has served as the Secretary of the Mexican National Band Directors Association. Read more about Sandra's extensive and varied musical career in Mexico.
NEIL MAXA (B.M.'88) (new)
Neil Maxa has enjoyed an active freelance career in Las Vegas for over 30 years. As a professional musician, he has performed at every major celebrity showroom in town, and served as a backup musician for many of the most famous entertainers in the world. Whether playing on the Latin Grammys, sitting in the band with Paul Schaeffer, or working with the late Carl Fontana, Neil has been a force on the Las Vegas music scene for many years. Read more about Neil Maxa.
LELAND MATSUMURA (M.M.'16) (NEW)
Leland Matsumura, 2016 Western Michigan University trombone graduate, is currently serving as a member of the US Navy Fleet Bands. Shortly after graduating from Western he was an active freelancer throughout the upper Midwestern United States. He has been a devoted educator, having had great success teaching in the Cleveland area. Leland is an Edwards Instrument performing artist. Read more about Leland Matsumura.
HANA BELOGLAVEC (B.M.'11)
Eric Bowman (B.M.'12)
Meet Dr. Eric Bowman, winner of numerous national and international trombone solo competitions in both classical and jazz, winner of two of Downbeat Magazine's prestigious Downbeat Awards, and a 1st runner up of the Yamaha Young Performing Artist Award. Read more about Eric.
Evan Conroy (B.M.'09)
Dr. Evan Conroy has already had a highly successful and very active career. He has been a winner in several national and international bass trombone competitions, and was chosen as the bass trombonist for both the International Festival Institute at Round Top and the Lucerne Festival Academy. While serving as the adjunct instructor of low brass at Southern University and as a fulltime member of the Louisiana Philharmonic, Evan is an in demand orchestral artist, performing with the Alabama Symphony, the Jacksonville Symphony, and others. He takes an active role in commissioning new works for trombone by major composers.
Adam Houk (B.M.'07)
Adam Houk came to Western Michigan University from Midland, TX after serving as a former 1st chair all-state trombonist in the competitive Texas public school music scene. Following his graduation from Western, Adam attended DePaul University on a large scholarship, played in a number of outstanding regional orchestras, and was eventually selected as an associate trombonist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and semifinalist for an open 2nd trombone position with the North Carolina Symphony. Read more about Adam Houk.
Chris Van Hof (B.M.'06)
Emerging artist Dr. Chris Van Hof is a successful performer, educator and arranger, and assistant professor of music (trombone) at Ball State University. He was host of the 2019 International Trombone Festival (ITF) and assistant manager of the ITF planning team. He has been a frequent substitute trombonist with the Indianapolis Symphony, and he has been featured as a soloist at both the American Trombone Workshop and the International Trombone Festival. Chris is a performing artist for S. E. Shires Custom Brass Instruments and Facet Mutes.
Jeremy Marks (M.M.'10)
Meet Dr. Jeremy Marks, assistant professor of low brass at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Jeremy is a former professor at the University of Louisiana-Monroe, Southeastern Oklahoma State University and Blinn College, and a former member of the award-winning Northside Trombone Quartet, winners of the 2013 International Trombone Quartet Competition. He maintains a very successful performing career, having been an invited artist at two International Trombone Festivals, among others. Jeremy also stays active with research. He has been published in the International Trombone Association Journal and presented his research interest on bass trumpet at several major national and international conferences and festivals. Read more about Dr. Jeremy Marks.
Andy Mitchell (B.M.'06)
As the trombone professor at Youngstown State, Dr. Andrew Mitchell maintains a performing career with groups such as the Detroit Chamber Winds, the Michigan Opera Theatre, and the Motor City Brass Quintet. He has played in a number of regional orchestras and frequently subs with the Detroit Symphony. Andy has been a soloist and clinician throughout the US and Europe, having appeared at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts (Czech Republic) and the Prague Conservatory. He is an artist for the Edwards Instrument Company.
Paul Mundo (B.M.'94, M.M.'97)
Meet Paul Mundo, music educator in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area. In addition to his love for teaching young students, Paul always made trombone a high priority, placing second in several prestigious competitions and/or auditions, such as the International Trombone Association's Rosolino Jazz Trombone Competition. He was also named a finalist for the jazz trombone chair with ensembles such as the Airmen of Note and the US Army Blues. Paul is a former recipient of the Irving S. Gilmore Emerging Artist Grant, and he has performed or recorded with many well-known pop and jazz artists. Learn more about Paul Mundo.
Matt Westgate (B.M.Ed'00, M.M.'06)
This is Dr. Matt Westgate, director of wind studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has served as the director of bands at Xavier University, and has had the pleasure of guest conducting both the Eastman Wind Ensemble and the West Point Military Band. As an undergraduate trombone student at Western, Matt was involved in numerous studio activities such as regular trips to hear the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He is now an active guest conductor, clinician, and arranger who still performs regularly in both classical and jazz idioms. Learn more about Dr. Matt Westgate.