Pokorny Low Brass Seminar

Gene Pokorny has been principal tuba of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1989. He also held principal tuba positions in the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. While in Los Angeles, he played on the soundtracks to Jurassic Park, The Fugitive and other motion pictures.

He grew up in Downey, California, about a mile from where the Apollo command modules were built that first took humans to the moon. He studied tuba in the Los Angeles area with Jeffrey Reynolds, Larry Johansen, Tommy Johnson and Roger Bobo.

When Gene Pokorny isn't counting rests in the back row of Orchestra Hall, he can be found teaching at music festivals and performing solo recitals worldwide. He has recorded several solo and educational discs, and assisted Rolling Stones trombonist Michael Davis in recording several educational workbook CDs. He received an Outstanding Alumnus Award from the University of Southern California and an honorary doctorate from the University of Redlands. He currently lectures and teaches at Roosevelt University, Northwestern University and the Pokorny Low Brass Seminar.

A member of the Union Pacific (Railroad) Historical Society and the Union Pacific Steam Club, Gene Pokorny spends time as a "foamer,” watching and chasing trains. He is a fan (actually a "victim of soicumstances”) of the Three Stooges and was an avid devotee of his good friend David "Red” Lehr, the greatest Dixieland sousaphonist in the known universe. He finds guidance in the overview of life through Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, passion in the music of composers Gerald Finzi and Giacomo Puccini, humility in Carl Sagan's three-and-a-half minute video Pale Blue Dot, inspiration in listening to his fabulous colleagues onstage and perspective in all things through the basset hounds with whom he lives. They are always appreciative of a hug.

Megumi Kanda, Principal Trombone of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra since 2002, is an internationally acclaimed performer, teacher, and author.

Megumi has performed as a soloist across the United States, Europe and Asia, including with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Pershing’s Own Army Band, the US Army Field Band, and the Prague Chamber Orchestra. She has commissioned and/or premiered works of numerous composers, including those of Amy Riebs Mills, Bruce Stark, and Geoffrey Gordon. She has been a featured guest artist at numerous trombone workshops and festivals, including the International Trombone Festival and the American Trombone Workshop.

Megumi has appeared as guest faculty at numerous music institutions, including the New World Symphony, National Youth Orchestra, and Interlochen Arts Academy, and has given master classes and recitals at many colleges and conservatories across the US and Japan.

In April 2006, Megumi was recognized by the Arion Foundation in Tokyo, Japan as one of the most influential Japanese classical artists. She has also received a Certificate of Commendation from the Consul General of Japan at Chicago in recognition for distinguished service contributing to the friendship between the United States and Japan. Megumi was named a 2017 Woman of Influence in the category of education by the Milwaukee Business Journal. In 2020, she was named the recipient of the International Trombone Association Award, which recognizes the highest level of creative and artistic output.

Megumi's first book, The One Hundred, a collection of orchestral trombone excerpts with accompanying commentary, was published in August 2015 and is a resource widely used by aspiring young trombonists around the world. Her second book, Trombone Unlimited, a comprehensive method book, was published in 2020.

As a JVC/Victor Entertainment artist, Megumi has recorded three solo albums: Amazing Grace, Gloria, and Mona Lisa. She also can be heard on Magnifique Live, a live recording of Megumi and other JVC artists in the August 2005 performance at Takemitsu Hall in Tokyo's Opera City.

A native of Tokyo, Japan, Megumi began to play the trombone at age ten and continued her studies at the prestigious Toho High School of Music, where she studied with Sumio Miwa, formerly of the NHK Symphony. At age fifteen, she became the youngest player ever to be named as one of the top ten trombonists at the Japanese Wind and Percussion Competition. Two years later she won the Grand Prize in the National Competition for Solo Trombone and won best soloist prize upon graduation from the Toho High School of Music.

Megumi came to the United States in 1994 and received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with James DeSano, former Principal Trombone of the Cleveland Orchestra. Prior to joining the Milwaukee Symphony she served as Principal Trombonist of the Albany Symphony Orchestra, as a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music Community Education Division.

Megumi is proud to be a Greenhoe clinician and performs on a Greenhoe trombone.

An avid gardener, Megumi was chosen to participate in the 2013 Garden Tour in Shorewood, WI. She also enjoys going to Milwaukee Brewers games and taking walks with her husband Dietrich Hemann and sons Hans, Max and Lukas.

Brian Hecht, a native of Dallas, Texas, joined the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as Utility Trombone in September 2021. Prior to joining the Dallas Symphony, he held the Bass Trombone position with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (2013-2022) and The United States Navy Band in Washington, DC (2009-2013).

He has performed with other major ensembles throughout his career including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra (under the baton of Simon Rattle), San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Baltimore, and the Kennedy Center Ballet.

Brian has been a featured soloist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, U.S. Navy Band, U.S. "Pershing's Own" Army Band and Orchestra, the Armed Forces Octet, Kennesaw State University Wind Ensemble, Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony, STS Professor's Choir, Korean Trombone Choir, University of Texas Trombone Choir, University of Georgia Trombone Choir, University of Central Arkansas Trombone Choir, Texas State University Trombone Choir, Penn State Trombone Choir, and the Georgia Brass Band. He can be heard on numerous Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and U.S. Navy Band recordings.

He has been the recipient of performance awards including first prize at the 2009 Zellmer-Minnesota Orchestra Trombone Competition, 2009 Edwards Big 12 Bass Trombone Solo Competition, and the ETW's 2009 Trombone Quartet Competition. In addition, he was a finalist in three major international competitions in 2009 including the ITA's Edward Kleinhammer Competition, the Donald Yaxley Competition, and the International Trombone Quartet Competition.

Brian received his Master of Music degree from Northwestern University, where he studied with Michael Mulcahy, Charles Vernon, and Peter Ellefson. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from The University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with Dr. Nathaniel Brickens. Other influential teachers include Randall Hawes, Jon Bohls, and Charles Villarrubia.

Recent events include being a Featured Artist at the Numskull Brass Festival in Caudete Spain, the Thailand International Trombone Festival in Bangkok, Thailand, Texas Christian University Trombone Summit in April along with several performances at the International Trombone Festival in May 2024. Brian is in constant demand as a Guest at Universities including 2023-2024 residencies at University of Texas at Austin, Louisiana State University, Texas Tech

University, and San Diego State University. Recently he was a Featured Artist at the 2019 Hungarian Trombone Bootcamp in Budapest, Hungary, Featured Artist at the 2022 International Trombone Festival and Featured Artist at the 2022 Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival. His other past Featured Artist appearances include the International Trombone Festival (2018, 2020), 2018 and 2022 Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival (Jeju, South Korea), 2019 and 2024 Korea Trombone Symposium (Seoul, South Korea), Jinbao International Music Festival (Tianjin, China), Festival of Trombones (Dallas, TX) and the American Trombone Workshop (Washington, D.C.) . Brian was also a regular Guest Artist/Faculty at the Southeast Trombone Symposium from 2014-2021.

He plays the Thein Brass "Brian Hecht" model exclusively and Griego Mouthpieces exclusively.

A native of Chelva (Spain), Jose Martínez is principal tuba of the National Orchestra of Spain.

Martínez was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and performed as guest with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Qatar Philharmonic, Saint Louis Symphony, Teatro alla Scala or Utopia Orchestra.

Jose presented masterclasses at the Brazilian Tuba & Euphonium Conference, Isla Verde Bronces brass festival in Argentina, Conservatorium van Amsterdam, San Francisco Conservatory or the University of Guadalajara in Mexico.

He will forever be indebted to Mike Roylance, Gene Pokorny, Chris Olka, Morten Agerup and Sergio Finca.

Winner of the Jim & Jamie Self Creative Award, Martínez has been a jury member for the Jeju International Tuba Competition (South Korea).

Jose Martínez has been a member of the Chelva Symphony Wind Band since 1998.

Having studied in Spain, Sweden and the USA, Jose loves performing around the globe.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra trombonist Michael Mulcahy appears worldwide as a soloist, conductor and teacher. He was appointed to the CSO by Sir Georg Solti in 1989 and previously was principal trombonist of the Tasmanian and Melbourne symphony orchestras and solo trombonist of the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra.

He made his solo debut with the Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim in 2000 and subsequently performed as soloist under Pierre Boulez in music by Elliott Carter. In October 2016, he gave the world premiere of Carl Vine’s Five Hallucinations for Trombone and Orchestra, a joint commission of the Chicago Symphony and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. In February 2018, he gave the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Low Brass Concerto, a CSO commission that the Orchestra subsequently took on its East Coast tour.

Mulcahy is the winner of several international competitions, among them the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Instrumental Competition, the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, the Viotti International Competition in Italy and the International Instrumental Competition in the former East German city of Markneukirchen.

He has been principal trombonist of Chicago’s Music of the Baroque, and of the Grand Teton Music Festival since 1992. He also is principal trombonist of the Australian World Orchestra, with whom he has performed conductors Alexander Briger, Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle and Riccardo Muti. He was a founding member of the National Brass Ensemble in 2014. Michael Mulcahy’s interest in conducting was sparked by an invitation from West German Radio (WDR) Orchestra to direct a concert of music by Arvo Pärt. He serves as director of the CSO Brass, conducts annually for the Grand Teton Musical Festival, and makes guest appearances with the Sydney Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony, New World Symphony and the Royal Danish Orchestra. He has also served as music director for National Music Camp in Australia.

Born in Sydney, Australia, Michael Mulcahy began studying trombone with his father Jack Mulcahy and completed his studies with Baden McCarron of the Sydney Symphony and with Geoffrey Bailey at the State Conservatorium of New South Wales. He became a senior lecturer at the Canberra School of Music at the Australian National University in 1987. He currently leads the trombone studio at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and is a visiting artist at the Australian National Academy of Music.

Carol Jarvis is a much in-demand session musician in the UK and a multi-award-winning trombonist, keyboard player, arranger, orchestrator and voiceover artist. She has toured, recorded and worked extensively with the likes of Sting, Rita Ora, Paul McCartney, Queen, Elbow, Seal, Rod Stewart, Ben Howard, Amy Winehouse, Bon Jovi, Ellie Goulding and appeared on many renowned television programs with stars such as MUSE, Harry Connick Jr, Michael Bublé, Taylor Swift and so many more. Carol is often invited to play principal trombone with internationally renowned ensembles and some of the world’s top orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, all of the BBC Orchestras, and she can also frequently be found performing in London’s West End shows.

A graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, she gained the highest qualifications possible and many awards including major scholarships in the UK and USA, and won the prestigious Royal Over-seas League Music Competition with the chamber ensemble that she founded.

She has appeared as Guest Principal with most of the UK’s major ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Ballet and Opera, Philharmonia, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Welsh, BBC Scottish, BBC Concert Orchestra, CBSO, Hallé Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, RSNO, Royal Ballet Sinfonia, City of London Sinfonia, RTÉ National Symphony, the Orchestra of Opera North and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Carol’s session work is a major part of her career, and she features on numerous commercial soundtracks for feature films, documentaries, advertisements, jingles, albums and singles. Carol has also contributed to a myriad of commercial pop tracks and as such her work has appeared at the top of the UK charts several times.

Carol has been a trombone professor at two of the UK’s major music conservatoires for over nineteen years and has been invited to give masterclasses throughout the world, including at the Juilliard School in New York, Lucerne Conservatoire in Switzerland, University of California in Los Angeles, Rice University in Houston, Mexico City University, Lima Conservatoire in Peru and at the Jazz Institute in Graz, Austria. She quite often serves as an outside assessor at UK Conservatoires and abroad, and on international juries for trombone competitions around the globe. Carol is a former President of the British Trombone Society, was appointed President of the International Trombone Festival in 2017 and became the first female President of the International Trombone Association in 2023.

As well as performing and teaching, Carol has written orchestral arrangements for a whole host of different artists and genres. Most notably for the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Grammy award-winning stars such as Corinne Bailey Rae and multi-Platinum-selling pop star Seal. Her orchestrations have been featured on Mercury Prize nominated albums, been at the top of the UK and US Billboard Charts, been recorded at the famous Capitol Studios in Hollywood and played during the Academy Awards ceremony.

Carol is a solo endorsed artist with Michael Rath Trombones.

Susanna Gaunt joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra horn section in January 2006.

Just before joining the CSO, Gaunt performed regularly with the San Francisco Symphony, LucasArts Productions (recording movie soundtracks), the California Symphony and the Santa Rosa Symphony. She has held various positions in other orchestras across the country, including third horn in the San Diego Symphony, third/associate principal horn in the San Antonio Symphony, and both third and fourth horn in the North Carolina Symphony. Gaunt also has been a member of the San Diego Chamber Orchestra and the New World Symphony. In addition, she has performed and recorded with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Gaunt has performed at various music festivals, including Napa Valley’s Music in the Vineyards Festival, the Pacific Music Festival and the Tanglewood Music Festival.

A native of New England, Gaunt completed a Bachelor of Music degree in 1992 at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where her principal teachers were Richard Sebring, Norman Bolter and Richard Mackey. Her primary mentor and inspiration is former teacher Nedo Pandolfi.

Along with music, Gaunt has a variety of other interests, including cooking, hiking, gardening and running. She lives in River Forest with her husband, Matthew Gaunt, a tuba player, and their two children.

A native of Philadelphia and a graduate of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, John Loften began his professional career as Bass Trombonist with the State Orchestra of Mexico. After his years in Toluca, Mexico, Lofton moved to Hawaii to perform with the Honolulu Symphony and later became the Bass Trombonist of the Phoenix Symphony. In 2008 he was appointed to the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Bass Trombonist. In addition to his responsibilities with the LA Phil, he has toured and recorded with the Cleveland Orchestra and performed with the San Francisco Symphony as well as the Santa Fe Opera. Lofton’s musical interests also include chamber music; he has performed with several brass quintets and is a faculty member at the Rafael Mendez Brass Institute featuring the Summit Brass. He teaches at California State University Long Beach and has students from several L.A. colleges. In addition to appearing on several sound stage recordings, Lofton has produced both solo and chamber recordings.