Dr. Kevin Wass, tuba
October 28, 2003

Kevin Wass, Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Texas Tech University, holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan, the Bachelor of Science degree (Summa cum laude) in Music Education from Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, and the Master of Music degree and Performer's Certificate from Indiana University. He has performed with a wide range of ensembles, including the Disneyland All-American College Band, the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra, the Omaha and Lincoln Symphony Orchestras, and various brass chamber groups. Dr. Wass also has excelled in international tuba competitions, winning the Arnold Jacobs Mock Orchestral Audition at the International Tuba and Euphonium Conference in Canada, and advancing to the semifinal round of the Brno International Performer's Competition in the Czech Republic, the ITEC Solo Competition in Canada, and the Leonard Falcone International Tuba and Euphonium Competition. His teaching experience is equally varied, with experience as a band and orchestra director at the elementary and high school levels in addition to private studio and classroom teaching at the college level. In addition to his duties at Tech, Dr. Wass serves on the faculty of the Las Vegas Music Festival. His principal studies have been with Fritz Kaenzig, Daniel Perantoni, Harvey Phillips, and Craig Fuller.

Dr. Thomas Bough, tuba
November 20, 2003

Dr. Thomas Bough joined the Southern Illinois University –Carbondale music faculty in 1999 as the Assistant Director of Bands and Professor of Tuba and Euphonium.  In this position, he serves as the Director of the Marching Salukis and the University Symphonic Band.  Dr. Bough holds MM and DMA degrees in Tuba Performance from Arizona State University, where he was a student of Sam Pilafian and Dan Perantoni.  He holds the degree Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Southwest Missouri State University, where he was active in both vocal and instrumental music.  From 1991 to 1999, Dr. Bough served as the Director of Bands at Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona. 

Dr. Bough’s diverse performance background includes experience with the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, Mesa Symphony Orchestra, SIUC Faculty Brass Quintet, and the Downbeat Dixieland Band.  He toured for two seasons with the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps, and performed as a member of the 1989 Walt Disney World All American College Marching Band.  Dr. Bough currently plays Eb tuba with the 2001 National Champion (Honors Division) St. Louis Brass Band, and can be heard on their recent CD release Strike up the Band. He is a Yamaha sponsored artist, and performs on the Yamaha 822 CC tuba and Yamaha 822 F tuba.  Since arriving at SIU, Dr. Bough has published seven articles in the Instrumentalist magazine, and nearly a dozen critical reviews in the Journal of the International Tuba-Euphonium Association.  He has contributed articles to Volumes IV and V of Teaching Music Through Performance, edited by Dr. Richard Miles.

In 2003, Dr. Bough joined the Bands of America teaching staff as part of their Summer Symposium and as a masterclass clinician at the National Concert Band Festival.  Each year, he travels across the West and Midwest as the lead clinician for the Brass Boot Camps, a hands-on workshop that develops the performance skills of student musicians.

Jason D Ham, euphonium
February 27, 2004

At age 25, Jason D. Ham is among a new generation of euphoniumists appearing on the American military band scene. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Jason began his studies as a student of Ronald Davis. After multiple appearances in the South Carolina All-State Bands, he attended the University of Georgia, where he studied with the late David Randolph, Ken Kroesche, and David Zerkel. In 2001, Jason graduated from UGA, obtaining degrees in both Music Education and Music Performance.

While at UGA, Jason was an active competitor on the euphonium, winning the Atlanta Brass Society Solo Competition, the Atlanta Community Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition, and the Solo Euphonium Artist Competition at the 2001 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference (ITEC) in Lahti, Finland. He has placed in the MTNA Collegiate Brass Competition, the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Competition, the International Philip Jones Competition, and the Tuba Quartet Competition at the 2000 ITEC, held in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

In 1995, Jason attended the summer session of the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities (SCGSAH) in Greenville, South Carolina, where he was an honors recitalist, guest conductor of the Governor's School Orchestra, and the recipient of the school's highest award, the Callie S. Rainey Award. From 1996 to 2001, Jason served on the faculty of the SCGSAH, culminating as the Vice Principal for the Summer Program. Now advising similar programs in the northeastern United States, he remains an outspoken supporter of the school, which is now a nine-month residential academy for gifted and talented students in South Carolina.

Since entering the USMA Band in 2002, Jason has maintained an active performance schedule, both in and out of the band. This year, he has performed and presented master classes at tuba-euphonium conferences, colleges and universities, and several music festivals, including the Hudson River Regional Festival and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, USA, held in Charleston, South Carolina. While upcoming engagements will keep life moving at a brisk pace, a zeal for life and a passion for performance will cause a busy schedule to get even busier, with engagements already solidified as far away as the autumn of 2005.

Jason D. Ham is a Yamaha Performing Artist

Patrick Sheridan, tuba
April 13, 2004

Patrick Sheridan has been enthusiastically received as a solo artist around the world. He made his solo debut playing an arrangement of The Blue Bells of Scotland accompanied by his mom, Diana, when he was just 8 years old, only months after he had started playing his chosen instrument, the tuba! He made his solo orchestral debut at the age of 15 playing a Mozart Horn Concerto on the tuba. Since then, Patrick has rocketed to success as a solo performer in venues ranging from the White House to an NBA half-time show to the Hollywood Bowl.

As a former member of "The President's Own" United States Marine Band, he thrilled audiences across the United States with his amazing virtuosity and musicianship as one of the band's primary soloists. He is equally at home with standard classical repertoire and as an entertainer in the "pops" realm. In addition to his musical studies with legendary tuba artists Arnold Jacobs, Sam Pilafian, Daniel Perantoni, Harvey Phillips and Jim Self, Mr. Sheridan holds a Master of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in finance and marketing from the University of Michigan.

Mr. Sheridan's touring schedule regularly takes him throughout the United States as well as Europe and Japan. This year his touring schedule will take him to 20 countries around the globe and 35 states across America and includes such ensembles as the Grand Rapids Symphony, The Estonian National Orchestra, The San Antonio Symphony, The Williams Fairey Band and the United States Army Band. Patrick is currently the Visiting Professor of Tuba at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland and the Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands. Patrick was most recently featured on NBC's Today Show and is regularly featured on BBC Radio and PBS and NPR broadcasts including the program, "All Things Considered."

Besides his busy concert schedule, Mr. Sheridan has co-authored the popular pedagogy book, The Breathing Gym, with Sam Pilafian. Mr. Sheridan is also President of Rocky Mountain Music, a manufacturer and distributor of music products.

Past guest artists: Neal Corwell, Steve Maxwell, Pat Sheridan, Jason Roland Smith, Helen Tyler, Scott Watson.

Tentative 2004 - 2005 guest artists: Michael Allen, Velvet Brown, Jeff Funderburk, Lee Harrelson, Ben Pierce, Joe Skillen, Scott Watson, David Zerkel, and Twisted Steel Quartet.