Stamps Brass Quintet Class of 2016

Major: Instrumental Performance

Instrument: Tuba

Profile:

James Aidan Zimmermann, tuba, majored in Instrumental Performance at the Frost School of Music where he was a Stamps Distinguished Ensemble Scholar and a member of the Stamps Brass Quintet, Class of 2016, coached by faculty mentor Sam Pilafian. He also studied privately with Pilafian.  Aidan Zimmerman also performed in other major ensembles of the Frost School of Music.

Born in Amarillo, Texas, and raised in Houston, Zimmerman performed in the Texas All-State and was a finalist for the Houston Young Artist competition. He was accepted into the Tanglewood Young Artists Orchestra, played at the American Festival for the Arts, and performed with the Houston Youth Symphony.  He studied tuba with Jason Harvey for all four years of high school.

He attended The Woodlands High School where he participated in music as well as sports activities such as running track and field and basketball.  A twin, he was active in community service, and academic clubs, most notably a championship robotic club.  He graduated in the top 5% of his class with many AP classes. Zimmerman started his music career on trumpet in 6th grade, and then switched to tuba in his first year of high school, which is when he decided to devote his life to being a musician.

Major: Musicology

Instrument: French horn

Profile:

Joshua Schwartz, French horn, majored in Musicology at the Frost School of Music where he was a Stamps Distinguished Ensemble Scholar and a member of the Stamps Brass Quintet, Class of 2016, coached by faculty member Sam Pilafian. He studied horn privately with Richard Todd.

Originally from Weston, Florida he was principal horn of the Florida Youth Orchestra (2007-2012), Greater Miami Youth Symphony (2009-2011), Miami Music Project Honors Orchestra (2011), and the Cypress Bay High School Wind Ensemble (2009-2012). A recipient of a plethora of awards and accolades, Josh Schwartz has performed as a featured soloist with the New World Symphony (2011), was a member of the Florida All-State Band from 7th-12th grade, has participated in numerous Honors and All-County Bands, and was the John Philip Sousa Award recipient from both Cypress Bay High School and Falcon Cove Middle School. He regularly attends the Marrowstone Music Festival in Bellingham, Washington where he has studied with Dale Clevenger, Alice Render, and Heidi Kepper. His former teachers have included Alexander Kienle, Myrna Meeroff, and his father, Gary Schwartz.

A multi-faceted student, Josh Schwartz excels academically. He earned the maximum score of 5 on many AP exams such as Calculus AB/BC, Chemistry, Physics: Electricity and Magnetism, Biology, Microeconomics, and Macroeconomics, and graduated in the top 5% of his class. In his free time, he dabbles in inline skating and adores spending time with friends.

Major: Instrumental Performance

Instrument: Trumpet

Profile:

Lasse Bjerknaes-Jacobsen, trumpet, majored in Instrumental Performance at the University of Miami Frost School of Music where he was a Stamps Distinguished Ensemble Scholar and a member of the Stamps Brass Quintet, Class of 2016, coached by faculty mentor Sam Pilafian. He studied privately with Craig Morris. Lasse Bjerknaes-Jacobsen also performed in the Frost Wind Ensemble and other major ensembles.

Lasse Bjerknaes-Jacobsen has performed in both the United States and his hometown, Oslo, Norway. He won the Oslo and Akershus championship for soloists four times and placed first in the Norwegian Youth Music Championship.

He has played as a soloist at the Barratt Due Institute of Music, the Oslo Jazz Festival, and the Bergen International Festival. He has been a soloist in Sweden, England, Germany, and China and with ensembles/orchestras such as Ytre Suløens jazz ensemble, Nordic Brass Ensemble (2 times) and His Majesty the King’s Guard (4 times).

He has performed in master classes in Sweden, England, Germany and China for Ole Edvard Antonsen, Hans Ganch, Reinhold Friedrich, Per Ivarsson, Florian Klinger, Craig Morris, Roman Rindberger, David Staff, James Watson, Paul Coch, Mike Hesse, David Baldwin, Rod Franks, Dennis A.Noday, Joachim Urban, David F. Strunck, Paul Spjuth, Frøydis Ree Wekre, Henning Kraggerud, Fredrik Fors, Alf Richard Kraggerud, Knut Riisnæs, Kåre Nymark Jr.

Bjerknaes-Jacobsen was a member of the Norwegian National Youth Orchestra in 2011, Großes Europäisches Blechbläserensemble in 2010 and Die Deutsch-Skandinavische Jugend-Philharmonie (in Berlin, Germany). He performed previously with the Norwegian Youth Symphonic Orchestra (NUSO), the Norwegian Children Symphonic Orchestra (NBSO), and others.

Major: Instrumental Performance

Instrument: Trumpet

Profile:

Sam Exline, trumpet, majored in Instrumental Performance at the Frost School of Music where he was a Stamps Distinguished Ensemble Scholar and a member of the Stamps Brass Quintet, Class of 2016, coached by faculty mentor Sam Pilafian. He studied privately with Craig Morris.

Born and raised in Meridian, Idaho, near Boise, Sam Exline participated in the Boise Philharmonic Youth Orchestra for 5 years, played in the Interlochen Philharmonic Orchestra at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp in the summer of his high school sophomore year, was principal trumpet of the All-Northwest Orchestra, principal trumpet of the MENC National Music Conference Orchestra and principal trumpet of the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute in his junior year.

He began playing trumpet in the middle of first grade, and even then aspired to become a professional trumpet player.  In recent years, he has focused more specifically on becoming an orchestral trumpet player.  In addition to his musical activities, he is also interested in academics in general and graduated with a 4.0 GPA from high school and was valedictorian of his graduating class.

Major: Instrumental Performance

Instrument: Trombone

Profile:

Christopher Jones, trombone, majored in Instrumental Performance at the Frost School of Music where he was a Stamps Distinguished Ensemble Scholar and a member of the Stamps Brass Quintet, Class of 2016. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Composition from Wichita State University, where he is studying with Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn.

As a sixth-grader in Indianapolis, Indiana, Christopher Jones discovered his passion for writing music when a friend introduced him to a children’s music game, Mario Paint Composer.  Although he has since moved onto more sophisticated methods of composing, he still displays the same childhood exuberance when it comes to exploring music. Chris enjoys a whole spectrum of music, from classical repertoire to 8-bit video game tunes. He strives to share his passion and enjoyment of music with others through his compositions.

As a trombonist, Chris has performed at the 2016 and 2014 International Trombone Festivals as well as the Sewanee Summer Music Festival in 2015 and CBDNA in 2014. While a student at Miami, he played with the Frost Symphonic Winds, Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Trombone Choir, and XJB Jazz Band.  As a Stamps Distinguished Ensemble Scholar and member of the Stamps Brass Quintet at the Frost School of Music, Chris studied and performed at the 2015 Atlantic Brass Seminar and shared the stage with Boston Brass at Festival Miami 2015.  During his time with the Stamps Brass Quintet, he premiered several new chamber works by composers such as D. Scott Stinson and Charles Mason.

Chris has also spent a lot of time teaching music. In summer 2018, he interned with the Learning Community department of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, in which he assisted with the planning and implementation of their musical and educational programs for students of all ages.  Chris has worked on the staff at the Cathedral High School band camp for the past three years, and he spent four years as a 2-on-1 Mentor in the Shalala MusicReach program at the Frost School of Music, in which he taught weekly music lessons to area youth.