The 2020 elections process is underway. Below are the candidates for each position along with links to their CVs and a statement from each to introduce themselves and describe what they believe they can bring to the HBS in the position for with they are running. Candidates are displayed in the order in which they applied for the position.
For more details on the responsibilities for each position you may view a summary of all elective positions, major staff positions and committee descriptions here and, for further detail on the structure and procedures of the HBS, you may click here to review the revised By-Laws of the Historic Brass Society.
In addition to the candidates below, members will be asked to adopt the revised By-Laws of the Historic Brass Society which has been completely revised by the Board.
Elections will be held online with an email sent out at the end of October to each member who has a paid membership for the 2020 membership year as of October 17th, 2020. The email will contain a unique link and code and each member may only vote once. (Institutional subcriptions do not have voting rights.)
Candidate Listing
Latest Revision: 10/17/2020 - FINAL
Click on the name to view the candidate's profile and candidacy statement which are listed lower on this page in the Candidate Profiles section.
All terms begin January 1, 2021.
Vice President
Normally serves two years and then automatically becomes President for another two years, but this Vice President will only serve one year as Vice President before becoming President. The Vice President is a member of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors.
Bryan Proksch
Stanley Curtis
Secretary
The Secretary serves a term of two years and may run for reelection. The Secretary is a member of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors.
Joanna Hersey
Board of Directors (2 Positions Open)
There are a total of nine members of the Board of Directors including four officers (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer) and five At Large members. At Large Board members serve terms of three years and may run for reelection for one additional term.
Michael O'Connor
Robert Murray
Adrian von Steiger
Anneke Scott
Mathias Wiedmann
Candidate Profiles
Vice President
Bryan Proksch
| Title and Institution: | Associate Professor of Music History and Literature Lamar University |
| Link to CV: | Click to view CV |
Candidacy Statement
Thank you for considering me for the office of vice president (president-elect) of the Historic Brass Society. I’ve always felt that the HBS was absolutely key in promoting a part of music history that has traditionally been overlooked: partly brass history in the traditional sense of Renaissance-to-Romantic classical music, but also those areas like bands and jazz in which performers on brass instruments played significant roles. As the HBS’s first elected president, I would of course strive to maintain continuity and the smooth transition of those aspects of the HBS which bind us all as a scholarly community: the high quality of the HBS Journal, our annual meetings and panels in collaboration with other societies, and the camaraderie and sense of purpose that goes with these. At the same time, I feel strongly that the HBS must grow by broadening its appeal and outreach efforts in order to be more open and inviting to the great brass-specific research being done on brass music in the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries both in classical and non-classical genres. One additional area in which I would like to see the HBS direct its efforts is to be more supportive of graduate students and young scholars. To that end, I would work with the board to find ways to dedicate a portion of our annual budget to support student travel and research (much like the American Musical Instrument Society did for me when I was still an undergraduate!) and to institute a student paper award to recognize new generations of up-and-coming scholars. While these initiatives may be somewhat outside of the HBS’s traditional “comfort zone,” I believe that they would make both our society and our chosen field stronger.
I have spent over twenty years working in the field of brass history, in both the traditional Baroque/Classical realm and American bands. Besides my two books (one on Haydn, one on Sousa) and other publications, four of my essays have appeared in the HBS Journal. Since 2009 I have served as the HBS website/Facebook editor. My experience also includes creating and editing the “Repertoire Corner” for the International Trumpet Guild Journal, which for the past 11 years has published an essay on trumpet history in every issue. I have executive leadership experience in academic societies as well. This includes holding every elected office (from president down) in the Southern Chapter of the American Musicological Society, as well as hosting one of their annual meetings. I have also served on various editorial boards (including the ITGJ), program committees, and as a peer reviewer.
Stanley Curtis
| Title and Institution: | Trumpet Professor Colorado State University U.S. Navy Band (ret.), Trumpet, Archivist |
| Link to CV: | Click to view CV |
Candidacy Statement
Dear Members of the Historic Brass Society,
I would like to formally enter my name for consideration for the new position of Vice President.
I became interested in early brass when my first trumpet teacher let me try out a Meinl & Lauber baroque trumpet that had been hanging on his wall. Later on, highlights of my doctoral studies at Indiana University were playing with the Baroque Orchestra under Stanley Ritchie, doing independent study in Rick Seraphinoff’s workshop and participating in the first international baroque trumpet-making workshop.
Currently, I am the trumpet professor at Colorado State University having retired from a 20-year career in the U.S. Navy Band, where, in addition to my performing and leadership roles, I also served as an archivist, helping to organize and preserve documents and to publicly spotlight the history of the U.S. Navy Band on social media. Before joining the Navy Band, I studied baroque trumpet under Friedemann Immer in the Netherlands on a Fulbright Scholarship.
I have been active in the HBS for decades, contributing newsletter articles and attending conferences and symposiums. Although I have enjoyed academic research, my main focus has been as a performer on cornetto, baroque trumpet, keyed trumpet, cornopean and the Victorian-era cornet. I also served for six years as the chair of the Historic Division of the National Trumpet Competition, where I worked closely with the HBS for sponsorship.
As we transition to a new time period for the HBS, there is an opportunity to be visionary and listen to new ideas from all the membership. The Historic Brass Society is a bridge between research related to and performance on historic brass instruments, and I believe if we nourished more performance-oriented projects, we would realize a broader and younger interest in our society. Performance competitions on historic instruments would be of great interest to students. In addition, the HBS can encourage more scholarship and interest in historic lip-blown instruments from cultures all over the world. I also feel it is important to develop policies that will help it run smoothly and successfully, even as new people take up leadership roles.
I am interested in helping the HBS expand its membership, especially with younger and more diverse members, and I would like to help the HBS continue to develop its image of vitality and authority in the brass and early music communities. I believe that the Historic Brass Society has given us all a sense of what the “authentic” can be in early brass. I hope to help continue this tradition as vice president.
Stanley Curtis, D.M.
Assistant Professor of Trumpet
School of Music, Theater and Dance
Colorado State University
Principal Trumpet, Fort Collins Symphony
trumpetjourney.com
Candidates for Secretary
Joanna Hersey
| Title and Institution: | Professor of Tuba and Euphonium The University of North Carolina at Pembroke |
| Link to CV: | Click to view CV |
Candidacy Statement
Dear Historic Brass Society,
Please allow me to self-nominate for the office of Secretary of the Historic Brass Society. I have enjoyed membership in this organization, beginning with the attendance of my first HBS conference in 2008, where I had the honor of presenting. Since then, I have continued the work which I first shared at that event in New Orleans, researching and publishing about female brass players and their role in our history of American music. As a military veteran, university professor, and non-profit leader, I am fully prepared to help in this crucial role.
As shown on my CV, my experience leading teams and managing programs began in the United States Coast Guard. There, during my seven years of service as Principal Tubist of the USCG Band, in addition to my duties as a performing artist, I directed Tour Operation Teams nationwide, handling all aspects of the band’s military travel operations. I also led yearly community engagement programs for the band, which brought more than five thousand students onto our Connecticut base over the span of one week and entailed me overseeing a vast array of logistical details and record keeping.
Here at UNC Pembroke, I apply my administrative, leadership, and collaborative skills both on campus and beyond. In our Department of Music I serve as Instrumental Coordinator, leading nineteen instrumental faculty. As President of the International Women’s Brass Conference, I head a staff of five, raise funds and assist with grant writing, manage all aspects of the organization, and spearhead a range of events. Currently in my fourth year as President, I lead the IWBC Board of Directors, a twenty member group, and chair the Marketing and Awards Committees. My longstanding work in the field of diversity and inclusion encompasses, among other things, publications and global engagements as a speaker. I have always felt a kinship towards the HBS, and a profound gratitude for the opportunities given to me by the conference and the journal when I was starting out in academia. I look forward to the possibility of assisting the HBS, and giving back in service to our strong brass playing community.
Sincerely,
Dr. Joanna Ross Hersey
President, International Women’s Brass Conference
Professor of Tuba and Euphonium: The University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Yamaha Artist, Tuba and Euphonium
http://www.joannahersey.com
Candidates for Director (2 Positions Open)
Michael O'Connor
| Title and Institution: | Palm Beach Atlantic University |
| Link to CV: | Click to view CV |
Candidacy Statement
The Historic Brass Society was been an important organization during my training as an historical musicologist and performer of historic brass music. I met many of my dearest friends at HBS events and I regard the work that past leaders have done with the very highest regard. Now that I am well into my career, I feel a desire to give back to that organization in a leadership position.
My qualifications, I believe, are well suited to the post for which I nominate myself. I was the founder and have been the president of Vintage Wind Bands, Inc for four years, I founded and served as president and treasurer (different years) of the Orchid City Brass Band, and have served in leadership positions at my university and in community organizations.
In addition to my leadership experience, I have a solid track record in published scholarship in music history, and over the past 10 years, I have turned my efforts exclusively to historical brass subjects, producing articles and scholarship-based recordings of 19th-century American brass band music. As a result, I have been invited on two podcasts to discuss this topic, published in the International Trumpet Guild Journal and presented at the Society for American Music. Additionally, I have served the HBS in the past as content and layout editor of the old Newsletter and I was the first editor of the content on the HBS website. I also contributed a number of recording and book reviews for these publications and the HBS Journal.
Finally, I feel I already have a good working relationship with President Nussbaum and other members of the Board and Editors. It would be an honor to serve with them in the effort to grow and further develop the service of the HBS.
Thank you again for this opportunity to self-nominate for a position with the HBS. I am available to discuss this with the committee at their convenience if requested.
Sincerely,
Michael O’Connor, PhD
Palm Beach Atlantic University
Robert Murray
| Title and Institution: | Professor of Trumpet Columbus State University |
| Link to CV: | Click to view CV |
Candidacy Statement
I am very interested in serving as a board member of the Historic Brass Society as I have long valued the activities of this organization. In my experiences of attending conferences of the HBS and presenting at those meetings I have always been inspired and intellectually stimulated by the level of research and scholarship of the membership. My desire to serve on the board is driven by my belief in the organization’s goals and my hopes for the HBS to continue to grow and thrive given the current circumstances we live in. Of particular interest to me is to foster more engagement in the HBS by both undergraduate and graduate students through an increased social media presence and virtual offerings that would provide instruction and encouragement for students to pursue research and performance in an historical context. As the curator of the International Trumpet Guild Archives at Columbus State University (Georgia) since 2014 I have found that my own students are genuinely thrilled and excited to have the opportunity to participate in the ongoing preservation, performance and research available to them with the music collections and recordings contained in the archives and in several cases have found these to be a springboard for ongoing scholarly pursuits. I am confident that this is not a unique situation and that other students throughout the world would be motivated to pursue similar activities if the HBS swung the door wide open for student engagement and learning.
Thank you for your consideration of my candidacy for a board position.
Respectfully submitted,
Rob Murray
Adrian v. Steiger
| Title and Institution: | Hochschule der Künste Bern Forschungsinstitut Interpretation |
| Link to CV: | Click to view CV |
Candidacy Statement
I hereby submit my candidacy for the HBS board of directors. As a worldwide organization for brass-focused musicians, scientists and instrument makers, the HBS is of great importance in terms of networking, exchange (concerts, scientific results, instruments) and communication to an interested audience. The fact that the HBS has achieved this importance is a great merit of all the previous players since its foundation. The HBS journal is today one of the central publications on brass instruments.
I would see my possible role on the Board of Directors as a contact to Continental Europe on the one hand, and as a mediator for HBS events on the other. I am a researcher at the Bern University of the Arts and have specialized in topics relating to 19th century wind instruments (such as repertoire, organology, materiality, production of replica). I also teach organology. I am director of the "Klingendes Museum Bern" and curator of its programme and exhibitions. Its collection comprises over 1000 wind instruments from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Some have been restored and are available to professional musicians for experience on historical instruments. Also against the background of this collection, I consider historical performance practice and research important, covering all musical styles from military music, amateur music, jazz to opera and concert. It seems important to me that the HBS preserves this broad thematic spectrum as it has been cultivated up to now.
In Bern we conduct a series of conferences, "International Romantic Brass Symposium", two of them were organized in collaboration with HBS. Furthermore, I have actively participated in the HBS Symposia in New York 2012 and 2017 and conferences in Europe, which were held in collaboration with the HBS. So far I was allowed to publish three articles in the HBS Journal. As an active musician I have played many concerts in chamber music ensembles, though I am not specialized in historical instruments.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Adrian v. Steiger
Anneke Scott
| Title and Institution: | Principal horn in numerous ensembles including:
Extensive solo and chamber music work Co-director of the Prince Regents Band Co-director of Boxwood and Brass Several current teaching positions at universities and colleges of music |
| Link to CV: | Click to view CV |
Candidacy Statement
Dear friends and colleagues,
I would very much like to submit my candidacy for the Historic Brass Society board of directors.
It has been my pleasure to be involved with numerous HBS events over the last few years and and I would warmly welcome the opportunity to offer my services in helping shape the future for the society as part of the expanded board of directors.
My main field of activity is as a horn player specialising in historically informed performance. I am principal horn of a number of leading international ensembles and have a busy solo and chamber music career. My repertoire stretches from the earliest baroque horn works right through to the twentieth century as well as new compositions for our old instruments. This successful performing career would not have been possible without access to the great body of knowledge that the world-wide community of players, researchers, makers and many others associated with HBS have created, shaped and disseminated.
The breath and depth of knowledge that as an organisation hold is incredible. My collection of old HBS journals and other HBS publications is often my first port of call on any new project. However, I would argue that we need to be looking as to how to reach out to a much wider community of people who share our passions for the very many aspects of “historic brass”. I am really pleased to hear of the new “online publication” initiative and believe that this is a good step towards making HBS more visible. As a tail-end “generation Xer” I suspect I could potentially be one of the younger voices on the board and think this would be a valuable aspect in the society developing in the future.
Yours sincerely,
Anneke Scott
Mathias Wiedmann
| Title and Institution: | Metallblasinstrumentenmacher, Berlin-Pankow, Germany |
| Link to CV: | Click to view CV |
Candidacy Statement
Since I engaged into my career as a brass instrument maker almost ten years ago, I have always been fascinated by the world of historic brass instruments, either by their particular sounds, the ingenious variety of specimens or just the incredible craftsmanship. I very much appreciate the Historic Brass Society for it's power of gathering such a diverse mix of very curious people around a common goal, free of commercial interests.
As a member of the board of directors I would like to give more attention to the instrument makers perspective and encourage more of my colleagues to contribute in a way or other to the society, since I believe it would be of great benefit to both sides.
Just let me mention one aspect out many: The growing interest in the repertoire of romantic brass literature puts some pressure on the market of the instruments from that period, which still can be encountered more or less easily. These instruments therefore won't pass through the careful hands of a properly trained conservator but are more likely to be taken to an average brass shop, who's owner might not always be fully aware of the historic value these artifacts represent, therefore carrying out his repair work in a more economic way. In our workshop we already have seen a couple of late 19th century instruments treated in a not so adequate way. Since prevention is always cheaper than remedy, I enrolled into conservation studies this semester, in order to elaborate practical guidelines of conservationalist good practices, that could be incorporated by any average brass instrument workshop, therefore contributing into preserving our cultural heritage. I wished the HBS could serve as a mean to achieve this goal.
Kind regards and thanks for considering my candidature,
Mathias Wiedmann
