Twin Cities Trombone Day at Schmitt Music Brooklyn Center

Dr. Scott Agster has 15 years of experience teaching in higher education including: Assistant Ensemble Department Head at McNally Smith College of Music, Adjunct Professor of Low Brass at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Adjunct Professor of Low Brass and Jazz Band at Concordia University, and Adjunct Professor of Jazz History at Normandale Community College.  During this time, Dr. Agster taught college courses in: Applied Trombone, Improvisation, Ensembles, Arranging, Finale, Conducting, Pedagogy, Ear Training, Keyboard, Jazz History, and Music Appreciation.  He also teaches private low brass lessons at Mount Olivet School of Music.
  
Dr. Scott Agster remains active as a clinician, guest artist, and educational leader.  He most recently held the positions of Jazz Honor Band Site Coordinator for the Minnesota Band Directors Association and MMEA All State Jazz Band as a Section Coach. He has also performed at many educational outreach events as a guest artist, clinician, and adjudicator.  Dr. Agster’s mission is to provide high quality music education to students of all ages and ability levels.
 
Dr. Scott Agster is also an active performer.  He is currently a full-time member of several bands including: Salsa del Soul, Nooky Jones, Jack Brass Band, Twin Cities Stompers, Snowblind Jazz Quintet, and the Explosion Big Band.  He has had the opportunity to perform and work with many acclaimed artists and groups such as: The Doc Severinsen Orchestra, The One O’clock Lab Band, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, The JazzMN Big Band, Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, Dave Douglas, Phil Woods, Nicholas Payton, Sheila E., Pinetop Perkins, Aaron Neville, Kenny Loggins, Slide Hampton and Trombone Shorty.  Dr. Agster has also participated in pit orchestras at the Ordway Center, Children’s Theater Company, and the History Theater.

Dr. Agster earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Trombone Performance from the University of Minnesota.  He also holds a Master of Music in Trombone Performance and a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of North Texas.

Scott Moore’s performance career includes hundreds of performances with professional ensembles, from brass chamber ensembles to world-class orchestras. Before joining the faculty at Gustavus Adolphus College he taught at universities in Ohio and was bass trombonist of the Dayton Philharmonic.

Dr. Moore enjoys thinking and writing on topics of trombone pedagogy, musicianship, and mindset. The most important idea for his students to learn is the joy of creating excellent and original work. 

Moore is the only bass trombonist to have studied at the Juilliard School’s Professional Studies program and holds Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Dr. Karl Wiederwohl teaches low brass and conducts brass ensembles at the MacPhail Center for Music. He encourages his students to learn to teach themselves, so that they can develop the self-mastery to succeed in all endeavors. His students who have “left the nest” can be found pursuing their dreams at the U.S. Naval Academy and Eastman School of Music and can be heard subbing with the Cleveland Orchestra.

Previously Karl has served as the bass trombonist of the New World Symphony and as acting bass trombonist of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Karl’s freelance work has ranged from recording jingles for Japanese television to subbing with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Primarily a bass trombonist, Karl has also done doubling work on euphonium, tenor trombone, contrabass trombone and bass trumpet with ensembles including the Wolf Trap Opera, New World Symphony, and National Gallery Orchestra. Karl has enjoyed performing under many notable conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas, Franz Welser-Möst and Osmo Vänskä.

Andrew Chappell joined the Minnesota Orchestra as bass trombonist in fall 2014. He previously was bass trombonist of the Rochester Philharmonic, the Santa Fe Opera and the New World Symphony. He performs regularly with the Burning River Brass ensemble and the Slap-Happy Whackamole Steam Gang.

Chappell, a San Francisco native, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Oberlin College and Rice University, respectively. He earned a degree in hard knocks from teaching 40 middle school trombonists private lessons for two years. Chappell has performed with orchestras including the Houston Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Finnish Radio Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Nörkopping Symphony, Toronto Symphony and the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, as well as with the revival of Les Miserables and with singer-songwriter Feist at the ceremony for Canada’s Juno Awards. He also performed under the baton of Carol Channing for his high school’s 100-year anniversary.

Chappell lives in South Minneapolis with his partner, Kristen Bruya, principal bass of the Minnesota Orchestra. Together they enjoy hiking, camping, cooking, climbing and watching baseball.

A native of Sahalahti, Finland, Kari Sundström joined the Minnesota Orchestra in 1996 after having been a member of the Helsinki Philharmonic.

Sundström graduated from the Juilliard School of Music, where he studied with Per Brevig. From 1990 to 1995 he performed as a member of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra in Finland and served as professor of trombone at the Tampere Conservatory. In 1991 Sundström was named Finland’s brass player of the year.

R. Douglas Wright, the Minnesota Orchestra’s principal trombone since 1995, was featured as soloist in April 2007 in Kalevi Aho’s Symphony No. 9 for Trombone and Orchestra, which he reprised during summer 2008. Wright has performed a variety of trombone concertos with the Orchestra, and in 2002 gave the world premiere performances of Kurt Schwertsik’s Trombone Concerto, a work written for him. He is active as a solo recitalist and chamber musician, performing regularly in the Orchestra’s Sommerfest chamber concert. In April 2011 he performed James Stephenson’s Sonata for Trombone and Piano on the Orchestra’s Chamber Music at MacPhail series.

In addition to his Minnesota Orchestra performances, since 2005 Wright has been performing concerts around the world with the World Orchestra for Peace, an ensemble of musicians from 40 different countries, conducted by Valery Gergiev. Prior to joining the Minnesota Orchestra he was a member of the Empire Brass Quintet, performing concerts and teaching master classes around the world. He has served as principal trombone of the Cleveland Orchestra, assistant principal trombone of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, second trombone of the Boston Pops Orchestra and principal trombone of the Rhode Island Philharmonic.   

Wright received his training at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Norman Bolter. He holds a master’s degree from Boston University, where he formerly served as adjunct professor of trombone. A committed educator and Selmer clinician, Wright has given recitals and master classes throughout the United States and abroad. Since 2012 he has been on faculty at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. 

Wright’s work is heard on recordings of the Minnesota Orchestra, Boston Pops and Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Empire Brass. In a brief departure from his concert and orchestral role, he appeared in an MTV music video with the rock group Aerosmith.