Brass
Thomas barber
trumpet/jazz Director
Thomas has been active as both a trumpeter and composer since graduating The Julliard School in 2004. As a composer, he has written scores for over twenty independent films and t.v. shows. As a freelance trumpeter, he has performed with Paul Simon, Brian Blade, Joe Locke, Steve Wilson, Slide Hampton, Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Esperanza Spalding, Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Carla Cook, Tom Harrell, Nasheet Waits, and many more.After he won both the Lionel Hampton High School Trumpet Competition and the International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition in Gothenborg, Sweden in 1997, he attended the University of Northern Colorado, graduating with a degree in classical trumpet performance. While at UNC, Thomas had opportunities to play with many of the musicians who passed through, including Louie Bellson, Pete Fountain, Nicholas Payton, Maria Schneider, Bob Brookmeyer, Conrad Herwig and Kenny Wheeler.
Thomas resides in Portland and is a member of the funk/ soul group Dirty Revival, which tours the country year round.
Leander Star
french horn instructor
Leander serves as the horn instructor at both Rhodes College and the University of Mississippi at Oxford and is a member of the award-winning wind quintet the City of Tomorrow. The City of Tomorrow was awarded the Gold Medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2011 and later received a Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant in 2014. Leander also holds positions with the Oregon Ballet Theater Orchestra and the Portland Opera Orchestra and plays regularly with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the IRIS Orchestra in Germantown, Tennessee, and the Arkansas Symphony in Little Rock. He is a graduate of San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Northwestern University. More info at leanderstar.com.
KARLA ROJAS
LOW BRASS INSTRUCTOR
Karla is the co-principal trombone with the Miami City Ballet, principal trombone at Punta Gorda Symphony and trombone professor at Luzerne Music Festival in New York. Ms. Rojas has played one season as second trombone with the Naples Philharmonic, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, New Orleans Opera and the National Symphony of Costa Rica.
As a soloist and chamber musician, Karla has performed with many organizations and ensembles throughout the USA and Latin America including the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica and the Punta Gorda Brass Quintet.
Karla has been a private student of Massimo La Rosa and also was a student of Michel Becquet in the Caracas Conservatory. She was a participant in the Michael Mulcahy Trombone Performance Masterclass at Northwestern University,
Karla obtained her bachelors degree from the National Institute of Music in Costa Rica with Humberto Vaglio and her masters degree from Loyola University School of Music with Richard Erb.