ITA Election Results 2008

The 2008 Election results for First Vice President, Second Vice President and positions on the ITA Board of Advisors have been announced by the ITA Governance Committee. Elections were held according to the newly revised Constitution & Bylaws. All positions commence in May 2008 at the ITA Annual General Meeting, May 28, in Salt Lake City.

1st Vice President - Jiggs Whigham

Jiggs Whigham is an internationally acclaimed trombonist, band leader and educator. Born Oliver Haydn Whigham III (the nickname Jiggs was given by his grandfather) in Cleveland, Ohio on August 20, 1943, he first came to the attention of critics and fans at age 17 as featured soloist and first trombonist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, directed by Ray McKinley. Two years later he was first and solo trombonist with Stan Kenton. Following a year of studio and Broadway musical engagements in New York, he became featured soloist with the Kurt Edelhagen Jazz Orchestra at the West German Broadcasting Company in Cologne, Germany in 1965. In 1966 his was awarded 1st Prize at the first competition for Modern Jazz in Vienna.
In 1979 he was named professor and head of the Jazz Department at Cologne University College of Music, the first appointment of its kind in Germany. In 1995 he was named “Professor for Life” and head of the Jazz- Popular Music Department at the “Hanns Eisler” College of Music in Berlin. From 2000-2001 he was visiting professor at Indiana University. He was bandleader of the Swiss Radio Band (Radio DRS) from 1984-1986. From 1995-2000 he was chief conductor and artistic director of the Berlin Radio Orchestra (RIAS Big Band Berlin).
Whigham is currently a soloist and clinician worldwide, conductor of the BBC Big Band in Great Britain, artistic director of the Berlin Jazz Orchestra, visiting professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and visiting tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. He is a lifetime member and general advisor to the International Trombone Association, British Trombone Society and the German Trombone Society. He is also a lifetime member of the IAJE (International Association of Jazz Educators), and a clinician for the Conn-Selmer Company. Whigham is author of the new book Jazz Trombone (Edition Schott - ED 12710)

2nd Vice President - Jörgen van Rijen

Jörgen van Rijen studied with George Wiegel at the Rotterdam Conservatory, where he finished his solo degree with the highest possible mark, 10 summa cum laude. He continued his studies with Michel Becquet at the Conservatoire National Supèrieur de Musique de Lyon, where he also studied baroque trombone with Daniel Lasalle. In addition he attended lessons and master classes with artists such as Christian Lindberg, Joseph Alessi, Jay Friedman, bassoonist Brian Pollard and cellist Anner Bijlsma.
Since 1997 van Rijen has been principal trombonist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, of which he was the youngest member for several years. Previously he held the same position with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. He teaches trombone at the Rotterdam Conservatory.
In 2004 he was awarded the prestigious Netherlands Music Prize, the highest distinction in the field of music from the Dutch Ministry of Culture. This prize was presented by the state secretary of culture during a concert given by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, with which he was performing as the soloist in the trombone concerto ‘SOLO’ by Luciano Berio. In 2006 van Rijen received the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. This prestigious international award is presented yearly by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust to a selection of the most promising and talented young soloists and ensembles. Van Rijen also won other prizes, including first prize at international trombone competitions in Toulon (France) in 2001 and Guebwiller (France) in 1999.
Van Rijen has become a well-known soloist and teacher both at home and abroad. He has given recitals and master classes in most European countries and in the United States, Japan and Australia, including the conservatories of Paris, Toronto, Sydney, San Francisco, Tokyo and the Juilliard School. He has appeared as a soloist with various orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
Various composers such as Jan van Vlijmen, Martijn Padding, Florian Maier and Jacob ter Veldhuis have written solos for van Rijen, and in 2007 he premiered a trombone concerto by Theo Verbey with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.
Van Rijen is an active chamber musician in ensembles such as the Ebony Band, the New Trombone Collective and the Brass of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO brass). He was one of the founders of the New Trombone Collective and the RCO Brass, and he is artistic leader of both ensembles.

Board of Advisors (2008-2011)

Joseph Alessi

Joseph Alessi was appointed principal trombonist of the New York Philharmonic in the spring of 1985. He began musical studies in his native California with his father, Joseph Alessi, Sr. and continued his musical training at the Curtis Institute of Music. In April 1990 he made his solo debut with the New York Philharmonic, performing Creston’s Fantasy for Trombone, and in 1992 premiered Christopher Rouse’s Pulitzer Prizewinning Trombone Concerto with the Philharmonic. His most recent appearance with the Philharmonic as soloist was in world premiere performances of Melinda Wagner’s Trombone Concerto in February of 2007. Recently, Alessi appeared as guest soloist with the Helsinki Philharmonic and the Hartford Symphony. In 2002 Alessi was awarded an International Trombone Association Award for his contributions to the world of trombone music and trombone playing. He is a clinician for the Edwards Instrument Co and has recorded extensively for Summit Records and the Naxos label.

Peter Ellefson

Peter Ellefson is currently on the faculty of Indiana University, Northwestern University, and Roosevelt University, and he is “Second in Command” of the Alessi Seminar. He has also served on the faculty of the Music Academy of the West and has taught at the University of Costa Rica, where he collaborated with his former students of The Trombones de Costa Rica. In addition to his rigorous teaching schedule, Peter Ellefson is also in demand as an orchestra/chamber musician, performing with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Chicago Chamber Musicians, Chicago Brass Quintet, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, New York Philharmonic Brass Quintet and Proteus 7. He has contributed articles to the ITA Journal and was included in the recent publication, Brass Player’s Cookbook. Peter Ellefson notes that he is the product of great teachers and feels a great responsibility to pass along such knowledge.

Robin Eubanks

Robin Eubanks graduated cum laude from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, with a degree in jazz studies. On the international jazz scene for 27 years, he has toured Europe, Asia and South America over 250 times collectively. He has recorded or toured with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Elvin Jones, Eddie Palmieri, McCoy Tyner, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Rolling Stones, Slide Hampton and JJ Johnson, to name a few. A member of Dave Holland’s Quintet and Big Band since their inception, he has received three Grammy Awards for recordings with Dave Holland and Michael Brecker respectively. Eubanks is a tenured professor at the Oberlin College Conservatory and is on the faculty at New England Conservatory. He has also been on the faculty at New York University and the Manhattan School of Music. In 2002 Robin was the recipient of a Chamber Music America Composition Grant and was also awarded an IAJE/ASCAP Composers Grant in 2003. A multiple winner in the Downbeat Critics Poll, he was named 2006 Trombonist of the Year by Jazz Times magazine.

Mark Fisher

Mason City, Iowa native Mark Fisher is the assistant principal trombonist with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and serves the Santa Fe Opera as principal trombonist. Fisher has performed with virtually every major ensemble in Chicago and as a substitute with many of the nation’s leading orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony. An accomplished euphoniumist, he is a past prize winner of numerous international solo competitions, and his solo CD Eufish continues to meet with worldwide acclaim. Head of the trombone department at DePaul University, Fisher has presented recitals and masterclasses throughout the U.S., Canada and Japan. He has served on the faculties of Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, Roosevelt University, Northern Illinois University and the Banff International Festival. He is an honors graduate of both the University of Northern Iowa and the New England Conservatory of Music.

John Kitzman

John Kitzman, principal trombonist of the Dallas Symphony, joined the orchestra in 1972. He received his bachelor of music degree from the University of Michigan. He has recorded extensively with the Dallas Symphony for RCA, Telarc, Angel, Pro Arte, Dorian, and Delos, with more than 50 recordings on those labels and a solo CD on Crystal Records. He has performed with the Boston Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony, the World Philharmonic and toured with the Summit Brass Ensemble. He has soloed with the Dallas Symphony, the Amarillo Symphony, the West Point Band, and throughout the United States. He has been a guest faculty member at Baylor University and the University of North Texas, and he is currently an adjunct professor of trombone at Southern Methodist University. Many of his students have won jobs in orchestras in the United States and abroad. John Kitzman has studied with Henry Smith of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Ed Herman of the NY Philharmonic and Per Brevig of the Metropolitan Opera. While at Tanglewood he won the Spaulding Prize for the Outstanding Instrumentalist of the season.

Jeannie Little

A graduate of both Northwestern University and The Florida State University, Jeannie Little is the trombone professor at Louisiana State University. She has served as principal trombonist of numerous orchestras, and has performed with the Detroit, Honolulu, Alabama, Chautauqua, and New Mexico Symphony Orchestras. In addition, she has toured and recorded with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Bernstein. She was a founding member of the trombone quartet, PRISMA, which has performed throughout the United States and Europe. Little is a frequent recitalist and clinician, with recent performances at the International Trombone Festival, the International Women’s Brass Conference, the Eastern Trombone Workshop, Trombone Day LA 2005, the Oberlin Conservatory, and the Arizona Low Brass Symposium. She has also appeared as guest conductor and performer in the International Women’s Trombone Choir at the International Trombone Festival. She has taught at James Madison University, the University of Hawaii, the Interlochen Arts Academy, and as a music specialist with the Los Angeles Unified School District.

David A. Schwartz

David. A. Schwartz is a retired bond analyst and portfolio manager located in suburban Boston. An amateur trombonist, at age fifteen he became a charter member of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras. His teachers include John Coffey and Kauko Kahila. He has served as treasurer and board member of the Boston Security Analysts Society and as president of the Cambridge Society for Early Music which, like the ITA, runs performance competitions. Currently he is a board member of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras. In retirement he has published his own transcriptions for trombone of The Bordogni Vocalises, which include accompaniment CD’s. Schwartz earned degrees from Amherst College (A.B. in American Studies) and Dartmouth College (MBA) and he holds the CFA designation from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts.

Bart van Lier

Bart van Lier has been a freelance trombonist in The Netherlands since 1968. He has an extensive performing background, having played with such groups as the Netherlands Jazz Orchestra, the Slide Hampton Trombone Quartet, the Mel Lewis-Joe Haider Big Band, Peter Herbolzheimer’s Big Band, and the Skymasters, to name a few. He was appointed first trombonist and soloist of the Metropole Orchestra in 1992, and since 1990 his own groups Bart’s Bones and Trio Bart van Lier have been performing for the Nederland Impresariaat. He teaches trombone at the Hilversum Conservatory, The Hague Conservatory, and the Rotterdam Conservatory. Since 1994 van Lier has designed several models of trombones for Kühnl & Hoyer, all of which bear his name. He has also written a technique book, Coordination Training Program for Trombone Playing. He has toured and presented workshops throughout the world, including Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Hungary, the UK, India, Japan, and the United States. He has numerous recordings to his credit.