Voting on the ballot for the 2023-2026 ITA Officers and Board of Advisors is now closed and results have been tabulated. The ITA Standing Committee on Governance is honored to report to you the elected 2023-2026 ITA Officers and Board of Advisors. The three-year term for the below slate of officers and advisors will start at the next ITA Annual General Meeting in summer July 2023.
Thank you to our current Officers and Board of Advisors for their leadership and contributions to the Association for the past 3 years. Also, thank you to each of the candidates that appeared on the ballot and were willing to serve if elected.
Respectfully submitted,
Ben McIlwain
Chair, ITA Standing Committee on Governance
2023-2026 Officers
Carol Jarvis, President
Carol Jarvis is a multi-award-winning much in-demand freelance trombonist, session musician, arranger, orchestrator, and voiceover artist. She has appeared as guest principal trombone with most of the UK’s major symphony orchestras and has toured and recorded extensively with a whole host of stars such as Sting, Paloma Faith, Seal, MUSE, Daughter, Bon Jovi, and Ellie Goulding.
Carol’s session work features on numerous soundtracks for feature films, advertisements, jingles, albums, and singles, and she regularly performs in London’s West End shows. Her orchestrations have featured on albums at the top of the UK and US billboard charts, won the Mercury Music Prize, been recorded at the famous Capitol Studios in Hollywood, and played during The Oscars.
Carol is a past president of the British Trombone Society, is currently the president of the International Trombone Festival Board, and is a Rath trombones endorsed artist.
Megumi Kanda, First Vice President / President Elect
Megumi Kanda, Principal Trombonist of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra since 2002, is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning performer, teacher, and author. As a soloist, she has performed concertos and recitals around the world, including several times with the MSO. Honors received include the ITA Award, the Arion Prize for influential Japanese performers, a Certificate of Commendation from the consul general of Japan in Chicago, and being named a Woman of Influence by the Milwaukee Business Journal in the category of education. She is a champion of new works for the trombone, having commissioned and premiered many pieces. She has recorded 3 CDs: Amazing Grace, Gloria, and Mona Lisa. Her two books, The One Hundred and Trombone Unlimited, are widely used by trombonists throughout the world. A native of Tokyo, Japan, Megumi was the grand prize winner of the Japanese Trombone Competition in 1993.
Dr. David Begnoche, Second Vice President
Dr. David Begnoche is Associate Professor of Trombone at the TCU School of Music and maintains an active performing calendar with groups throughout the U.S. and abroad. His extensive professional performing experience includes titled positions with the Joffrey Ballet Orchestra (Chicago), Sarasota Opera (FL), Albany Symphony (NY), Spoleto Festival Orchestra (Italy), Charleston Symphony Orchestra (SC) and AIMS Festival Orchestra (Austria). He has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and has recorded with the Boston Pops under John Williams. Dr. Begnoche has served as ITA Affiliates Manager, AIM Membership Coordinator and chair of the ITA Competitions Committee. He has been active in the commissioning of solo and chamber works for trombone and has published articles in the ITA Journal, the Brass Herald, and the American Composers Forum.Dr. Begnoche holds degrees from University of North Texas (DMA), the Manhattan School of Music (MM) and the New England Conservatory of Music (BM).
Chris Shook, Secretary-Treasurer
Chris is President of the Jim Gilmore, Jr. Foundation, a position held since the Foundation’s beginning in 2012 and has worked for the Gilmore companies since 1974. Previously, he was Executive Vice President of Gilmore Enterprises Corporation, managing the multi-state real estate arm of the organization. Chris has a Bachelor of Music degree in performance and music education from Western Michigan University and a Master of Music degree from Northern Michigan University as well as continuing education in property management from the Institute of Real Estate Management. Recently retired from the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra after 30 years as Principal Trombone, Chris performs with church ensembles and other chamber groups. Chris is married to Kathy, a cellist in the Kalamazoo Symphony. They have 3 grown children. He is currently Board Chair of the Kalamazoo Cultural Center; a member of the New Year’s Fest; and Vice President of the Oakland Drive Winchell Neighborhood Association; Board Chair, Fontana Chamber Arts; and Secy./Treasurer, International Trombone Association and President of the Kalamazoo Federation of Musicians, Local 228. Chris has served as Chair of the Downtown Development Authority and Downtown Kalamazoo Incorporated as well as the Kalamazoo Downtown Partnership and miscellaneous Downtown Committees. He is also a member of St. Augustine Cathedral Parish and the Rotary Club of Kalamazoo.
Jacques Mauger, Immediate Past President
Jacques Mauger was born in Normandy and studied the trombone at the Regional
Conservatoire in Rouen and subsequently at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. A prize-winner at international competitions in Markneukirchen and Toulon, he started his professional career as first trombone with the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra, and then became trombone soloist with the Paris Opera Orchestra.
2023-2026 Board of Advisors
Heather Buchman
Heather Buchman is director of the Hamilton College Orchestra and chair of the Music Department. She performs regularly as conductor and trombonist with the Society for New Music and Symphoria. She was a finalist in the American Prize for Conducting, College and University Division. She served as Principal Trombonist of the San Diego Symphony from 1988-1997. She won prizes at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, Germany and the New York Philharmonic Young Artists Concerto Competition. She has given solo and concerto performances with the National Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Canton Symphony, Bay Area Women’s Philharmonic, and the International Trombone Festival; and has appeared with Chicago Music of the Baroque.She is a member of the Hohenfels Trombone Quartet, which tours and performs throughout New York State. She is president of the board of the Society for New Music, and has been instrumental in numerous premiere performances and collaborations in chamber opera, music theatre, dance, and multimedia. She studied conducting at the Juilliard School and University of Michigan, and did her bachelor’s degree in trombone performance at the Eastman School of Music. Reflecting her professional work and interests, Buchman has studied ballet since 2013. Her recent work is focused on the music of women and underrepresented composers.
Michael Dease
Michael Dease is one of the world’s eminent trombonists, lending his versatile sound and signature improvisations to over 200 recordings and groups as diverse as David Sanborn, Christian McBride, and Alicia Keys. In 2001, Deasemoved to New York City to become part of the historic first class of jazz students at The Juilliard School, earning both Bachelors and Masters degrees, and quickly established a reputation as a brilliant soloist and collaborator. Dease, the winner of the 69th & 70th Annual DownBeat Magazine Poll for Trombonist of the Year serves as Professor of Jazz Trombone at Michigan State University. He was the 2018 MASU Distinguished Professor of the Year, and received the MSU Teacher Scholar Award in 2017. He has released 15 critically-acclaimed solo recordings, including 9 on Posi-Tone Records. Many of Dease’s former students enjoy successful careers in the music world. More information available at www.michaeldease.com
Thomas G. Everett
Tom Everett, Director Emeritus of Bands at Harvard and Jazz Advisor to the Office for the Arts, founded the jazz programs at Harvard in 1971. He has also taught at the New England Conservatory, Brown University, the International Trombone Workshop, Indiana University Summer School, and the Franz Liszt Academy (Budapest). As a bass trombonist, Mr. Everett performed with the Bolshoi Ballet, Boston Ballet, Boston Pops, and Boston Opera Orchestras; the Cantata Singers; and the jazz bands of Clark Terry, Phil Wilson, Dizzy Gillespie, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, and Ray Charles. Everett conducted on J.J. Johnson’s 1996 CD, The Brass Orchestra (Verve), which was nominated for three Grammy Awards. A charter member of the International Association of Jazz Educators, Everett is a founder and first president of the International Trombone Association and past president of the New England College Band Association.
Nick Finzer
Nick Finzer is one of the most dynamic musicians of the millennial generation. An award-winning trombonist, composer, producer, entrepreneur, and educator, Finzer is bringing the joy and power of Jazz to traditional fans and the most modern 21st century audiences. He’s on a mission to be a passionate voice defining the sound of Jazz in this age. Never satisfied with just one singular path Finzer can be found on stages all over the world with the likes of the Grammy nominated Anat Cohen Tentet, leading his own band Hear & Now through their most recent critically acclaimed album: Cast of Characters (Outside in Music, 2020), topping Downbeat Magazine’s 2020 “Rising Star Trombone” Category of their Critics Poll, producing albums and videos for his record label Outside in Music, educating the next generation of musicians as the inaugural Assistant Professor of Jazz Trombone at the renowned University of North Texas, and maintaining a robust presence on his YouTube Channel & Social Media sharing resources on trombone, jazz education, and music marketing.
Nozomi Kasano Flatt
Nozomi Kasano Flatt is the bass trombonist for the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra. She also teaches bass trombone at the Elizabeth University of Music in Hiroshima, Japan. She is from Sendai, Japan. After high school she studied at Aichi Prefectural University of the Fine Arts and Music in Nagoya. She received a Master of Music Degree from The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. She was the winner of the Donald Yaxley Bass Trombone Competition at the 2008 ITF in Aarhus, Denmark, placed third at the 32nd Triennial Japan Wind and Percussion Competition, and was a finalist for the Jeju International Brass Competition in 2012. In 2015 she received a grant from the Japanese Government to study Contrabass Trombone in Berlin. Her past teachers include Mamoru Yamada, Mikio Nitta, Nobuyuki Fujisawa, Yoshihisa Obata, Douglas Yeo, and Csaba Wagner.
Matthew Guilford
Matthew Guilford was appointed solo bass trombonist of the National Symphony Orchestra by Mstislav (Slava) Rostropovich in 1991. He has performed with several of America’s leading orchestras including the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, Minnesota Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Symphony.He holds degrees from New England Conservatory, and earned orchestral fellowships to Tanglewood and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute. Guilford has appeared as guest soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, La Orquesta Sinfonica de Santa Fe (Argentina), the U.S. Army Band and Orchestra (Pershing’s Own), The Eastman Wind Ensemble and the Harvard University Band. His solo and chamber music recordings, The Road Not Taken with The Washington Trombone Ensemble and Brass Trios with the University of Maryland Brass Trio have been received to worldwide critical acclaim. Matthew is on faculty at the University of Maryland School of Music in College Park.
Dr. Jeannie Little
Trombonist and conductor Dr. Jeannie Little joined the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra as Principal trombonist, and the Montana State University School of Music in 2015 as Low Brass Professor and Director of the University Band. Dr. Little earned her degrees at the Eastman School of Music, Northwestern University, and Florida State University. Dr. Little’s recent performances and clinics include at the International Trombone Festival, the International Women’s Brass Conference, and the American Trombone Workshop. Orchestral experiences include Principal Trombone of the Bozeman Symphony, Charlottesville Symphony, the Illinois Chamber Symphony, Chicago Sinfonietta, and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she has performed with the Syracuse, Honolulu, Long Beach, Alabama, Chautauqua, New Mexico and Detroit Symphony Orchestras and the Louisiana Philharmonic. Other highlights include touring and recording with the Chicago Symphony under Leonard Bernstein. Previous teaching positions include Trombone Professor at Louisiana State University, James Madison University, and Instructor of Low Brass at the Interlochen Arts Academy and the University of Hawaii.
Dr. Gretchen McNamara
Gretchen McNamara is the Senior Lecturer of Trombone and Music Education at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio where she teaches applied trombone, music education, supervises field placements, and serves as Chief Negotiator of the faculty union represented by the American Association of University Professors. She has presented clinics and performed nationally, has served as a regional guest conductor for both concert bands and jazz ensembles, and served as a clinician-adjudicator for several music festivals in Ohio. Dr. McNamara has earned a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music degree from Kent State University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Washington. Before beginning the DMA, Dr. McNamara was the Director of Bands at Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts in Baltimore, Maryland. Her principal instructors include David Vining, Mathew Guilford, JoDee Davis, and Stuart Dempster.
Dr. Sarah Paradis
Dr. Sarah Paradis is the Associate Professor of Trombone and Euphonium at Boise State University. Paradis earned degrees from Indiana University and Ithaca College. Her primary teachers include Peter Ellefson, Carl Lenthe, M. Dee Stewart, Per Brevig, and Hal Reynolds. Paradis has been a member of the Richmond, Indiana Symphony, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and the Ohio Valley Symphony. In addition, she has played with the Hawai’i Symphony, the Spokane Symphony, the Boise Philharmonic, the Boise Baroque Orchestra, Opera Idaho, and the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Paradis tours, performs, teaches, and records with the Mirari Brass Quintet. Paradis has performed in over 40 states and China with Mirari. Paradis can be heard on Mirari’s two albums Spires and Renewed, Reused, Recycled. Paradis has been a brass instructor for the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps, and is a former euphonium player in The Cadets. She is a Shires Performing Artist.
Louise Pollock
Louise Pollock, Principal trombone with the Gothenburg Opera, Sweden, and faculty member at the Gothenburg University Academy of Music and Drama, has been awarded numerous prizes, such as the 1st Prize and Audience Prize: International Aeolus Competition for Wind Instruments 2016 or the prestigious ”DMW Stipendiat”: Deutscher Musikwettbewerb 2014.
She has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Zürcher Kammerorchester, Opera Orchestra Gothenburg or the Duisburger Philharmoniker. She played with the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker (Germany) for three years.She has been featured as an artist and teacher at numerous festivals, for example Tourbon Brass Festival/Chile, Bjergsted Brass Festival Stavanger/Norway or the International Trombone Festival.Louise studied with Prof. Branimir Slokar in Freiburg i.Br., Germany (Bachelor of Music) and with Prof. Henning Wiegräbe in Stuttgart (Master of Music).Louise is a Conn-Selmer Artist. She performs exclusively on a Conn 88H from the early 1950s.
Sasha Romero
Sasha Romero was appointed principal trombone of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 2018. Prior to her appointment at The MET, she held the position of principal trombone with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra from 2016-2018. Sasha is a passionate educator, and currently serves on the trombone faculties at Rutgers University, Mannes School of Music, and Bard College Conservatory of Music. A highly sought-after teacher, soloist, and clinician, she has presented solo recitals and masterclasses at numerous colleges, universities, music
conservatories, and industry conventions across the United States. Sasha Romero is an S.E. Shires Performing Artist and she has a signature mouthpiece line with Long Island Brass Co.
Dr. David Wilborn
David Wilborn currently serves on the music faculty at Texas A&M University in College Station. He is a graduate of the University of Texas and the Eastman School of Music. He studied trombone with Donald Knaub and John Marcellus. He is an artist and clinician for Edwards Trombone Instruments. Wilborn, who is published nationally and internationally, has written several award-winning compositions for brass instruments. He is frequently commissioned to write repertoire for solo trombone, trombone choir, and brass quintet. His music has been recorded by professional artists on major compact disc labels. As a performing artist, Wilborn has presented trombone clinics and workshops in many universities and music festivals. He has performed in the Amarillo Symphony, Amarillo Opera, Roswell Symphony, Temple Symphony and many other symphonies. Some of his solo performances include performances with the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, Little Rock Wind Symphony, and Texas A&M University Wind Symphony.