Purpose
The Neill Humfeld Award for Excellence in Trombone Teaching recognizes the trombone teaching contributions of Neill Humfeld (1928-1991), long-time trombone professor at East Texas State University, and past president of the ITA (1980-1982). The Award honors a living teacher who have demonstrated an exceptional level of excellence in their work. One Award is given each year.
Selection Criteria
Candidates for the Neill Humfeld Award for Excellence in Trombone Teaching shall:
- Demonstrate a long-standing dedication to trombone teaching
- Demonstrate effectiveness, innovation, and uniqueness in teaching
- Demonstrate the ability to inspire and motivate
- Have successful students
- Share his/her teaching expertise with other trombone teachers
Selection Process
Nominations for the Neill Humfeld Award for Excellence in Teaching are submitted by the ITA’s members. The Neill Humfeld Award for Excellence in Trombone Teaching is awarded by a vote of the ITA Officers, Council of Past Presidents, and Board of Advisors.
A one-page letter of nomination that details why a member believes a nominee should be honored with one of the Association’s awards, and a bio of the nominee, may be sent to the Chair of the ITA’s Standing Committee on Awards at: awards@trombone.net
Previous Recipients
- 1992John DrewProfessor, Florida State University
- 1993Albert Lube*Professor, University of Houston
- 1994Leon Brown*Professor, University of North Texas
- 1995Per BrevigProfessor, Juilliard School of Music and Manhattan School of Music
- 1996Peter Gane*Professor, Guildhall School of Music
- 1997John Swallow *Former Professor, New England Conservatory, Yale University, Manhattan School of Music
- 1998M. Dee StewartProfessor, Indiana University
- 1999Donald KnaubFormer Professor, University of Texas at Austin
- 2000Ingemar RoosFrölunda, Sweden
- 2001John Hill *Former Professor, University of Iowa
- 2002Curtis OlsonFormer Professor, Michigan State University
- 2003Viktor Sumerkin*Professor, St Petersburg Conservatory
- 2004Edwin “Buddy” Baker*Former Professor, Indiana, Colorado & Northern Colorado Universities
- 2005Heinz Fadle*Former Professor, Hochschule für Musik Detmold, Germany
- 2006Denis WickFormer Professor, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London
- 2007Robert Gray*Former Professor, University of Illinois
- 2008Jan KagariceAdjunct Professor, University of North Texas
- 2009Don HoughFormer Professor, University of Tennessee
- 2010Branimir SlokarTrombone Soloist
- 2011John Marcellus*Professor, Eastman School of Music
- 2012George WiegelFormer Professor, Rotterdam Conservatory, The Netherlands
- 1999Irvin L. Wagner*Professor, University of Oklahoma
- 2014Eric CreesProfessor, Guildhall School of Music and Drama
- 2015Andrea ContiProfessor, Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, Switzerland
- 2016Mogens AndresenProfessor, Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium
- 2017Ben van DijkProfessor, Amsterdam School of the Arts
- 2018Ava OrdmanProfessor, Michigan State University
- 2019Nathaniel BrickensProfessor, University of Texas at Austin
- 2020Bart van LierProfessor, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
- 2021David SpornyProfessor, University of Massachusetts at Amherst /td>
- 2022Jonas BylundProfessor, Hochschule für Musik und TheaterHannover (GER)
- 2023Dudley BrightProfessor, Royal Academy of Music (London)
- 2024Abbie ConantRetired Professor, Trossingen (Germany)