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Scott Cowan, trumpet

Scott has been part of the music faculty of Western Michigan University since 2001.  He is a jazz specialist and directs the Western Michigan University Jazz Orchestra, coaches chamber ensembles, teaches theory, arranging, improvisation, applied brass and jazz appreciation.  He has held faculty positions at the New England Conservatory of Music, Berklee College Music and Longy School of Music.  He has been a clinician at the International Association of Jazz Educators, The Michigan Music Conference, the Michigan Symphony, Band and Orchestra Association, Universities and Colleges around the country (California, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, Massachusetts, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan) and has articles featured in the "International Trumpet Guild Journal", the "JAZZed Magazine" and "Keynotes", and Conn-Selmer electronic perodical.

His award winning compositions and arrangements have been premiered at IAJE conferences, The Detroit International Jazz Festival and the Boston Globe Jazz Festival.  His CD "Premiere" features his original compositions with the Western Jazz Quartet on Sea Breeze records.  He is an Artist/Educator clinician for the Conn-Selmer instrument company and a published composer/arranger with UNC Jazz Press (http://arts.unco.edu/uncjass/jazzpress.html).

As a classical artist he has performed with the Grand Rapids Symphony, Southwest Michigan Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, The Palm Beach Pops (Florida), The Rockford Symphony (Illinois), The Kalamazoo Bach Festival Ensemble, the Western Brass Quintet and the Stephen Jones Brass Quartet.  He has been an extensive freelance trumpet performer in the South Florida, New England and Michigan areas.

His Bachelor's and Master's degree are from the New England Conservatory of Music and his Doctorate of Musical Arts is from the University of Miami.  Principal teachers have included Charles Schlueter, Timothy Morrison, Robert Nagel, William Adam, Steven Emery and Ron Modell.

He resides in Portage, Michigan with his wife, Elizabeth, daughters, Abigail and Lydia, and son, Jack.

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Betsy, a founding member of Kalamazoo Brass, comes from a long line of classical musicians and music has been her passion for as long as she can remember.  She started weekly music lessons from her father at the age of 6.  By 11 she was performing solo and chamber music publically with her father and siblings.  While in high school she was a regular member of her community orchestra, the West Suburban Philharmonic, as well as in her local youth orchestra and honor bands.

Betsy performed as a substitute horn with the Akron Symphony and the Canton Symphony while working on her Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education at the University of Akron.  Following graduation she was appointed Second Horn in the Autonoma Symphony in Guadalajara, Mexico, and the Third Horn in the State Orchestra of Mexico in Toluca, Mexico.  Later she received her Master of Music degree in Performance and Literature from the University of Notre Dame, where she studied with Dale Clevenger and Gene Chausow.  Her other significant teachers include Charles Waddell, Bill Hoyt, Albert Schmitter, and Richard Solis.  She has performed at several music festivals including the Blossom Festival School, the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and at the Grand Teton Music Seminar.

Currently a long time member of the Kalamazoo Symphony Brass Quintet and the Kalamazoo Symphony, Betsy is an active free lance musician, horn instructor, and clinician.  Her extensive ensemble work includes performances with the Fontana Concert Society, the Allegan Music Society, the Kalamazoo Symphony Woodwind Quintet, Avatar Brass, and as a founding member of the South Shore Brass Line Quintet.  She has been heard performing in orchestras throughout Mexico, Austria, Italy, and the United States.  Locally, she has performed with numerous symphony orchestras including the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Springfield Symphony, the Battle Creek Symphony, the West Michigan Symphony, the South Bend Symphony, and the Southwest Michigan Symphony.  

She has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Midwest Pops Orchestra, the La Port Symphony, the Kalamazoo Musicians Union Band, the Kalamazoo Concert Band, as well as several collegiate orchestras. Betsy taught horn at the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, Andrews University, and Indiana University at South Bend, and currently runs an active private horn studio.

Betsy Fairlie Judge lives on a 60 acre Certified Organic farm near Otsego, Michigan with her husband, Tom, and their three children, Brian, Emily, and Clara.

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Kip Hickman, trombone                            Email:  kip@kalamazoobrass.com                                              

Kip is a founding member of Kalamazoo Brass.  He is originally from San Diego where he played in numerous honor bands and orchestras throughout the state of California.  He received his bachelors degree in Music Performance and Education from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1995 and a Masters degree in Trombone Performance from the University of Michigan in 1997. 

He became a member of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra in 1997 by winning the position of Second Trombone.  In 2001 he was appointed the position of Principal Trombone in the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, a position he currently holds.  He has also performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra, the Grand Rapids Symphony, and the Toledo Symphony as well as the Detroit Chamber Winds, the Western Brass Quintet,  and the Great Lakes Brass.  He has traveled and performed with various groups throughout the world including, Switzerland, Spain, China, and Mexico and played in world renowned venues in the United States such as Carnegie Hall, Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the Dorthy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. He has also soloed with the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra and the Western Michigan University Trombone Ensemble.

His principal teachers have included George Oliver, Bill Booth, Dennis Smith and David Langlitz.  He has also studied with members of the Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic.  He has held teaching positions at Grand Valley State University and Goshen College and taught privately around the state of Michigan.  He has had former students attend Julliard, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University and DePaul. He currently teaches students in Kalamazoo and Portage, Michigan

He resides in Kalamazoo with his wife, Jeanna, and daughter, Anna.

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Email: mike@kalamazoobrass.com                               Mike Shannon, tuba