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Jonathan Kretschmer, trumpet

Jonathan Kretschmer is 2^nd trumpet and an Artist-in-Residence with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra as well as Principal Trumpet of the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra.  Originally from Lafayette, California, he graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor’s degree.  He then went on to earn a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School, where he was a recipient of the F.H. Aronson Scholarship and a member of the Community Service Fellowship.

Mr. Kretschmer performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra during their April 2005 tour to Carnegie Hall in New York.  He has also performed with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, West Shore Symphony Orchestra, and the New World Symphony.  He has been a finalist in auditions with the Baltimore, Colorado, Adelaide (S. Australia) and Charlotte Symphony Orchestras.  He gave his solo debut with the National Repertory Orchestra during the summer of 2003, playing Copland’s “Quiet City.”  He was invited to play Charles Ives’ “The Unanswered Question” with the Juilliard Orchestra during its 2004 Focus Festival.  He performed as Principal trumpet during the Juilliard Orchestra’s residency at the 2004 Festival dei Due Mondi (The Festival of Two Worlds) in Spoleto, Italy.

Locally, Mr. Kretschmer has performed solos with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Kretschmer is the instructor of trumpet at Kalamazoo College, Albion College, and the Crescendo Music Academy in Kalamazoo, MI, and a member of the KSO Brass Quintet.  He also maintains an active private studio.  His principal trumpet teachers are John Rommel and Mark Gould.

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Betsy Fairlie Judge comes from a long line of classical musicians.  She started weekly music lessons from her father at the age of 6.  By the age of 11 she was performing solo and chamber music with many of her seven siblings and father.

Immediately after receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from the University of Akron, Ms. Judge was appointed 2^nd Horn in the Autonoma Symphony in Guadalajara, Mexico.  She then went on to play 3^rd Horn in the State Orchestra of Mexico in Toluca, Mexico.  Subsequently Ms. Judge returned to the United States where 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.

Currently a long time member of the Kalamazoo Symphony Brass Quintet and the Kalamazoo Symphony, Ms. Judge 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 the South Shore Brass Line Quintet.  She has been heard performing in orchestras throughout Mexico, Austria, Italy, and the United States with numerous symphonies including the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Springfield Symphony, the South Bend Symphony, the Twin Cities Symphony, and the AIMS Orchestra in Graz, Austria.  She has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Midwest Pops Orchestra, the La Port Symphony, and the Kalamazoo Musicians' Union Band.  Ms. Judge 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 Hickman 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.  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.

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 is currently in his nineth year as Principal Trombone in the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra.  He also 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