The Florida State Brass Quintet (= FSBQ), representing the performing artist faculty at Florida State University, was established in 1975. They have performed in hundreds of concerts and master classes throughout the Southeastern USA and have performed, by invitation at the national conventions of the Music Educators National Conference and the National Association of College Wind & Percussion Instructors. The Quintet's first European Concert Tour featured several works written especially for them and included their New York City debut in Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall and several concerts in Italy and Germany. They traveled again to Germany on a second European Concert Tour by invitation of the Ministry of Culture in Rheinland-Pfalz.
They were recently invited to perform at the 1998 International Trumpet Guild Conference in Lexington, Kentucky. There they presented Robert Suderburg's Concert Passages, a work commissioned by the FSU School of Music and recently premiered by the FSBQ.
During November 1998, the FSBQ traveled on a 10 concert Conservatory Tour '98 which culminated with a Washington, D.C. performance in the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater. During October 2000 their travel included concerts at several universities in the Midwest, culminating with their second appearance in the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City in their 25th Anniversary Tour.
In addition to maintaining a busy performance schedule as a quintet, the individual members sustain a full-time teaching schedule in the Florida State University School of Music and are involved in numerous other musical activities, including principal positions in the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra.
Their first CD recording, Strophes of the Night and Dawn was released internationally in March 1997 by Crystal Recordings. |
Bryan Goff, trumpet, is coordinator of the winds and percussion division at FSU and has been a member of the faculty since 1974. He has appeared as a soloist and clinician throughout the United States and Europe both on modern trumpet and Baroque trumpet. He served for 16 years as treasurer of the International Trumpet Guild and is a past-president of the National Association of College Winds and Percussion Instructors.
Scott Beckett, trumpet, is currently completing graduate work in trumpet performance at FSU, where he has served as a graduate teaching assistant for the past two years. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in trumpet performance from the East Carolina University.
Michelle Stebleton, horn, joined the FSU brass faculty in 1990. Holding two degrees from the University of Michigan, she is an active competitor and soloist throughout the United States, both on modern horn and hand horn. She has earned top awards in both the International Horn Society and the American Horn competitions.
John Drew, trombone, joined the FSU faculty in 1980. Since that time, he has been active as soloist and clinician, including frequent appearances at both the International and Eastern Trombone workshops. In 1992, he became the first recipient of the Neill Humfeld International Trombone Association Outstanding Teacher Award. Drew serves as southern division chairman of the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors and was recently elected first vice president of the International Trombone Association.
Paul Ebbers, tuba, joined the ensemble in 1979. He has performed with the Brassworks of Chicago, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, Chicago Civic Orchestra and Pensacola Symphony. |