Why Brass at Duquesne?
Our flexible curriculum empowers you to shape your own music pathway with your Faculty Advisor and Student Success Coach. Match your love for brass with any of our degree programs while balancing your performance commitments and academics.
World Class Faculty & Award-Winning Ensembles
In addition to studying with master performers and teachers, you will also have the opportunity to perform in award-winning ensembles including orchestral, wind, choral, and jazz ensembles. Chamber music also plays a very important role in our students’ education. Students frequently perform in brass quintets, brass choir, and other wind chamber groups. View brass events.
Our Alumni Succeed
Graduates of the Mary Pappert School of Music can be seen performing in the nation’s top professional performing ensembles such the GRAMMY Award-winning Pittsburgh Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Metropolitan Opera, and various military bands in Washington, DC.
How can I get involved?
In addition to choosing a degree pathway, all music majors have a primary instrumental identity. Music majors that want to fully incorporate brass studies into their curriculum must select one of the instrumental options below when applying:
- Trumpet
- French Horn
- Trombone
- Bass Trombone
- Euphonium
- Tuba
You will work with faculty who are known internationally as performers, composers, and arrangers. Study with them by day and watch them perform in Pittsburgh's major performing organizations including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Opera & Ballet Orchestras, and many others. We even have a Hire a Musician program that connects you with local employers and venues. So, you can take your performance expertise beyond the classroom and into the field, allowing you to make money while performing and sharpening your entrepreneurial skills.
Want to study jazz? Any Duquesne student can participate in jazz ensembles and combos regardless of major. Learn more about jazz at Duquesne.
See Yourself Here
I felt welcomed right from the start. Every person in the studio is consistently kind and well meaning, as well as helpful whenever issues arise. I think this is a unique studio in those ways, and when you combine that with the challenging-fun that the Duquesne Trombone Choir led by Jim Nova is, that's how we all have a good time.
Explore Your Musical Future
If you're looking for that school that's the perfect fit, you've found the right place. Take the next step and start your application today!
Undergrad Music Admissions
Our flexible curriculum empowers you to shape your own music pathway with your Faculty Advisor and Student Success Coach. Auditions are customized depending on your chosen degree and primary instrument. All fully admitted music majors are automatically considered for scholarships and awards. We are proud to offer highly competitive Undergraduate Audition and Enhancement Awards that can cover up to 100% of tuition.
Graduate Music Admissions
Match your love for music with any of our degree programs while balancing your performance commitments and academics. Auditions are customized depending on your chosen degree and primary instrument. All fully admitted graduate students are automatically considered for scholarships and awards. We are proud to offer highly competitive Graduate Performance Awards and Assistantships that can cover up to 100% of tuition.
Flexible Rehearsal & Performance Spaces
In addition to its versatility as a performance space that can seat over 100 people, the Dr. Thomas D. Pappert Center for Performance and Innovation also serves as a rehearsal space for several orchestras and wind ensembles and can be adapted to serve as a classroom/lecture space for clinics and master classes. It is also directly tied into the William M. Schrecengost Memorial Mastering Suite where concerts, recitals, and rehearsals can be captured and recorded using state-of-the-art techniques in digital audio, video production, and broadcast media.
Events
Uptown Jazz Series: Centennial Salute—The Music of Our DU Alumni
Jeff Bush, Artistic Director
Pre-concert Performance by DU Student Chamber Jazz Ensemble at 7:00 p.m.
American Voices
Duquesne Wind Symphony & Symphony Band
Dr. James Gourlay, Director of Bands
Featuring:
Mrs. Deanna Grandstaff, guest conductor
The Music of Sammy Nestico
Duquesne University Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Workshop, and Vocal Jazz Ensemble
Jeff Bush & Kelley Krepin DeFade, directors
Brass Performances
Haydn Trumpet Concerto - Mvt.II: Andante
Zachary Hommel (M.M. Performance) plays the second movement of Haydn's Trumpet Concerto with Dean David Allen Wehr.
Did You Know?
All applicants qualify for a free lesson with our faculty to help them prepare for the live audition and submit a quality portfolio. Use the time to connect with a teacher and experience our top-rate private instruction for yourself.
Adjunct Professor of Jazz Trumpet; Lead Trumpet, Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra Adjunct Professor of Trumpet; Principal Trumpet, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Adjunct Professor of Trumpet; Principal Trumpet, Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra Adjunct Professor of Horn; Horn, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Adjunct Professor of Horn Adjunct Professor of Jazz Trombone; Area Coordinator of Jazz Studies; Conductor of
Jazz Workshop and Jazz Ensemble; Music Director, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Adjunct Professor of Trombone; Brass Area Coordinator; Trombone, Pittsburgh Symphony
Orchestra Adjunct Professor of Trombone; Associate Principal Trombone, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Adjunct Professor of Trombone Director of Bands; Adjunct Professor of Euphonium; Adjunct Professor of Tuba; Music
Director, River City Brass BandTrumpet Faculty
J.D. Chaisson
Micah Wilkinson
Christopher Wilson
Horn Faculty
Mark Houghton
Garrett Law
Trombone Faculty
Jeff Bush
James Nova
Douglas Rosenthal
Sebastian Vera
Euphonium/Tuba Faculty
James Gourlay