2022 PRIZM Fest: Meet your brass instructors!

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2022 PRIZM Fest: Meet your brass instructors!

We’re only a few weeks away from our 2022 PRIZM Chamber Music Camp and International Music Festival. Is your young musician looking forward to learning from some of the best and brightest talents from across the country? First, meet our talented group of brass instructors!

 

David Dickerson

Los Angeles-born French hornist David Dickerson is committed to musical advocacy and performance. He has worked with such groups as the Southeast Symphony, the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra. Touring internationally with the New England Symphonic Ensemble, he has soloed throughout Europe, Australia, North America and the Caribbean. David was part of the debut of the Chineke! Orchestra in London and their first chamber tour in America. He has recorded various projects for Netflix, including the Academy Award Winning  “If anything happens I love you.” He is currently a section mentor for the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and a freelance horn player in California and Washington, D.C.

 

David Spencer 

David Spencer, D.M. enjoys a busy international career as a soloist, collaborator, teacher and conductor that crosses the spectrum of musical genres from orchestral and chamber music to jazz and pop music performance. He has held the position of principal trumpet with several orchestras worldwide, including the Seoul Philharmonic, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Asturias in Spain, while simultaneously touring with some of the world’s most recognized talents, from Luciano Pavarotti to the O’Jays. Dr. Spencer is the trumpet professor at the University of Memphis School of Music, the founding member of the Memphis Brass Quintet, and, for 25 years, the lead/principal trumpet at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis for all Broadway and concert tours.

 

Nathan DuVall 

Born and raised in Memphis, Nathan DuVall recently completed his master’s degree in trombone performance this spring at the University of Mississippi. Working as a freelance musician and teaching artist, Nathan has performed with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and is a founding member of two nationally touring bands, Nick Black and the Lucky 7 Brass Band. Nathan has played with R&B singers Aaron Neville and The Bar-Kays, as well as many other hip-hop, rock, jazz and blues artists. 

Juan Valdez 

Juan Valdez began his journey playing the tuba at the age of 11 and by age 13 was actively involved in music at school but soon faced an impossible choice – give up the tuba forever to remain with his parents who were returning back to Mexico or remain in the U.S. to pursue a life focused on making music. He made the tough decision to separate from his family and remain in the States to pursue music and his education. Valdez now holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon in tuba performance and a master’s degree in tuba performance from the University of Memphis. He is an active performer and instructor, teaching master classes at Mississippi State University, Colorado State University and the University of Memphis. Valdez currently plays in the Bluff City Brass Quintet, is a teaching artist at the Memphis Music Initiative and offers private lessons to students throughout the Mid-South.