Sarah graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with David Bilger of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The past two summers she has been a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, where she studied with members of the Boston Symphony. She has performed as a substitute musician with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Louisiana Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Currently she resides in Chicago, where she is completing her master’s degree at Northwestern University.
25 year old American trumpeter Natalie Dungey came to international attention through her stunning performance of the Arutunian Trumpet Concerto at the National Trumpet Competition that went through the trumpet world on Youtube when she was 10. Since then she has been a featured soloist with Christopher O’Reilly on NPR’s From The Top (show #202), has premiered works for trumpet and orchestra, and been the featured soloist with orchestras and bands around the country and as far as Japan, Australia and Korea.
Natalie has performed the Tomasi trumpet concerto with the Auburn Symphony, performed Tomasi Semaine Sainte a Cuzco with the UCLA Philharmonia after winning the “AllStars” competition. In April 2022 she performed at the Coachella Music Festival with 88Rising and NIKI for the “Heads in the Cloud” set. In 2023 Natalie performed the Zwilich Trumpet Concerto for trumpet and orchestra with the Philharmonia Northwest.
Natalie graduated from UCLA in June 2021 with a BM in Trumpet Performance and a BA in Psychology. She currently resides in Los Angeles teaching private lessons, as well as pursuing other professional ventures.
Whether playing suspended in midair on the Broadway stage or soloing on the Symphony Hall stage in Chicago, Amy McCabe enjoys performing in a variety of capacities. She was recently a solo recitalist at the International Trumpet Guild conference, the International Women's Brass conference, and was a soloist with the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain in London’s Regent Hall and in Prague, Czech Republic for the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. In January, Amy also recorded the premiere of Fernande Decruck’s Concerto for Trumpet and Horn, “Poeme Heroique", with the Jackson Symphony.
Amy is currently a co-principal trumpet with The “President’s Own” United States Marine Band, and has completed three national and international concert tours as a soloist in addition to her duties in Washington DC at the White House and Arlington National Cemetery. She is also an active chamber musician, and recently recorded the world premiere of Eugene O’Brien’s Elegy to the Spanish Republic with the 21stCentury Consort in addition to the premiere recording of Florence Price’s Octet for Brass with the Barclay Brass. Amy has also performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and has performed as principal trumpet with the National Symphony and the St. Louis Symphony. She was the “Loss” soloist in the first National and Japan touring cast of the Tony and Emmy-award winning show, “Blast!” in addition to touring with pop artist Michael Bolton on a national tour. Amy was also a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra, a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival, Spoleto Music Festival, Pine Mountain Music Festival, Artosphere Festival and was a member of the Walt Disney World Collegiate All-Star Big Band.
Amy holds a degree in elementary education from Illinois Wesleyan University studying with Steve Eggleston and Judith Saxton, and a Master’s degree in trumpet performance from Northwestern University, studying with Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer.
In her free time, Amy greatly enjoys volunteering with Sound Impact, a chamber music group dedicated to positive social change through authentic community engagement, and the Boulanger Initiative, dedicated to promoting music composed by women. She is also committed to encouraging her new rescue dog, Mojo, to sing along with the trumpet.
Hailed by The Boston Musical Intelligencer as "outstanding"and "fearless," Dr. Elisabeth Shafer, a native of State College, PA, is a dedicated performer and music educator. She has appeared in concert with orchestras and ensembles, including the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, ProMusica Columbus, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, The Jackson Symphony, CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, Toledo Symphony Brass, Akron Symphonic Winds, Memphis JazzOrchestra, DanJo Jazz Orchestra, Symphony in C, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony, the Nittany Valley Symphony, and Barclay Brass. Dr. Shafer was the interim core member of Seraph Brass from 2019 - 2021 and will serve as the Acting Core Trombonist in the 2023-24 season. She will be a featured soloist with The Ohio State University Wind Symphony this Fall, and she has appeared as a guest soloist with ensembles including Seraph Brass, The University of Akron Symphonic and Concert Bands, The University of Akron Symphony Orchestra, and the Perry High School Symphonic Winds at the Ohio Music Educators Association Conference. She has presented solo and chamber performances at the American Trombone Workshop, the International Trombone Festival, and the International Women's Brass Conference, including a presentation titled "Songs She Wrote: A Joint Recital of Works by Women Composers” highlighting the works of women composers. Dr. Shafer frequently performs chamber and solo recitals at universities across the country.
Dr. Shafer serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Trombone at Ohio State University. Prior to her appointment, she served on the faculty at the University of Memphis and The University of Akron. She has taught at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Trombone Workshop, was a Teaching Artist in the Music in Schools Initiative in New Haven, CT, and is currently on the faculty at Luzerne Music Center, a summer arts organization inthe Adirondacks devoted to bringing enriching musical experiences and education to young musicians from around the world. Dr. Shafer has presented clinics forthe International Trombone Workshop, the Ohio Music Educator's Association conference, and the Tobi Institute and frequently gives clinics at schools and universities across the United States.
Dr. Shafer earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trombone Performance from Boston University, her Master of Music degree from Yale School of Music in Trombone Performance, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Temple University in Trombone Performance. Her primary teachers include Toby Oft, Scott Hartman, and Matthew Vaughn. Dr. Shafer is a Conn-Selmer Performing Artist.
Katie Franke is a professional trombonist and music educator based in Washington, DC. She strives to be a leader in her field and set an example for the next generation of female brass players.
Originally from Falls Church, VA, Katie earned a Bachelor of Music from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2020, studying under Peter Ellefson, and a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory in 2022, studying under Steve Lange. Her other primary teachers include Craig Mulcahy and William McElheney.
Katie recently joined “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in October 2023 as their first female trombonist. As a member of “The President’s Own,” she regularly performs at ceremonies and concerts at the White House, as well as around the D.C. area and throughout the United States.
In addition to her duties with “The President’s Own,” Katie is an active orchestral trombonist and has performed throughout the United States with ensembles such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, New Mexico Philharmonic, and the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra. She has also been a participant in the National Orchestral Institute, Festival Napa Valley’s Blackburn Music Academy, the Kennedy Center Summer Music Institute,and the Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy (PRISMA) in Canada.
As an active music educator, Katie was recently appointed as the new Adjunct Professor of Trombone at the George Mason University Dewberry School of Music. She has presented masterclasses at The Ohio State University and The University of Maryland, and recently spoke on the education panel at The American Trombone Workshop.
Bridget Conley (she/her) is an American tuba player residing in Miami Beach, Florida, USA.
She currently holds a fellowship position with the New World Symphony and has performed with ensembles including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, Britt Festival Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra, and Seraph Brass, among others.
As a soloist, Bridget was the winner of the 2021 Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Solo Artist Competition. She was also a finalist in both the 2022 and 2023 Yale School of Music Concerto Competitions and the winner of the 2020 Vanderbilt Wind Symphony Concerto Competition. An avid lover of new music, Bridget has commissioned and premiered various new works for solo tuba, including new works by Madeline Merwin, Emma Cardon, and Guillermo Lago (commissioned by Néstor Martínez Jara and co-premiered by Martínez Jara and Conley).
Bridget holds a Master of Music Degree in Performance from the Yale School of Music, where she studied with Carol Jantsch of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Tuba Performance with a minor in Brass Pedagogy from Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music,where she studied with Gil Long. In the fall of 2019, she spent a semester studying at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Perry Hoogendijk, principal tubist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Bridget is a native of Charleston, South Carolina. When she’s not playing tuba, Bridget loves cooking, exercising, and a good book.
Meredith Fuller is a tubist and low brass educator based in the Baltimore area. She received her bachelors of music education and masters in tuba performance from Penn State University and is currently finishing her D.M.A. at the Peabody Institute.
Fuller began playing the tuba in fourth grade when she volunteered to make a sound on the instrument at a Music In Our Schools Month demonstration. Her elementary band teacher picked her because she was a girl and she was small. The rest is history. She realizes that not every young student has as much support and opportunities as she did in public school and beyond. While pursuing a high level of performance, she also values educational outreach and advocacy for marginalized groups in the brass and tuba community.
Meredith served as the adjunct tuba and euphonium professor at Penn State University from 2022-2024 and teaches in Baltimore County Public Schools with the OrchKids program. She is an inaugural member of the Chrysalis Orchestra and has performed at the International Women’s Brass Conference (IWBC) in Denton, TX. She travels internationally with her quintet, Looking Glass Brass, and performs and teaches with her tuba-euphonium duo, 5'Two.
Cristina Cutts Dougherty grew up in South Africa, England, New York, and New Mexico, and was the 2016 Young Artist winner of the International Tuba Euphonium Competition. She went on to win the Grand Prize in the Pasadena Showcase Competition in 2017, and has appeared as a soloist with the Colburn Orchestra, in the Kennedy Center, and on the radio show Performance Today with Fred Child. As an active freelancer, Cristina has been a guest tubist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the Louisville Orchestra. She has been the tubist for Seraph Brass since 2022, and became the Principal Tubist of The Phoenix Symphony in 2023. Cristina studied at the Colburn School and the Curtis Institute, and her primary teachers have included Richard Antoine White, Thomas Riccobono, Norman Pearson, Paul Krzywicki, and Craig Knox.
