TROMBONE FACULTY
Dr. Alan Carr
Dr. Alan Carr, bass trombonist, is Director of Brass and Assistant Professor of Music at George Mason University.. Previously, he was on the music faculty at Bates College, the University of Maine at Augusta, and Concordia University Wisconsin. Dr. Carr has performed with orchestras throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He has worked with the Alabama, Baltimore, Dubuque, Hartford and Portland Symphony Orchestras, the Juilliard Orchestra, Ensemble Connect at Carnegie Hall, and the AIMS Festival Orchestra in Graz, Austria. As a chamber musician, Dr. Carr has performed and recorded with the American Brass Quintet, the Isthmus Brass Ensemble, and the King’s Brass. He can be heard on several recordings on the Albany, Naxos, Summit and Peer 2 record labels.
Dr. Carr performed at the 2016 and 2018 International Trombone Festivals and has also been an adjudicator for the Donald Yaxley International Bass Trombone Solo Competition. He has appeared as a guest clinician at Duquesne University, the Ohio State University and Ohio University and has been a guest soloist with the Concordia University Symphonic Wind Ensemble and the Madison Area Trombone Ensemble. Dr. Carr is an advocate for new music and enjoys working with composers to generate compositions for trombone. In 2015, he assembled the first-ever bass trombone consortium to commission the Kleinhammer Sonata for bass trombone and piano by John Stevens. The consortium commission is backed by musicians in the Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Metropolitan Opera, National, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras, among several others.
During the summer months, Dr. Carr is on faculty at the New England Music Camp in Maine where he teaches private students, coaches chamber music, and performs with his faculty colleagues. He is also a member of the Southeast Trombone Symposium Professors Choir which comprises trombone artists from major orchestras and faculty performers from across the United States. The STS Choir recently recorded a CD “Legacy” on the Peer 2 Record label.
Dr. Carr is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory (BM), The Juilliard School (MM), Yale University (AD), and, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (DMA), where he was a Paul J. Collins Distinguished Fellow.
Professor Aaron Eckert
Aaron Eckert, originally from Belleville, IL, is a trombonist with the U.S. Army Blues, the premier jazz ensemble of the Army. He has performed with artists such as Jon Faddis, Jeff Hamilton, Chuck Israels, Conrad Herwig, and Scott Wendholt among others. With the Army Blues, Aaron has performed across the capital region, including the White House, Capitol Building, and Kennedy Center. In addition to the Blues, Aaron performs regularly in the D.C. area in a wide variety of musical settings.
Before moving to D.C., Eckert served as the Low Brass Instructor at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, OR. While in Oregon, he played regularly with the Mel Brown Big Band, the Hapa Hillbillies, the Chuck Israels Octet, the Eastern Oregon Symphony, and was on the jazz faculty at the Eastern Illinois University Summer Music Camp.
Aaron completed his master’s degree with a Performer’s Certificate at the Eastman School of Music, with degrees in Jazz and Contemporary Media Performance (trombone) and Performance and Literature (euphonium). While at Eastman, Eckert was awarded 1st prize in the Rich Matteson Jazz Euphonium Competition, as well as 2nd prize (as a member of the Carillon Tuba Quartet) in the ensemble competition at the International Tuba Euphonium Conference. Also, Eckert was selected as a finalist for the International Trombone Association J.J. Johnson Competition and placed 2nd in the Texas State Jazz Trombone Competition. Eckert had the privilege of studying both trombone and euphonium with Mark Kellogg.
Eckert holds bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Jazz Studies from Eastern Illinois University. During his undergraduate studies, Eckert was recognized as the Outstanding Music Student of the Year from 2012-2014, the Outstanding Performer of the Year in 2013 & 2014, and was a finalist for student teacher of the year in 2014. During his five years at Eastern Illinois, Aaron studied with Paul Johnston and Jemmie Robertson.