Hartt 2022-23 Trumpet Students

Graduate Students:

Lauren Holtshouser is currently a Second-year Master’s student studying trumpet performance. She is the Graduate Trumpet Studio Assistant for Professor Snedecor. She is originally from Raleigh, North Carolina where she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelors in Music Performance as well as a Bachelors in Media Communications.

While at Chapel Hill, she was Principal trumpet in the Symphony Orchestra, the Wind Ensemble, the Final Five Brass Quintet, and was trumpet section captain of the UNC Marching Tar Heels. She has premiered works with these groups, including award winning film composer Christian Kolo’s “River Runs Silver” at CBDNA in 2018.

Lauren has studied and performed a wide range of music from large and chamber ensembles to pit orchestras to British style brass bands. In 2016 and 2017 she was Principal Cornet and a featured soloist in the Watson Brass Band, located in Raleigh, North Carolina. She also led this group as Principal to the National American Brass Band Association Competition in Indiana, where they placed 2nd in the collegiate division. The next year she was a member of the Watson Brass Band Quintet and won the young brass chamber ensemble division at NABBA in 2017. She has had various private instructors including Lisa Burn, James Ketch, and Tim Hudson.

Lauren has also taught aspiring students in the Chapel Hill area, specifically to prepare them for All District auditions in the early spring months. She prefers to teach middle school and high school students, but can teaches all ages of trumpet students, even if they have never touched a trumpet before. 

While at the Hartt School of Music; Lauren won the Paranov Concerto Competition allowing her to perform as a soloist with the Hartt Wind Ensemble. She traveled to The National Trumpet Competition this past April to compete with the Hartt Trumpet Ensemble. She and the Hartt Brass Quintet won second place in the Hartt Chamber Music Competition in May of 2022, and she recently recorded a NAXOs recording with the Hartt Wind Ensemble for Jess Turner’s Symphony “If I am to Leave” as a featured flugelhorn soloist. 

Dylan Prothro is a Southern California native currently studying for his Master’s degree in Trumpet Performance with Professor Phil Snedecor. Prior to studying at the Hartt School, Dylan completed his Bachelor’s degree at the Bob Cole Conservatory at California State University Long Beach. During that time, he studied with Rob Frear, Ryan Darke, and Jennifer Marotta. In his free time, Dylan enjoys composing and arranging music, songwriting, and hiking.

Aaron Heine is currently an Artist Diploma student at the Hartt School of Music. He began studying the trumpet privately at the age of 8, and soon after joined the Florida Youth Orchestra, from which he won a scholarship award for performance excellence as a high school senior. During this time he studied with Brian Stanley of the Florida Philharmonic and participated in side-by-side concerts with the New World Symphony as part of their mentorship program. Heine gained his Bachelors of Music Performance at Lynn Conservatory, where he trained with Marc Reese of the Empire Brass Quintet. He participated with the Lynn trumpet ensemble at the National Trumpet Competition in 2009 and 2011. Heine then completed his Masters of Music at the Meadows School of Southern Methodist University. While in Dallas, he studied with Tom Booth of the Dallas Symphony and also held a private studio at schools in the metropolitan area with over 30 students. Towards the end of his stay in Dallas, he had the opportunity to study privately with the late, great Ryan Anthony, of the Canadian Brass and Dallas Symphony, who founded Cancer Blows.

Hannah Batsford is a first year master’s student in trumpet performance at the Hartt School, where she is studying under Phil Snedecor. She previously earned degrees in trumpet performance, music education, and jazz studies from SUNY Fredonia. While at Fredonia, Hannah was a member of the Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, New Jazz Ensemble, and Jazz Orchestra. She also was a member of the Fredonia Jazz Combo and Hard Lacquer Brass Quintet. She studied trumpet under Alex Jokipii, Sycil Mathai, and David Duro, and studied jazz improvisation with Dr. Nick Weiser and Dr. John Bacon.

As a performer, Hannah has freelanced around the Buffalo area and Long Island/New York City. She has also appeared on CNN with Billy Ray Cyrus as a member of the New York Youth Symphony. In 2021, she participated in the Divergent Studio at the Longy School of Music, where she was coached by members of loadbang. This past summer she was a member of the opera orchestra at the Vienna Summer Music Festival. Outside of performing, Hannah teaches private lessons in trumpet and trombone. Outside of the trumpet, enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her cat. She is a Bills fan and a proud New York native.

Phaelon Koski is a senior music education major. He has been taking private lessons since he was in eighth grade and attended the Oberlin Summer Trumpet Workshop in 2018 where he took lessons with Roy Poper and the Rotterdam Philharmonic's Assistant Principal Trumpet player Arto Hoornweg. In 2019 he had the privilege of performing in Boston Symphony Hall as a part of the MMEA All-State Festival. His principal musical interests lie in academia as he is also pursuing a minor in music theory with hopes to obtain master's degrees in both music theory and conducting. Aside from music, Phaelon has been an avid rock climber for 5 years, a former sprinter/hurdler for the UHart track team, and enjoys aimlessly wandering around in the woods possibly more than anything else in life.

Undergraduate Students:

Jack MacDonald is a senior trumpet performance major studying under Phil Snedecor.

In high school, he studied under Peter Roe and won numerous outstanding musicianship/judges’ choice awards at local, regional, and national jazz festivals for his solos and lead work from jazz greats such as Jon Faddis, Steve Davis, and Justin DiCioccio. Outside of high school, Jack was a member of the Connecticut Youth Symphony and Greater Hartford Youth Wind Ensemble.

At Hartt, Jack has been a member of the Hartt Wind Ensemble, the Hartt Wind Symphony, The Jackie Mclean Institute Big Band, and the Pit Orchestra. In addition, he has performed in masterclasses for trumpet greats such as Scott Moore, Joe Burgstaller, Vincent DiMartino, and Mark Gould. Outside of school, Jack plays in many diverse settings such as in churches and local bands and teaches as well. In his free time, Jack enjoys listening to musical theater, arranging, learning different languages, and chess

Mark Murphy is a sophomore Trumpet Performance major from Budd Lake, New Jersey. While in High School, he attended the North Jersey Area and Region Bands, as well as the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's Academy Orchestra (coached by Garth Greenup), the Interlochen Summer Arts Festival in 2018 (studied with John Aley, Marc Reese, and Vincent DiMartino), and the Juilliard Pre-College Division, where he studied with Raymond Mase for three years.

Mark enjoys playing and listening to a wide array of musical styles, but he loves orchestral playing most of all. Outside of music, he loves fantasy books, movies, and video games.

Sarah Uyar is a sophomore jazz trumpeter who is studying at the Jackie Mclean Institute of Jazz within the I lartt School of Music. Although she's been playing music since elementary school, her jazz career began in late high school when she joined the Youth Jazz Orchestra at the Artist's Collective in I Iartford, Connecticut. There she studied under the great tutelage of Rene Mclean, son of the Collective's founder, Jackie Mclean. From there she decided to pursue her studies at the I Iam School where she gets to learn from great faculty such as trumpeter David Smith, bassist Nat Reeves, trombonist Steve Davis, saxophonists Javon Jackson and Rene Mclean, and pianist Zaccai Curtis. Sarah maintains a consistent gigging schedule outside of school as well as participating in the school's big band and several small combos. She looks forward to opportunities to come and is delighted to be surrounded by so many talented musicians, both faculty and students, who are helping her become the musician she aspires to be.

Margie Jarsulic is a third year undergrad studying Music Education. She is from Baden, PA. She has previously studied with Michael Dingfelder, second euphonium of the River City Brass Band as well as David Anderson of the Pittsburgh Opera.

Alan Tucker is a sophomore Music Production and Technology major at the Hartt School with a focus on trumpet performance. He is from Ellicott City, Maryland where he studied with Brent Flinchbaugh. During high school he participated in many ensembles outside of school. These include the Peabody Youth Wind Ensemble (10th, 11th, and 12th grade), the Maryland Senior All State Band (10th grade), the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra (11th and 12th grade), and the Howard County GT Jazz Band (11th grade). During the summer before his senior year of high school, he took an online mixing and mastering class through Syracuse University. Ever since then, producing and recording music was the only thing he could see himself doing. In Alan’s free time, he practices trumpet of course, but some of his favorite hobbies include going on walking trails or hiking, watching movies (mostly science fiction), and hanging out with friends.

Zach Stowe-Alekman is a sophomore trumpet performance and composition major from Belchertown, Massachusetts. He started studying the trumpet at the age of ten with Sheldon Ross, and was heavily involved in his local music program throughout high school. He was also a member of the youth ensembles at the Hartt School, played with the Williams College Wind Ensemble, and attended a composition intensive program at Boston Conservatory. More recently, Zach  participated in a summer seminar with the Atlantic Brass Quintet.

He is currently studying trumpet with Phil Snedecor and composition with Dr . Thomas Schuttenhelm. As a composer, Zach is heavily inspired by film scores and programmatic music, and always aims to tell a story through the music he writes.

Michael Widjaja is a first-year Trumpet Performance and Music Education major from Sioux City, Iowa.

Before attending the Hartt School, he was an inaugural member of the National Youth Wind Ensemble in Washington D.C. in 2022, where he was under the direction of Col. Jason K. Fettig, Director of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, and Dr. Kevin Sedatole, Director of Bands at Michigan State University. Michael is also a proud recipient of a trumpet position in the National Association for Music Education’s All-National Symphony Orchestra in 2021, being one of six individuals in the United States to receive the honor. In 2022, he was a quarterfinalist in the high school solo division at the National Trumpet Competition held in Newark, Delaware. He has also garnered many Iowa All-State positions including a trumpet position in the 75th Iowa All-State Orchestra (2021), two cornet positions in the Iowa All-State Band (2019-2020), and split-lead trumpet in the 4A Iowa All-State Jazz Ensemble (2021).

This past summer, Michael spent six weeks at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute as a member of the Young Artist Wind Ensemble. There, he was coached by trumpeters Karin Bliznik, Terry Everson, Ben Wright, and David Krauss and was under the batons of Prof. David Martins and Dr. H. Robert Reynolds.

From his young experiences in Iowa to his most recent experience in Washington D.C., Michael holds a strong love and passion for the expansion of the wind band repertoire. He hopes to pursue a master’s degree in conducting and be a part of the advocacy of high-quality band literature that is representative of many cultures and backgrounds.

Noah Bissell is a freshman trumpet performance major from Salisbury, Massachusetts. He has been studying trumpet for about 10 years. He has been first chair in the

Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestra and the Northeast District Band as well as participating in the John Philip Sousa National Honor Band. He won many awards including the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award and the John Philip Sousa Band Award.