Instrumental Team
Mary Bowden
Trumpet
Classical Trumpeter Mary Elizabeth Bowden has built an in-demand career as a soloist, praised for her “splendid, brilliant” playing (Gramophone Magazine) and her “pure, refined, and warm” tone (AmericanRecord Guide). A Gold Medal Global Music AwardWinner, Opus Klassik Nominee, and Yamaha Performing Artist, she has also worked to establish a new repertoire for the trumpet through creative, collaborative commissioning projects and award-winning albums.
Her upcoming season includes no fewer than four world premiere concertos, includingClarice Assad’s newConcerto for Trumpet and Orchestra with the Chicago YouthSymphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, Jennifer Jolley's Concerto for Brass Quintet with Seraph Brass and theTexas Tech University Wind Ensemble, Anthony DiLorenzo’sChimera: Concerto for Brass Quintet and Wind Ensemble with theU.S. Army "Pershing's Own", Reena Esmail's Rosa de Sal forTrumpet and Orchestra with the ChicagoYouth Symphony Orchestra, and TysonDavis'sVeiled Light with the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, which will be performed alongside her husband, trumpeter David Dash. Additional concerto performances include the Haydn Concerto with the Busan Maru International MusicFestival Orchestra (Korea), Vivian Fung's Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra with the Philharmonia Northwest (Seattle), San Jose Chamber Orchestra, and Waynesboro Symphony (VA), and Anthony DiLorenzo's Chimera with Seraph Brass and the FlorenceSymphony (SC). Bowden will also have residencies with the World and European BrassAssociation in Courances, France; Guadalajara and Cancun, Mexico; and will be aGuest Artist at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and Marlboro Music Festival.
David Garica
Oboe
Oboist David Garcia joined the Virginia Symphony Orchestra beginning with the 2016 season. He has performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and the New Orchestra of Washington among many others.
Garcia has also been heard in concerts at the Library of Congress, the Phillips Collection, the Mexican Cultural Institute, and during the summer at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. In addition, he spent a few years touring the United States and Canada with the 25th anniversary tour of Les Misérables.
He has also been on the faculty of the University of Richmond and has taught privately.
Garcia received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his Master of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory where he was a student of Katherine Needleman.
Scotty Horey
Percussion
Dr. Scotty Horey (B.A., M.M.A., D.M.A.) (USA) is a widely internationally respected solo percussionist, drummer, teacher, health and wellness advocate, and coordinator of cultural exchange. Formerly based in Minneapolis, MN, USA, he currently serves as Instructor of Percussion at the Music School of Delaware while maintaining his work as a solo artist, clinician, and freelance drummer/percussionist. from 2020-2022, he lived in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico where he held the position of full professor of percussion at the famous Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas, the top percussion school of Mexico. From 2012-2020, he served as both principal percussionist of the Mankato Symphony Orchestra, and Lecturer of Percussion at the University of Minnesota, Morris while a top-call Minneapolis free-lance percussionist. His strongest passions include classical music, contemporary-classical music, progressive rock and jazz fusion, mind/body "holistic" awareness, and cultural exchange, typically performing on solo marimba or as a drummer. His passionate performing and teaching work has brought him through universities, concert series', and festivals in the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Greece, Mexico, and Colombia and has earned him a finalist position in the prestigious McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians in 2017. Scotty was called “the Twin Cities’ hungriest young percussionist” by New Music Box, and “a performer of intelligence, raw artistry, and the utmost concentration and energy” by international icon composer James Dillon. In reference to his teaching, Dr. Israel Moreno, Mexico’s leading marimbist, teacher, and scholar said, “… he seeks to connect with students in soul, spirit, and energy, awakening in them a positive attitude ….“. While completing his master’s and doctorate degrees at the University of Minnesota, his teachers included some of the most widely respected names in the field: Fernando Meza, Stuart Marrs, Katarzyna Mycka, and James Dillon. In recent years, Scotty has become regularly in demand as a solo artist with his exciting solo percussion concerts (to date, over 100 events as featured solo artist performed worldwide), and guest teacher with his inspiring “holistic awareness” teaching philosophy of “body-mind-heart-spirit-culture” (to date over 100 events as guest teacher presented worldwide). A practitioner of meditation for over 20 years, Scotty implements mindfulness, the body sciences, philosophy, and cultural diversity into his teaching. Scotty Horey is an endorsing artist for MAPEX drums, VIC FIRTH sticks, SABIAN cymbals, and MAJESTIC percussion. Visit www.scottyhorey.com .
Kevin MacConnell
Double Bass and Bass Guitar
Bassist Kevin MacConnell’s impressive career has taken him from playing with orchestras on concert stages to Broadway shows, from numerous recording studios to the sets of television shows, from jazz festivals to great clubs. He has performed with such jazz legends as Mel Torme, Nancy Wilson, Billy Eckstine, Joe Williams and tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts and made national and international television appearances/performances. Highly respected on the jazz scene Kevin is also a cross genre musician in bluegrass, classical and popular music.
Eric Stephenson
Cello
An exceptionally versatile cellist, his style ranges from classical to jazz to rock and folk. He has performed with numerous orchestras like the IRIS Orchestra in Memphis, TN and the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, CO. Eric is also a regular substitute for the Cleveland Orchestra. Eric earned his Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees with Honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music and was a recipient of the Ellis A. Feiman Award in Cello while a student of Stephen Geber. As a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, he served as Assistant Principal Cello of the Aspen Festival Orchestra from 1999-2004. Composing and recording is a huge part of his life. In his spare time, he enjoys biking around Brooklyn and playing the tenor
Tam Tran
Violin
Tam Tran is an active soloist, chamber musician, and a regular performer at the White House as a violinist and Assistant Principal violist of "The President's Own" U.S. Marine Chamber Orchestra. Tam has performed chamber music with members of the Emerson String Quartet, Ani Kavafian, Colin Carr, Itzhak Perlman, and Yo-Yo Ma. He performed on the "Axelrod" Antonio Stradivarius from the Smithsonian Collection in Washington, D.C. Tam has performed for the late Queen Elizabeth, performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Camp David, and has been featured on PBS, HBO, the Late Show with David Letterman, and on NPR's "Performance Today." Tam studied with Emanuel Vardi at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, Richard Young of the Vermeer String Quartet at Northern Illinois University, and Lawrence Dutton of the Emerson String Quartet at Stony Brook University. Tam enjoys learning different genres of World Music like French Gypsy Jazz, Brazilian Chôro, Argentinian Tangos, Italian Folk, Persian, Irish, Greek, and Klezmer music.
Antonina Styczeń
Flute
A dynamic flutist and entrepreneur, Antonina Styczeń has appeared in unlikely spaces as a concerto soloist and created large-scale, crowd-sourced projects, with an emphasis on performances that include improvisation, electronics, and works by diverse and underrepresented composers. Ms. Styczeń is a First Prize and special prize winner for the Best Performance of a New Work at the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition, a two time Second Prize and William H. Grass Memorial Prize winner at The James Pappoutsakis Memorial Flute Competition winner, and Third Prize winner in the Mid-South Flute Society Young Artist Competition. Her debut album with flute repertoire written by Mieczyslaw Weinberg was nominated for the International Classical Music Award and the Prize of German Critics. Recently, Ms. Styczeń accepted the position of the Acting President of the San Diego Flute Guild. She is touring worldwide with popular Iranian singer Googoosh, while pursuing graduate studies at the University of Southern California.