Faculty
 | MICHAEL MULCAHY Internationally recognized Chicago Symphony Trombonist Michael Mulcahy has appeared as a soloist and teacher in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Holland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Japan, China, Argentina New Zealand and Australia. He has appeared as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Pierre Boulez in music of Elliot Carter, and most recently with Daniel Barenboim in Leopold Mozart’s Concerto for Alto Trombone, which was also broadcast widely on public television. Other solo appearances include the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Hilversum Radio Symphony Orchestra, and on tour with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Michael is the winner of several international competitions, among them the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Instrumental Competition, the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, the Viotti International Competition in Italy and the International Instrumental Competition in Markneukirchen, in the former East Germany. Sir Georg Solti appointed Michael Mulcahy to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1989. He is Principal Trombone with Chicago’s Music of the Baroque and the Grand Teton Music Festival. His orchestral career began in 1976 as Principal Trombone of the Tasmanian Symphony. A year later he attained the same chair with the Melbourne Symphony. Michael left Australia in 1981 to pursue his career in Europe where he became Solo Trombone with the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra. He was named Senior Lecturer of the Canberra School of Music at the Australian National University in 1987. In 1999 he was appointed Professor of Music at Northwestern University. He has also been an Artist in Residence at Indiana University, and Wiley Housewright Scholar at Florida State University, and regularly appears at universities worldwide. He has taught and conducted at Daniel Barenboim’s East West Divan workshop for young Arab and Israeli musicians in Seville. Every July Michael leads his Summer Trombone Performance Master Class at Northwestern University. Michael Mulcahy was born in Sydney, Australia. He began studying the Trombone with his father, Jack Mulcahy and completed his studies with Baden McCarron of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and Geoffrey Bailey at the State Conservatorium of New South Wales.
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 | PETER ELLEFSON
Peter Ellefson joined the faculty of
Northwestern University in 2007. In
2002, he left his position in the Seattle Symphony to accept a professorship at
Indiana University. During his decade in Seattle, he made dozens of recordings
with the orchestra, playing trombone, euphonium and bass trumpet and served as
principal trombone for Seattle Opera’s renowned productions of Richard Wagner’s
Der Ring des Nibelungen. He has performed, recorded and toured
with the Chicago Symphony and the New York Philharmonic. Other recent orchestras
include the Cincinnati Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, Indianapolis Symphony and
Chicago’s Music of the Baroque. Prof. Ellefson has a keen interest in chamber
music and solo literature and has given concerto performances of works by Bloch,
Bourgeois, Deemer, Dorsey, Grøndahl, Guilmant, Larsson, Maslanka, Pryor, Pugh,
Serocki, Tomasi, Rimsky-Korsakov and Rouse. His chamber music credits include
the Canadian Brass, Chicago Chamber Musicians, CSO Brass, Chicago Brass
Quintet, Chicago Trombone Consort, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, New York
Philharmonic Brass Quintet, Proteus 7 and Tower Brass of Chicago. In addition
to Northwestern, Indiana and Roosevelt Universities, Prof. Ellefson teaches at
the Alessi Seminar and has also taught at the University of Costa Rica and the
Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. He currently serves on
the Board of Advisors for the International Trombone Association. His solo CD,
“Pura Vida” was released in March 2010. |
 | RANDALL HAWES
Randall Hawes received a bachelor of music education from Central Michigan University, where he studied with William Rivard. He spent two years on the road with the Woody Herman Orchestra before being awarded a fellowship at the Tanglewood Institute for the summer of 1985. The same year in the fall he became bass trombonist for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. From 1980 to 1982 he was a member of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, American Wind Symphony and the New York Harlem Opera Ensemble. His involvement with chamber music includes a
mixed octet made up of DSO musicians called Cuttime players, Music of the
Baroque, Chicago Chamber Musicians and musicians of the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra. Randall Hawes began his relationship as lecturer at Northwestern University
Bienen School of Music in 2004. Mr. Hawes has performed and taught master classes
in Australia, Asia, Europe and throughout the United States. He has performed with the Pittsburgh, Boston,
Chicago Symphonies and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 1995, Sir Georg Solti
invited Mr. Hawes to join the World Orchestra for Peace Orchestra to celebrate
the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. He continues his association
with WOP and has joined the orchestra for several international tours and recordings
with Solti’s successor, Valery Gergiev. Mr. Hawes can be heard on recordings with the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra with music directors Gunther Herbig, Leonard Slatkin
and Neeme Jarvi, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Sir George Solti, and the
World Orchestra for Peace with Sir George Solti and Valery Gergiev. His first solo recording, Melodrama is with collaborative pianist Kathryn Goodson, whom he has collaborated with for upcoming releases of two cds of American music for bass trombone and piano. The first volume, titled Barn Burner was released in the fall of 2010. |
 | TIMOTHY HIGGINS Timothy Higgins was appointed to the position of Principal Trombone of the San Francisco Symphony by Michael Tilson Thomas in 2008. He was previously the acting Second Trombonist with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC. Mr. Higgins, a Houston native, has a Music Performance degree from Northwestern University and has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Music of the Baroque, Grand Teton Music Festival, Sun Valley Summer Symphony, Washington National Opera, and Baltimore Symphony. His principal teachers have been Michael Mulcahy (Chicago Symphony) and Michael Warny (Houston Grand Opera). He has participated in music festivals with the Roundtop Music Festival, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Music Center. Along with a busy orchestra career, Timothy Higgins is an active arranger of music. He has arranged music for CT3 Trombone Quartet, the National Brass Quintet, the Bay Brass and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Brass Ensemble. His arrangements have also been performed by the Washington Symphony Brass, the Chicago Symphony Brass Section, and the Northwestern University Brass Ensemble. As a teacher, Timothy has led masterclasses in Japan and the United States, including classes at the San Francisco Conservatory and the Juilliard School of Music. He is currently on faculty at the Affinis Music Festival in Japan. In 2005, Timothy won the Robert Marstellar Solo trombone competition, as well as the ITA Trombone Quartet competition with CT3. While attending the Tanglewood Music Center, Mr. Higgins was awarded the Grace B. Upton Award for Outstanding Fellow. |
 | YOKO YAMADA-SELVAGGIO Pianist Yoko Yamada-Selvaggio was born in Hamamatsu, Japan, and began her career as pianist while studying at the Toho High School of Music. After winning third prize in the All-Japan Student Music Competition, she gave concerts throughout Japan. Yamada-Selvaggio received a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from Toho Gakuen School of music and a Master of Music degree in Piano performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. During that time, she won the soloist competition and played with the NEC Orchestra. She also appeared on WGBH in Boston and performances on WFMT in Chicago. She has performed as a collaborator with professors of Northwestern University and member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In her career, she has performed over 200 pieces for brass and woodwind. Currently, Yamada-Selvaggio performs as a collaborating pianist throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. |
