Prairie Brass Camp! August 6-9, 2024
What is this?!
The MBA Prairie Brass Camp is back! Student can join us for a variety of brass experiences created to celebrate the skills and artistry of the Brass Family of Instruments! Featuring specialized technical instruction of every brass instrument with specialists from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the University of Manitoba. Students will have technical classes, masterclasses, small ensemble rehearsals and large brass ensemble rehearsals!
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What can you expect?
Focusing instruction on brass techniques and performance, this camp welcomes students to join instructors from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra brass section along with faculty members from the Desautels Faculty of Music. Ensembles will be formed based on a mix of instrumentation and level of experience.
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Who can come?
Sessions will be a combination of instrument specific masterclasses and small ensembles. This camp is geared towards students in grade 6-12 with a minimum of one year experience on a brass instrument.
What's a Prairie Brass day like?
Our Vision
At Prairie Brass, we want to encourage students to develop their personal skills, learn to connect and support each other through our musicality and development, and share our love for all things brass through individual and ensemble growth and mentorship throughout the week.
Who will I meet at Prairie Brass Camp?
Paul Jeffrey - Trumpet, Prairie Brass Camp Coordinator
Paul Jeffrey, Associate Principal Trumpet, joined the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in 2007. Previously held positions include the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra.
He has performed, toured, and been broadcast with orchestras across North America including L’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, the Canadian Opera Company, the Vancouver Symphony, and the Oregon Symphony.
As a member of the Canadian National Brass Project, he has recorded and performed in Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, and at the Festival of the Sound. In Manitoba, he also performs with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Groundswell, the Brandon Chamber Players and at Rainbow Stage. As a member of the Perimeter & Paradigm Brass, he has participated in the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, the Winnipeg Jazz Festival, the Agassiz Festival, and in concerts throughout the region.
Paul earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and his Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. His teachers have included Vincent Cichowicz, Frank Kaderabek, David Bilger, Michael Sachs and Larry Knopp.
Summer festivals include the Tanglewood Music Center, the Marlboro Festival, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. A winner of the Pacific Spotlight competition, Paul was featured in a recital broadcast on CBC Radio Two. In September of 2022, Paul was honoured to perform in Ottawa at the National Commemorative Ceremony of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
An active music educator, Paul coaches the Winnipeg Youth Orchestras and the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra brass sections. He is also a sessional instructor at the University of manitoba and teaches privately from his home.
Outside of music, Paul enjoys spending time with his wife, violinist Rodica, and his two children, Grace and Thomas.
Paul Jeffrey is a recipient of the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Award.
Richard Gillis - Trumpet
Richard Gillis studied at The Banff Centre and The University of Michigan (M.Mus.; DMA), as well as privately with Armando Ghitalla, Vincent Cichowicz and James Stamp. Dr. Gillis is brass chair at the University of Manitoba, and artistic director of the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, and performs internationally with Icelandic guitarist Björn Thoroddsen. Richard has recorded 21 albums as a leader and sideman; two of these received recognitions/awards from the Icelandic Music Awards, and two received nominations at the Western Canadian Music Awards. Most recent projects include Devotion, a collection of original solo and chamber pieces, and Voices: A Musical Heritage with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra.
Discover the Sound of Music
Justin Hickmott, Tuba Prairie Brass Camp Coordinator
Based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Justin Hickmott is a tubist and music educator in high
demand across Canada. Formerly the principal tubist of the Orchestre Symphonique de
Laval, Justin has performed with orchestras right across Canada, including the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of Les Grands
Ballets Canadiens, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Edmonton Symphony
Orchestra, and the Thunder Bay Symphony, among others.
As an educator, Justin teaches at the Marcels Desautels Faculty of Music at the University
of Manitoba, and is an active clinician throughout Manitoba. A former tuba instructor at
Vanier College in Montreal, QC, Justin also actively maintains a private studio of students
of all ages, and instructs at music camps across Canada.
Justin began his music studies at a young age as a chorister with the Brandon
Conservatory Chorale in Brandon, MB, and later began studying tuba privately with
acclaimed tubist Chris Lee. As a student Justin played in various ensembles with Brandon
University, and began his formal music studies at the University of Manitoba. He later
transferred to McGill University studying with the late Dennis Miller, before concluding his
studies with Sasha Johnston and obtaining a Performance Diploma from the Glenn Gould
School of the Royal Conservatory of Music.
In his free time, Justin enjoys studying movie soundtracks, mountain biking, and relaxing
with his cat, Bear.