Teachers

Jeff Conner is a founding member of the Boston Brass quintet and the only original member still with the group. He formed the ensemble with a group of Boston musicians while studying at Boston University, contributing to its rapid rise in the world of chamber music.

He earned his Master of Music degree from Boston University and his Bachelor’s degree from the Boston Conservatory. Conner has presented his clinic, The Portfolio Musician, at various universities, including Yale and the New England Conservatory.

He is also the co-author of The Portfolio Musician: Case Studies in Success, written in collaboration with Grammy-nominated musician John Laverty.

Domingo Pagliuca is an internationally renowned Venezuelan trombonist and an honors graduate of the University of Miami. He is currently a member of Boston Brass and serves as principal trombone of the Palm Beach Symphony.

Pagliuca began his musical studies in Caracas and made his solo debut with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela at the age of 18. Throughout his career, he has received numerous accolades, including a Latin Grammy for his album Eternal Gratitude.

He was the associate principal trombone of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela and has been an educator at various musical institutions. Pagliuca has toured extensively across the United States, Latin America, and Europe, performing alongside distinguished artists.

Chris Castellanos is the horn player for Boston Brass and a native of Las Vegas. He has had an outstanding musical career, performing alongside legends such as Plácido Domingo and Andrea Bocelli.

At the age of 18, he joined the Las Vegas Philharmonic and has since collaborated with numerous renowned artists. Since 2009, Castellanos has been a member of Boston Brass, serving as a horn player, arranger, and co-owner, touring worldwide.

He is also a prolific educator, teaching at prestigious institutions such as The Juilliard School and the Sibelius Academy. Castellanos has led workshops and masterclasses at over 100 educational institutions and is a member of the International Artist Advisory Council at Mahidol University in Thailand.

Beyond his musical career, he is the host of the podcast Music on the Rocks and co-owner of Pro Elite Music, a company specializing in instrument oils.

William Russell, tuba player for Boston Brass, is originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, and currently resides in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was a founding member of the Alliance Brass quintet in Chicago.

Russell has studied with renowned professors and is an alumnus of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Throughout his career, he has performed a wide range of genres across the United States and has toured Europe with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. His work includes a Grammy-winning recording and appearances in the Empire series.

He currently teaches at Northeastern Illinois University and performs with various jazz and pop groups in Chicago.

José Sibaja is a distinguished Costa Rican trumpet player, recognized across classical, Latin, jazz, and pop genres. His career includes collaborations with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica, as well as international tours with artists such as Ricky Martin and Alejandro Sanz.

Currently a member of Boston Brass, Sibaja has held principal trumpet positions in several orchestras. He trained at the New World School of the Arts and the University of Miami, and has participated in high-profile galas while collaborating with numerous world-renowned artists.

In addition, he is an artist for Yamaha Music Corporation, performing and giving masterclasses worldwide. Since 2016, Sibaja has been an Associate Professor of Trumpet at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University.

At just 22 years old, British-born Isobel Daws is one of the most promising trombonists in the world today. In 2018, she won the BBC Young Brass Award, performing the final live on BBC Radio 2.

Daws regularly collaborates with some of Europe’s top orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, among others.

In January 2022, she secured a position at the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic. She has recorded three CDs and is also an official Getzen Artist. Currently, Daws serves as principal trombone of the Luxembourg Philharmonic.

Iago Bernat Sanchis was born in Valencia, Spain, and began his horn studies with his father, Juan Bernat Alcaide, and Professor Vicente Zarzo. From 2017 to 2018, he studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid with Professor Radovan Vlatković. From 2018 to 2021, he completed his bachelor’s degree at the Hochschule für Musik Basel with Professor Christian Lampert. In 2023, he earned his Master’s in Horn Performance from the Hochschule für Musik Basel.

Iago Bernat Sanchis has been a member of several national and international youth orchestras, including the Orchesterakademie des Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festivals, the Joven Orquesta de Valencia (JORVAL), the Young Talents of the Madrid Symphony Orchestra, Neues Orchester Basel, Swiss Chamber Concerts Basel, and the Festival Landesstiftung Villa Musica.

He has attended several masterclasses with prominent horn players such as Maria Rubio, Stefan Dohr, Radek Baborak, Szabolcs Zempléni, and Johannes Hinterholzer. In 2021, he won a position as an academy member of the WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne.

Iago Bernat Sanchis has also performed as a solo horn player with orchestras such as the Stuttgart Opera, the Frankfurt Opera, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Currently, he serves as principal horn of the WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne.

Sérgio Carolino, is one of the most acclaimed tubists, with constant activity as a soloist and teacher in the most prestigious festivals, conservatories and universities on the six continents. TGB with Mário Delgado and Alexandre Frazão, TUBAX Duo with Mário Marques, TUBAB Duo, R’B & Mr.SC, The Postcard Brass Band, XL Duo with Telmo Marques, Surrealistic Discussion with João Barradas, Duo AR. with Maria João, SubWoof3r, Tuba&Drums Double Duo with Oren Marshall, Duo Adamastor with Cândido Fernandes, Funky Bones Factory!, Yamaha Tuba Duo with Shimpei Tsugita, Moderato Tangabile with Daniel Schvetz, T’N T “Tuba ‘n Tuba” with Gene Pokorny , Mr.SC & The Wild Bones Gang, European Tuba Trio with Anthony Caillet and François Thuillier, Conical Brass with Jeff Nelsen, Effervescence with James Thompson, TransAtlantic Tuba Connection with Mike Forbes, his solo project “BELOW 0″, the Daniel Bernardes Crossfade Ensemble, and the KOLIZIO Brass Sextet (with Antti Rissanen, Jukka Eskola, Jukka Myllys, Valtteri Malmivitra and Pasi Pirinen) run in his veins.Sérgio is, since 2002, principal tuba with the Porto Symphony Orchestra Casa da Música and he professor of tuba at the Porto Superior School of Music and Arts (ESMAE) from 2006 to July 2019, and since August 2023, he is on the faculty of the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music in Tokyo, Japan. Since 2010 he is the founder and artist director of GRAVÍSSIMO! – Alcobaça International Low Brass Festival & Academy.Sérgio has been associate guest professor for two semesters (Fall/Winter 2019 and Spring 2022) at the prestigious Indiana University – Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, USA.

He was a finalist for the position of solo tuba with the London Symphony Orchestra and secured the role of 1st Tuba in the Teatro Regio di Torino Orchestra, later obtaining the same position with the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Since 2015, he has collaborated with several orchestras, including the Real Filharmonía de Galicia, the Orquesta de Extremadura, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, the Orquesta de Radio Televisión Española (RTVE), the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León (OSCYL), the Orquesta Nacional de España (ONE), the Orquesta del Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra (OSN), the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao (BOS), among others.

He studied at Karlsruhe Music Academy with Reinhold Friedrich. His repertoire ranges from baroque music to modern music and jazz. He has won numerous awards including first prize at Maurice André International Competition and first prize at Prague Spring International Music Competition . Former soloist with NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester . He premiered many works by Japanese composer Toshio Hosokawa , including “Kiri-no Naka-de”, which won Otaka Prize . Since 2008 he has been a professor at Hanover Music Academy.

Marta Isabella Montes Sanz (Segovia, 2001) is the principal horn player of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia. She completed her studies at the Escuela Superior Reina Sofía and has worked with renowned conductors such as Iván Fischer, Daniele Gatti, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Marc Minkowski, Péter Eötvös, Elim Chan, Heinz Holliger, Gianandrea Noseda, and Matthias Pintscher.

Marta has performed on some of the most prestigious and important stages in the world, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the KKL in Lucerne, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and the Musiikkitalo in Finland.

One of the most influential musicians of our time, now a soloist, conductor, and educator, Ian Bousfield has been at the top of his profession for over 35 years, previously serving as principal trombone with the Vienna Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra.

As a soloist, he has performed with conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Michael Tilson Thomas, Sir Neville Marriner, and Kent Nagano, alongside the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, and the BBC Philharmonic. He has recorded multiple times for EMI, Chandos, and Camerata.

Currently, Ian is a trombone professor at the Hochschule der Künste in Bern and the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Adam Rapa is an American trumpet player, composer, arranger and educator. He is a versatile musician who expresses himself as much in the field of jazz, funk or pop as in the classical or contemporary music. Rapa was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He began studying the trumpet at 11 years old and when he was just 18, he was invited to play at jazz clubs in Boston, New York and numerous jazz festivals in the USA or, among others, the Vienna Jazz Festival or the Riverboat Jazz Festival. Adam Rapa gives concerts all over the world both as a soloist and accompanied by a jazz band. He also performs as a teacher for Master Classes, exhibitions or university lessons.

Oboist Celia Olivares trained at the conservatories of Musikene and Frankfurt.
With extensive experience in orchestral performance, she has worked in Finland, Germany, Malaysia, and Spain.
Her curiosity for personal development over the years led her to become a certified coach.
Celia Olivares Coach was born with the purpose of supporting other musicians in their careers, helping them balance their personal lives with the demands of the profession.
Through goal achievement, useful tools and resources are implemented to enhance performance and achieve greater well-being.

I have a degree in Physiotherapy from the University of A Coruña and I have completed a Master’s degree in Osteopathy in Neuromusculoskeletal Dysfunctions. In addition, I am an expert in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture and Moxibustion; MAT Pilates and accessory Pilates instructor and during my career I have done training such as Myofascial Induction, Dry Needling, Neuromeningeal Mobilization, Indiba® among others. My goal is to approach any musculoskeletal pathology from a holistic point of view to improve our physical well-being. Prior to training in the field of health, I obtained the title of Graduate in Music in the Specialty of Clarinet (Musikene), completing various training and postgraduate courses, such as the Postgraduate in Interpretation at the Superior Conservatory of Music of Aragon, or the Master’s Degree in Teacher Training at the University of Santiago de Compostela.