Trumpet & Trombone Day

Alexander Freund, Trumpet

Georgia State University

Born in Germany, Alexander studied with Rainer Auerbach (Berlin State Opera), Robert Platt and Konradin Groth (Berlin Philharmonic) at the University of Arts in Berlin, and Peter Leiner (Radio Orchestra Saarbrücken) at the University Saar in Saarbrücken. He studied with with Jens Lindeman, Fred Mills, Tim Morrison, Hannes Läubin, and James Thompson.  In 2016 he began his Doctoral Degree at the Schulich School of Music at the McGill University in Montreal with Richard Stoelzel.

Alexander has been invited to play with the Berlin State Opera, the Cologne Radio Orchestra, NDR Symphony Orchestra Hannover, and Tenerife Symphony Orchestra. He performed under conductors Daniel Barenboim, Semyon Bychkov, and Giuseppe Sinopoli.

He was Co-Principal Trumpet with the Opera Bremen, Soloist at Deutsches Theater Berlin and played in Disney’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. From 2003 until 2018 he lived in México where he was principal of the Symphony Orchestras of Michoacán and Nuevo Leon. Alex was Professor at the Conservatorio de las Rosas in Morelia, from 2005 to 2016.

Alexander Freund is a founding member of M5 MEXICAN BRASS where he has performed in more than1000 concerts. He has also performed as a soloist in Mexico, the U.S., Canada, Peru, Korea, Italy, Germany, and France.

William Mann, Trombone

Georgia State University

William Mann joined the faculty at Georgia State University in the fall of 2013, where he is assistant professor of trombone and serves as brass area coordinator. His duties include teaching the trombone studio, coaching brass chamber music, teaching brass techniques and overseeing the brass area. Prior to his appointment at GSU, Dr. Mann taught at Morehead State University, the University of Missouri, Prairie View A&M University and the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor. In addition to college teaching, Dr. Mann taught instrumental music in the Texas Public Schools and served as a private studio teacher for over 12 years.

Dr. Mann is regularly sought after as a lecturer, clinician and performer throughout the United States and Brazil, including the Bay View Music Festival in Bay View, MI, and the Festival Nacional de Musica in Goiania, Brazil.

In the summer of 2012, he won second place in the overall solo competition at the International Women’s Brass Conference in Kalamazoo, MI, competing against other brass musicians from around the world.

Dr. Mann’s orchestral experiences include performing with groups such as the Lexington Philharmonic, Ohio Valley, West Virginia, Quad-City, Missouri, Tuscaloosa, Meridian, Victoria and Waco Symphonies. He has also performed with the Austin Lyric Opera, as well as the Victoria Bach, Texas Music and Hot Springs Music Festivals, and the 49th Armored Division Band. His jazz experience includes performing with the Di Martino Osland Jazz Orchestra (DOJO) and the Waco Jazz Orchestra, among others.

Dr. Mann also enjoys performing in various chamber music settings. He was a founding member of the Austin Brass Ensemble and the LEX4 Trombone Quartet, and has performed with the faculty quintets at Morehead State University, the University of Missouri and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

In the fall of 2007, Dr. Mann premiered Trifecta, for solo trombone and brass quartet, by Kenyon Wilson, written for Dr. Mann upon his appointment to the faculty at the University of Missouri. He performed the same work, arranged by the composer for solo trombone and tuba/euphonium ensemble, at the 2008 Southeastern Composers League Forum, with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble, under the direction of the composer. Dr. Mann can also be heard on two recordings in the Hot Springs Music Festival Orchestra: the Grammy-nominated Edmond Dédé – Orchestral Works and Louis Moreau Gottschalk – A Night in the Tropics on the Naxos Label.

Dr. Mann received his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in trombone performance from the University of Texas at Austin in addition to a Bachelor of Music Education from Baylor University. His primary teachers include David Gier, David Jackson, Donald Knaub, Allen Barnhill, John Marcellus and Nathaniel Brickens. Additional experiences include studies with Scott Hartmann, Dennis Wick, John Kitzman, James Thompson, Michael Powell, Ronald Barron, Matt Vaughn, Joe Burnam and Jay Evans.