UMass Amherst appointment and graduate opportunity...

[Matthew Gaunt]

To those interested:

Matthew Gaunt has been appointed Visiting Assistant Professor of tuba and euphonium at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. A member of Burning River Brass and Proteus 7, Mr. Gaunt will be joining the UMass/Amherst faculty in August of 2004.



The Umass/Amherst Music Department is seeking a Graduate Teaching Assistant for Tuba beginning September 2004. This assistantship includes full tuition remission (I believe it leaves only around $1,200 in fees to the student), and a stipend of $5,863. Duties include rehearsing and performing with the Graduate Brass Quintet and other duties to be announced. Please visit http://www.umass.edu/music/index.html for more information or contact Matthew Gaunt via email at MHGaunt@aol.com.

Matthew H. Gaunt (tuba) currently performs and records as a member of Proteus 7, an eclectic combination of brass, woodwinds, and percussion, and as a member of Burning River Brass. In addition to performing with acclaimed groups such as Rhythm & Brass and the Empire Brass, his chamber music experience includes performances and recordings as a member of the award-winning quintets Boston Brass, Paramount Brass, and Epic Brass. As an orchestral musician, Mr. Gaunt has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, and all of the regional orchestras in New England and was formerly Principal Tuba of the Albany Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, he has performed with such groups as the Massachusetts Wind Orchestra, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and the Harvard University Wind Ensemble (performing on their rare sub-contrabass tuba). Mr. Gaunt received the Bachelor of Music in Tuba Performance from the Boston University School of Music and has studied with J. Samuel Pilafian, Gary Ofenloch, and Chester Schmitz.


Thanks!

[jmanning]

This is great news for UMass, congratulations Matt! I was so happy to hear the news since both Matt and I have known each other for years. We both studied with Sam Pilafian and have spent years playing chamber music and freelancing in Boston. Matt is a wonderful player and gifted teacher. I can't imagine a better successor and I know my former students will be in good hands. Best of luck Matt!

[CJ Krause]

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[tubapress]

Congratulations Matt! Seems UMass has started a tradition of fantastic tuba teachers/players. I can't think of anyone more qualified for the job and some lucky grad student is going to get a great deal and education!

Best of luck with it all and say hi to Eric for me!

[glangfur]

Woohoo!

Matt told me this yesterday when I saw him (generously lending his beautiful Rudy Meinl 3/4 CC to a poor bass trombone player attempting to play the tuba).

Congratulations are certainly in order to Matt, but also to the administration of the music school at UMass, for recognizing that a doctorate is not a necessary requirement to be a great musician or a great teacher. Kudos to them for making a priority to hire the best musicians they can find, regardless of how many letters they have after their names.

Hey John, hey Mark...I'm really lucky to have such great tuba players to play with here in New England!

[Matthew Gaunt]

Thanks everybody for the good wishes and the really nice remarks - I really really appreciate everybody's support!

Matt