Boston Conservatory Brass Festival Weekend

Cartoon of brass instruments with white background

September 20–21, 2025

Boston Conservatory at Berklee is pleased to host Brass Weekend, a two-day celebration of musical artistry and creativity that all brass musicians and music lovers are invited to join.

The weekend will feature master classes, performances, and presentations by internationally recognized guest artists Caleb Hudson, Adam Unsworth, and Hilary Simms alongside Boston Conservatory at Berklee faculty members Joseph Foley, Richard Kelley, Eli Epstein, Anne Howarth, Norman Bolter, Larry Isaacson, Angel Subero, Ken Amis, and Marcus Rojas.

Guest Artists

New this year, we are excited to include a High School Brass Showcase, providing an opportunity for Boston-area youth orchestra and high school brass sections to share their artistry and engage more deeply with faculty and guest artists.

As part of the festival, the Conservatory will host a special brass competition for prospective undergraduate and graduate students, offering a chance to win a full-tuition scholarship to Boston Conservatory for the entire duration of the program of their choice.

Please note that scholarships are valid only upon full admission to Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Brass Festival Weekend is presented through Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s Artistry in Action series, which celebrates exceptional artists and initiatives that exemplify Boston Conservatory’s core values of excellence, innovation, and community engagement. All Brass Festival Weekend events are free, but registration is required for the master classes, exhibit hall, and brass solo competition.

Register here

Solo Competition Requirements

Interested participants must meet the following criteria, and register for the festival competition no later than August 15, 2025:

They must be eligible to enroll in a degree or diploma program at Boston Conservatory at Berklee beginning in fall 2026.
They must have a completed online application on file for Boston Conservatory at Berklee prior to the competition finals on Sunday, September 21, 2025. Boston Conservatory’s application portal is open as of July 1. Learn more about how to apply and get started here.
They must submit a link to an unedited pre-screen video recording (with or without accompaniment), captured in a single take, including one selection from each of the three required categories, based upon their instrument.
- Note: Recordings of poor quality or those with signs of editing and digital manipulation may be disqualified.

A detailed festival schedule will be released in late August.

Pre-Screen Competition Requirements

Horn

Category 1, Etude or Excerpts: Brahms Symphony No. 3, third movement (Poco allegretto), horn 1, measures 97–110; or Strauss Till Eulenspiegel, horn 1, measures 6–20; or Kopprasch Etude No. 22 (without repeats)

Category 2, Piece: Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1, first movement; or Mozart Horn Concerto No. 4, first movement, up to but not including the cadenza

Category 3, Free Choice: 2–3 minutes

Trumpet

Category 1, Etude or Excerpts: any unaccompanied Charlier etude

Category 2, Piece: first movement of Haydn Trumpet Concerto or Hummel Trumpet Concerto

Category 3, Free Choice: 2–3 minutes

Trombone

Category 1, Etude or Excerpts: Ravel Boléro; or Rossini William Tell; or Mahler Symphony No. 3

Category 2, Piece: first movement of Launy Grøndahl Trombone Concerto or Ferdinand David Trombone Concertino

Category 3, Free Choice: 2–3 minutes

Bass Trombone

Category 1, Etude or Excerpts: Rossini William Tell; or Haydn Creation, No. 26; or Wagner Das Rheingold

Category 2, Piece: Alex Knudred, Concerto for Bass Trombone (first movement)

Category 3, Free Choice: 2–3 minutes

Euphonium

Category 1, Etude or Excerpts: an unaccompanied Charlier etude

Category 2, Piece: third movement of Joseph Horovitz Euphonium Concerto; or first movement of Vladimir Cosma Euphonium Concerto; or first movement of Philip Sparke Euphonium Concerto

Category 3, Free Choice: 2–3 minutes

Tuba

Category 1, Etude or Excerpts: Blazhevich 70 Studies, Vol.1, Etude No. 35 (R. King Publications); or Blazhevich 70 Studies, Vol.1, Etude No. 42 (R. King Publications); or Silvestre Revueltas Sensemayá, beginning to rehearsal 11, and rehearsal 33 to the end

Category 2, Piece: third movement of Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto; or third movement of John Williams Tuba Concerto; or third movement of Barbara York Tuba Concerto; or third movement of Kenneth Amis Tuba Concerto; or Penderecki Capriccio; or Libby Larsen Concert Piece for Tuba and Piano

Category 3, Free Choice: 2–3 minutes

Selected Finalists

Finalists will be notified by August 20, 2025 with an invitation to perform in the live round of the competition on Sunday, September 21, 2025. Rehearsal time on Saturday, September 20, and competition accompaniment will be provided.

For this live competition round, finalists must perform a piece from the competition requirements listed below. Note: Finalists are not required to perform their selection from memory.

Final Round Live Performance Competition Requirements

Horn

Final Performance: Either Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1 (complete) or Mozart Horn Concerto No. 4 (complete)

Trumpet

Final Performance: Either Haydn Trumpet Concerto (complete) or Hummel Trumpet Concerto (complete)

Trombone

Final Performance: Either Launy Grøndahl Trombone Concerto or Ferdinand David Trombone Concertino (complete)

Bass Trombone

Final Performance: Alex Knudrud, Concerto for Bass Trombone (complete)

Euphonium

Final Performance: Joseph Horovitz Euphonium Concerto (complete); or Vladimir Cosma Euphonium Concerto (complete); or Philip Sparke Euphonium Concerto (complete)

Tuba

Final Performance: Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto (complete); or John Williams Tuba Concerto (complete); or Kenneth Amis Tuba Concerto second and third movements; or Barbara York Tuba Concerto (complete); or Penderecki Capriccio and Libby Larsen Concert Piece for Tuba and Piano

Any other questions can be emailed to Matthew Marsit at mmarsit@berklee.edu.