Top brass

An hour-long music session usually isn’t long enough to change the course of a musician’s career, but for several Wright State University music majors, it only took 30 minutes.

Wright State’s School of Fine and Performing Arts hosted Ashley Hall-Tighe, who recently joined the Canadian Brass, during a guest artist residency on Nov. 1.

“Having access to someone like Ashley in our building, there are no words,” Kyle Semmelroth, a graduate music student.

Hall-Tighe is the second woman to join the world-renowned Canadian Brass and the first woman to play the trumpet in the chamber group.

“Playing the trumpet is really about making authentic and genuine connections both through the music and with the audiences, and that’s what Canadian Brass does so well,” said Hall-Tighe.

Hall-Tighe’s residence sessions consisted of 30-minute one-on-one lessons with Wright State students, two masterclass sessions with music majors and a faculty workshop.

Lily Rindler, a first-year music major, said she had been struggling with controlling her air while playing her trumpet and Hall-Tighe was able to help during her lesson.

“It seems small since it was only a half hour, but when you apply that to practice for days then months then years and it builds a habit and then suddenly your playing has been elevated so much more,” said Rindler.

Semmelroth said even though the lesson was short he would apply what he learned for the rest of his career. “It was priceless,” he said.

Stephen Wadsack, instructor of jazz ensembles in the School of Fine and Performing Arts, was able to attend the one-on-one sessions and he said watching the students transform during their lessons with Hall-Tighe is more than he could have hoped for.

“Seeing Ashley make a really tangible difference in a student’s life just makes it all worth it,” said Wadsack.

Hall-Tighe will perform with the Canadian Brass during a Holiday Pops Concert at the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center in downtown Dayton on Dec. 2.