Brandon Jones

Brandon Michael Jones is a Kentucky native and attended Western Kentucky University for his musical studies. In 2001, Brandon was selected by taped audition to travel to Lahti, Finland as a 19-year-old to compete in the 2001 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference (ITEC) Artist Solo Competition. He would be the youngest to ever make the finals at that time and would perform with the Vaasa Symphony Orchestra in the finals. The following year, the competition was held at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Brandon would again make the finals, something that had never been accomplished before by someone at his young age. The next year, Brandon was selected to attend the Brass Band of Battle Creek “Avalon” summer brass band camp, and was named principal euphonium after the audition process was complete. He would be featured on the week-ending concert as a soloist, where he performed the “Concerto for Euphonium” by Vladimir Cosma. While at Western Kentucky University, Brandon was the featured soloist on several occasions, including at the KMEA Conference and the wind ensemble’s trip to Russia, performing in the Great Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow as well as throughout St. Petersburg. Brandon was also featured as a soloist on the WKU Wind Ensemble Tour on two other separate occasions, including performances throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. Brandon was also featured as a soloist frequently with the Southern Kentucky Concert Band as well as one of the featured soloists on the annual “PRISM” concert, a long-standing tradition at WKU.

As a clinician and teacher, Brandon is one of the most sought out artists across the USA for brass clinics as well as master classes involving direct work with students. He has taught brass clinics at the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, the Tennessee Music Educators Association Conference, as well as numerous universities across the nation. He maintains a strong studio of high school brass players and is very passionate about educating young brass players, giving them opportunities to succeed at the highest level possible. Brandon has had several students to be selected as principal euphonium and principal tuba in Kentucky over the years, some years having the entire euphonium section in the top group of the Kentucky All-State band came from his studio! His students have also competed at, and won, the Leonard Falcone competition as well as the ITEC competitions. Brandon’s students also go on to consistently receive distinguished-plus ratings at solo and ensemble festivals, earn principal chair in their respective district bands, principal chair in numerous honor band groups, and have gone on to fill principal chairs in some of the nations finest collegiate wind ensembles.

As a soloist, Brandon is one of the fastest rising and most active figures in the euphonium world today. He has been featured as a guest soloist at various conferences on numerous occasions, including the world premiere of “Danny Boy” by John Fannin, which was written for him and the Muhlenberg North Middle School Band, and was premiered at the 2005 KMEA Conference. Brandon has performed countless times with some of the finest high school, collegiate, and professional ensembles throughout the country, including the world-renowned Brass Band of Battle Creek under the baton of Mark Gould in the Cayman Islands. Brandon performs as principal and solo euphoniumist with the newly formed Southern Stars Symphonic Brass Band out of Crossville, TN. Brandon has also been featured as a performing artist at the International Tuba Euphonium Conference. His performance schedule takes him from coast to coast and beyond. His first solo CD, titled “Influences” is set for release in the fall of 2009.

Brandon is a Buffet Crampon USA Clinician and a Besson Euphonium Performing Artist, and is very proud to be a part of both highly prestigious organizations. He performs exclusively on the Prestige 2052 euphonium and a mouthpiece of his own design by Greg Black.