Dr. Megan Boutin is the Assistant Professor of Music in Trombone at East Texas A&M University. She has performed, presented, and adjudicated at conferences and festivals including the International Trombone Festival, American Trombone Workshop, Midwest Clinic, International Women’s Brass Conference, Big 12 Trombone Conference, and the Music by Women Festival. An active performer and soloist, she is the winner of the 2019 International Women's Brass Conference Tenor Trombone Category II solo division, and has also performed as a guest soloist at the Midwest Clinic. Dr. Boutin has held the position of principal trombone with the Temple Symphony Orchestra, Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Tri-Cities Opera Company Orchestra. She has performed with ensembles including the Dallas Symphony, Dallas Opera, Dallas Winds, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Austin Symphony Orchestra, and Austin Lyric Opera.

One of her passions is chamber music. She is a member of the Slides in Harmony Trombone Quartet, and a founding member of the Magnolia Brass Quintet. As a guest she has performed with Boston Brass, Austin Symphony Brass Quintet, Stiletto Brass Quintet, Mirari Brass Quintet, and the Athena Brass Band. 

As an educator she has been a featured guest artist for conferences as well as presented masterclasses and performed at universities throughout the United States. She served as a coach to the International Trombone Association’s Quartet Competition 2021 winners, and was an assistant conductor for the TAMUK Trombone Choir’s performance at the 2021 Midwest Clinic. An advocate for diversity and inclusion in music, Dr. Boutin is a member of the International Women’s Brass Conference and serves as a mentor with the IWBC mentorship program. Dr. Boutin is also a member of the International Trombone Association, serving as an Advisor for the ITA Student Council. Additionally, she is the author of “Dr. Nathaniel Brickens: Winner of the 2019 Neill Humfeld Award,” published in the International Trombone Association Quarterly Journal (July 2022). 

As a supporter and promotor of new music, and a passion for inclusivity in classical music, Dr. Boutin has led and contributed to recent projects highlighting new works and composers. Dr. Boutin recorded “Golden Trees”, by Yukiko Nishimura, for the project Winds of Change: 12 Progressive Solos for Trombone from Diversify the Stand, which was published and released in 2022. In 2024 she led a commission as a member of her trombone quartet Slides in Harmony, for Carolina Calvache’s new work “Comienzos”. She has also been a member of consortium projects for new works including Dorothy Gates’s “Ballyhornan” (2024) and James M. David’s “Three Summits”.

Dr. Boutin holds degrees in Music Education from Ithaca College (B.M., Music Education), the Eastman School of Music (M.M.) and the University of Texas at Austin (D.M.A.). Principal teachers include Dr. Harold Reynolds, Mark Kellogg, Dr. John Marcellus, and Dr. Nathaniel Brickens. Dr. Boutin has held positions at Murray State University and Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She grew up in Brunswick, Maine, and loves returning to the state to visit beaches, hike, visit Bar Harbor, and carriage drive with her horse. Dr. Boutin is an S.E. Shires and Greg Black Artist, and is an active member of the International Trombone Association and the International Women’s Brass Conference. 

Alex van Duuren currently serves as Assistant Professor of Trombone at the University of Tennessee, where he is responsible for private and class instruction of undergraduate and graduate trombone students, as well as performing with the UT Faculty Brass Quintet. His experiences as a dynamic performer and creative instructor have helped him develop wide-ranging proficiencies that are adaptable to diverse academic and professional environments.

Dr. van Duuren completed his doctorate at the University of Arizona, two master's degrees at the University of Michigan, and an undergraduate degree at the University of Florida. His primary instructors were, respectively, Moisés Paiewonsky, David Jackson, and Dr. Art Jennings. In addition, he completed a doctoral minor in Entrepreneurship with Eller College of Management, which he received while participating in the nationally renowned McGuire Entrepreneurship Program.

Dr. van Duuren has performed with a variety of professional ensembles including the Knoxville Symphony, Tucson Symphony, Symphony Augusta, and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Sonora, and has also performed with Celtic Woman, the Ohio Light Opera, and the Disneyland All-American College Band. In addition, he performs with the Quintasonic Brass Quintet and the Chimera Trombone Quartet. Dr. van Duuren still performs on his original instrument, serving as a piano accompanist for professional recording sessions as well as for his trombone students.

Hailed by The Boston Musical Intelligencer as "outstanding" and "fearless," Dr. Elisabeth Shafer, a native of State College, PA, is a dedicated performer and music educator. She has appeared in concert with orchestras and ensembles, including the Memphis Symphony Orchestra,  ProMusica Columbus, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, The Jackson Symphony, CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, Toledo Symphony Brass, Akron Symphonic Winds, Memphis Jazz Orchestra, DanJo Jazz Orchestra, Symphony in C, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony, the Nittany Valley Symphony, and Barclay Brass. Dr. Shafer was the interim core member of Seraph Brass from 2019 - 2021 and has appeared as a guest soloist with ensembles including Seraph Brass, The University of Akron Symphonic and Concert Bands, The University of Akron Symphony Orchestra, and the Perry High School Symphonic Winds at the Ohio Music Educators Association Conference. She has presented solo and chamber performances at the American Trombone Workshop, the International Trombone Festival, and the International Women's Brass Conference, including a presentation titled "Songs She Wrote: A Joint Recital of Works by Women Composers” highlighting the works of women composers. Dr. Shafer frequently performs chamber and solo recitals at universities across the country. 

Dr. Shafer serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Trombone at Ohio State University. Prior to her appointment, she served on the faculty at the University of Memphis and The University of Akron. She has taught at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Trombone Workshop, was a Teaching Artist in the Music in Schools Initiative in New Haven, CT, and is currently on the faculty at Luzerne Music Center, a summer arts organization in the Adirondacks devoted to bringing enriching musical experiences and education to young musicians from around the world. Dr. Shafer has presented clinics for the International Trombone Workshop, the Ohio Music Educator's Association conference, and the Tobi Institute and frequently gives clinics at schools and universities across the United States.

Dr. Shafer earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trombone Performance from Boston University, her Master of Music degree from Yale School of Music in Trombone Performance, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Temple University in Trombone Performance. Her primary teachers include Toby Oft, Scott Hartman, and Matthew Vaughn. Dr. Shafer is a Conn-Selmer Performing Artist.

Zsolt Szabo, DMA, is the Associate Professor of Trombone/Euphonium at Western Carolina University, and performs as Principal Trombone with the Brevard Philharmonic Orchestra. Additionally, he is a member of The Hungarian Trombone Connection and Slides in Harmony Trombone Quartet. Previously, Szabo was the Principal Trombonist of the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra in Chicago. Between 2009-2011, Szabo was a full-time member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago where he worked with conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Pierre Boulez, David Robertson, Xian Zhan, EsaPekka Salonen, Jaap van Zweden, Erik Nielsen, Markus Stenz, Larry Rachleff, and Cliff Colnot. In 2010, Szabo performed in Chicago and Carnegie Hall with Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra where he has been a substitute for the orchestra on other occasions as well. He has performed as a guest with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Greenville Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra and internationally with the Monterrey Symphony Orchestra (Mexico) and the WCIT World Orchestra (Armenia). Szabo has also performed with numerous other orchestras and chamber ensembles in North Carolina, Illinois, Tennessee, South Carolina, Iowa, and Indiana.

In 2019, Szabo was invited to present a masterclass at the prestigious Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in France. The previous year, Szabo taught a masterclass at the the Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia. In addition, Szabo has given guest masterclasses at The University of Florida, The University of Tennessee, University of Georgia, Appalachian State University, Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, Eastern Illinois University, Texas Tech University, and the “Liszt Ferenc” Music Academy in Budapest, Hungary.

Prior to joining the faculty at WCU, Szabo received the highly-competitive Iowa Performance Fellowship Award at The University of Iowa School of Music where he was a Teaching Fellow while completing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trombone Performance and Pedagogy. In the spring semester of 2012, Szabo taught as a Trombone Lecturer at Western Illinois University.

Szabo received a DMA from The University of Iowa, a Performance Diploma from Roosevelt University Music Conservatory as a student of Jay Friedman, a Master of Music Degree from Western Illinois University, and a Bachelor of Music Degree from “Gheorge Dima” Music Academy.

Szabo can be heard on the Hungarian Trombone Connection’s “Overture” album, as well as American Trombone Quartet’s “Premier” and Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet’s “Celebrating 25 Years” recordings.

Zsolt Szabo is an Edwards Artist/Clinician and performs exclusively on Edwards trombones.