Summer Brass Academy
JULY 19–25, 2026
Ages 12–19
Walnut Hill Summer Brass Academy is a week-long intensive program designed for driven brass players to develop their technique, receive conservatory-level training, and grow their playing in an environment that is both rigorous and supportive. Between fundamental and technique classes, group warm-ups, brass ensembles, masterclasses, and small-group coachings, students will experience a week in the life of a professional brass player. World-renowned faculty will present a shared recital. A guest artist from the Boston Symphony brass section will also visit and present a solo recital and masterclass.
The Walnut Hill Summer Brass Academy is held at Walnut Hill's picturesque campus in Natick, MA, just outside of Boston.
Application Deadline: Extended to May 15
About the Program
Details
The Walnut Hill Summer Brass Academy is an intensive program designed for students ages 12-19 that are interested in focusing on their technique, musicianship, group warm-ups, small ensemble skills, and artistic inspiration. Participants are invited to campus at Walnut Hill for a week of group sessions, masterclasses, small group ensembles, presentations, and recitals. The week will culminate in a recital by participants in small ensembles, but will feature a guest recital and masterclass and a faculty shared recital. Topics of study will include solo playing, orchestral techniques, building a career in music, auditions, and chamber playing. Participants will have the opportunity to work closely with world-class faculty and artists, as well as enjoy social activities during off-time.
A typical day at Summer Brass Academy will include a group warmup, a masterclass or group class, a rehearsal, and an evening event or performance. There will also be free time built in for practice, social activities, or resting. All meals are included in boarding costs.
Day and boarding options are available for this program.
Application
Enrollment Process
- Complete and submit application in Slideroom with all required attachments (see below). Completed applications are reviewed by arts faculty on a rolling basis. You can expect to hear back within a few weeks of submission.
- If your application is accepted, you will receive an acceptance email with a link to enroll and submit tuition. Enrollment must be completed within 2 weeks of acceptance or a spot in the program is not guaranteed.
- Later in the spring, all enrolled students will receive a welcome packet with arrival, boarding, staff, and schedule information.
- If at any time you have questions about the program or the process, please contact Denali Kikuchi, Director of Auxiliary Programs & Rentals at dkikuchi@walnuthillarts.org.
Application Instructions
Please upload a single video of an etude of your choice. The selection should demonstrate your current playing level accurately. Please record on your phone in landscape mode and with good lighting. Your embouchure should be visible in the video.
Current Walnut Hill students need only fill out an application.
Application Deadline: Extended to May 15
Tuition & Fees
- Tuition: $1,000
- Room and Board: $1,200
Application Deadline: May 1
All meals are included with day and boarding tuition.
Payment Terms
- Payment is due in full (less scholarships, discounts, and FA) at time of enrollment.
- Payment plans are available. For more information email Denali Kikuchi, Director of Auxiliary Programs & Rentals at dkikuchi@walnuthillarts.org.
- Scholarships & financial aid
- Need based financial aid may be available. Please email Denali Kikuchi, Director of Auxiliary Programs & Rentals at dkikuchi@walnuthillarts.org, for a financial aid application.
- For an application fee waiver, please email Denali Kikuchi, Director of Auxiliary Programs & Rentals at dkikuchi@walnuthillarts.org.
- Merit based scholarships may be available at program faculty discretion. Please reach out to program directors for information on scholarships.
- Withdrawal & refunds
- Full refunds are only given in the case of withdrawal due to an unforeseen medical or family emergency, at the discretion of program administration.
- Partial refunds may be available as follows:
- Upon enrollment, 25% of tuition and room and board is non-refundable
- From April 1st to May 15th, withdrawal 50% of tuition and room & board fees may be refunded.
- From May 16th through 2 weeks before the start of the program, 25% of tuition and room & board fees may be refunded.
- Tuition and room & board fees are not refundable within 2 weeks of program start date.
Faculty
Alex Knutrud
Faculty
Widely recognized for his pedagogy, Alex leads Trombone Guide Studios, a distinguished private brass studio whose students and alumni have gone on to prestigious conservatories, pre-professional orchestras, and professional ensembles across 24 countries. In 2025, Alex was appointed to the brass faculty at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts.
As a pedagogue, Alex frequently presents masterclasses and workshops and has lectured on pedagogy, practice philosophy, and brass embouchure mechanics and repair. He has served on the faculties of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. His pedagogical books and etude collections are published by IMBrassworks.
An in-demand performer, Alex has held a tenured position with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra since 2021 and performs regularly with ensembles across the United States, including recent appearances with the Boston Philharmonic, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Hartford Symphony, Southwest Florida Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Cape Cod Symphony, among others. He is a founding member of both the Compass Quartet and the Boston Trombone Project, championing chamber music for low brass.
An advocate for new music, Alex is an acclaimed composer with numerous works published by IMBrassworks. His compositions have been featured in numerous recitals and competitions all across the world–most recently, the Jeju Brass Competition in South Korea, the Boston Conservatory Brass Festival, The Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival in South Korea, and the International Trombone Festival. His works have been premiered by industry-leading musicians, including members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Alex holds dual Bachelor of Music degrees, summa cum laude, in both Music Education and Trombone Performance from Ithaca College, a Master of Music in Trombone Performance from Boston University, and he is completing his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Trombone Performance at the New England Conservatory of Music. His primary teachers have been Jeff Gray, Toby Oft, and Stephen Lange.
Ashley Hall-Tighe
Faculty
Ashley Hall-Tighe is an internationally renowned trumpet soloist, chamber musician, clinician, and coach. With a performing career that spans over two decades, Ashley’s mission is to create musical environments that encourage curiosity, connection, and deep personal engagement with her audiences. From the Sydney Opera House to the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, China, she radiates an “energetic joy” (Rochester Post Bulletin) through her “warm tone, stunning technique and expressive artistry” (Cincinnati Enquirer). Since 2008, Ashley has been the principal trumpet of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, enjoying the multidisciplinary collaborations and innovative programming of the Summermusik Festival each August. From August 2023-May 2024, Ashley was a touring member of Canadian Brass, performing concerts around the world and entertaining audiences in the iconic and light-hearted style for which the group is known.
Ashley’s work as a soloist and chamber musician has taken her around the world. 2024 highlights include solo performances with the Roanoke Symphony and Rock Hill Symphony as well as recitals in Hong Kong, Australia, and throughout the United States. In addition to becoming the second woman to join Canadian Brass, Ashley has done numerous tours with the Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass and Stiletto Brass Quintet and was one of the founding members of the electro-acoustic trumpet quintet, Fifth Bridge and the all-female quintet, Seraph Brass.
As an active recording artist, Ashley frequently enjoys time in the studio collaborating on new projects. Ashley is releasing her debut solo album with pianist Ana Maria Otamendi, Upcycle, in the fall of 2024. This collection of transcriptions for trumpet and piano was created by Ashley’s husband Nathaniel Tighe, and it honors the artist’s common European classical roots while presenting a vision of what might have been possible if the modern trumpet was a solo instrument at the time these works were conceived. She recorded a new CD in 2018 called “JUHLAT: Festivals and Celebrations” with the Brass Septet, Ameriikan Poijat. In 2019, she was one of the featured artists on the International Trumpet Guild’s recordings of the Brandt Etudes. Ashley also recorded a PBS Special with Carolina Brass and the North Carolina Master Chorale called the “Joy of the Season” which was aired every holiday season between 2017-2019. “Christmas Wrapped in Brass” (2017) also features Ashley in the solo cornet section of the North Carolina Brass Band. In the fall of 2007, Ashley released her debut album entitled, "Behold Him", a collection of hymns for solo trumpet, and she has recorded two CD’s with EUROBRASS, “Give Thanks to the Lord”, and “Worthy is the Lord.”
Ashley’s passion for community engagement through the arts has taken on many iterations over the years but remains a focus of everything she does as an artist. As a soloist, she looks for opportunities to personally engage with audiences–creating an atmosphere of musical reciprocity. She creates entry points for their experience of the music and intentionally allows space for audiences to connect with her in a personal way. Additionally, she and her husband, Nathaniel Tighe, developed a show called “Art and Music: Making the Connection” which was featured in over 60 Dayton public schools and community venues. She also developed an interactive, multi-media brass quintet show called “Folk Tales: The Art of Story” which has been featured at the Cincinnati Children’s Theatre and the Forsyth County Public Library.
Ashley is on the trumpet faculty at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
She holds a bachelor's degree in trumpet performance from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music and an artist diploma from the Longy School of Music.
She proudly endorses GR Mouthpieces and is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
Stephen Lange
Guest Artist
A native of Dallas, Texas, Stephen Lange joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra trombone section in fall 2010. Previously, he held the assistant principal trombone chair of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra from 2000 to 2010, and made his solo debut with the orchestra in 2007 in Frank Martin's Concerto for Seven Winds. During his time in St. Louis, Lange helped found, and was a member of, The Trombones of the Saint Louis Symphony, a chamber group composed of the SLSO trombone section. The group gave masterclasses and recitals throughout the Midwest, culminating in the album "4.1." Before joining the SLSO, Lange performed one season with the San Antonio Symphony. He has also performed with the New York Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Opera House Orchestra, Extension Ensemble, and Colorado Music Festival.
He has taught at University of Texas at San Antonio and, during his tenure in St. Louis, was an adjunct professor of music at Washington University. He has given master classes and recitals throughout the country, including at Juilliard and Tanglewood. In May 1999, Lange completed the Juilliard School's Master of Music program as a student of Joesph Alessi. During his time at Juilliard, he performed the U.S. premiere of Ruben Seroussi's trombone concerto Playtime with the New Juilliard Ensemble. As a recipient of the Frank Smith Memorial Scholarship, Lange performed Nino Rota's Concerto for Trombone at the 1998 International Trombone Festival in Boulder, Colorado. Lange holds bachelor's degrees in science and music from Indiana University, where he was awarded Indiana University's Performer's Certificate. Other awards include first prize in the Lewis Van Haney International Trombone Competition at the International Trombone Festival, and, with the Extension Ensemble, first place at the 1999 Carmel Chamber Competition and the 1999 Fishoff Chamber Competition. Lange's former teachers are Joseph Alessi of New York Philharmonic; Keith Brown, professor emeritus at Indiana University; and Joe Dixon, trombone instructor in the Dallas area.
Walnut Hill School for the Arts reserves the right to cancel a course that fails to meet the required minimum enrollment. All payments are due in full at the time of registration and non-refundable. Refunds will only be issued in the event of program cancellation due to low enrollment.