School of Music

All State Band Recordings

Welcome to the USC All-State Band Recording Project. You can hear recordings of all audition études required for the 2024-25 All-State Band Auditions performed by the world-class faculty of the USC School of Music below. You can also read and download written performance notes to aid in the preparation of these etudes. Sheet music for these études can be obtained from your director only and are no longer available directly for download.

You are encouraged to visit each faculty member's page, which includes their biographical and contact information. You may contact any member of the applied faculty with questions about all-state preparation, your instrument, or about the nationally and internationally recognized University of South Carolina School of Music.

With the exception of the percussion études, written by Omar Carmenates, all of the solo études were composed by Dr. Brad Edwards. In addition to the recordings and performance notes available on this site, Dr. Edwards has created a "practice pack" for each of the brass and woodwind solos that includes duet parts, piano accompaniments, playing tips and exercises. There is also a SmartMusic accompaniment file available as part of the "practice pack." The packs are available at AuditionSolos.com for a small fee.

Please direct general questions and comments about the All-State Recording Project to:
Michael Harley, coordinator, USC All-State Band Recording Project mharley@mozart.sc.edu.

Troubleshooting

The audio files below are in a streaming format that cannot be downloaded. The streaming service is in html 5 format and the audio player has been tested on all major platforms, both desktop and mobile. If you have difficulties receiving the streams, you can check if your browser is html 5 compliant by going to html5test.com. Address additional technology questions to support@mozart.sc.edu.

Bass Trombone

Michael Wilkinson is a versatile music educator and musician who doubles on tenor and bass trombone (as well as alto, contrabass and euphonium) and taught middle school band in Arizona in his “past life.” Equally at home in varied musical styles, he has played with the South Carolina Philharmonic and the Brass Band of Central Florida, as well as being a member of the newly-formed South Carolina Jazz Masterworks Ensemble. Michael released his first solo CD, “Wait for Me!”, on Random Act Records in 2017, and is an S.E. Shires Trombone Artist.

Bassoon

Michael Harley enjoys a diverse career as a teacher, performer, and music advocate. At USC he teaches bassoon and occasional courses in music history and contemporary music, coaches chamber music, and is artistic director of the award-winning Southern Exposure New Music Series. A proponent of contemporary music, Mike is a founding member of the acclaimed chamber orchestra Alarm Will Sound, called “new music luminaries” and “one of the most vital and original ensembles on the American musical scene” (New York Times).

Clarinet

Clarinetist Joseph Eller has performed solo and chamber music recitals throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. He was appointed principal clarinetist of the South Carolina Philharmonic in 2012 and has played extra with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Opera Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra and numerous other orchestras throughout the southeastern United States.

Euphonium

Ronald Davis is principal tubist with the South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra and is currently serving as coordinator of the Brass Teaching Division. As an orchestral player, he has performed with the Augusta Symphony Orchestra, the Santa Barbara Symphony, the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Sinfonia Orchestra under Roger Wagner, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Charleston and Charlotte Symphonies.

Flute

An active recitalist and prizewinner in several national competitions, including the 1998 and 2001 National Flute Association’s Young Artist Competitions, Jennifer Parker-Harley appears as a frequent performer at the NFA’s annual convention and in schools and music series across the country. An experienced orchestral flutist, she was a member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Ohio for eight years before moving to South Carolina.

Horn

J.D. Shaw was formerly the French hornist with the internationally acclaimed Boston Brass where he was creative director, music arranger and co-owner of the ensemble. He is an active solo artist and travels extensively throughout the United States as well as many countries in North America, Europe and Asia. He has also been a featured performer on National Public Radio's Performance Today and the CBS Morning Show.

Low Clarinet

Steve Christ is a clarinetist, technician, and educator.

Oboe

Noted for his clarity of tone, range of colors, and energetic stage presence, Hassan Anderson was the oboist of the acclaimed innovative New York-based chamber music ensemble SHUFFLE Concert (Ensemble Mélange), a position he has held from 2011-2018. With the ensemble, Mr. Anderson toured Israel three times, performed on series throughout the US and Canada, including the Duplex, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Rose Studio at Lincoln Center, New York’s Rhinebeck Chamber Music Society Series, Los Angeles’s L'Ermitage Concert Series, Pennsylvania’s Lancaster Performing Arts Center, and Pepperdine University Center for the Arts in California, as well as at such distinguished summer festivals as Cooperstown Music Festival, Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival, Canada’s Chamberfest Ottawa, to name a few.

Percussion

Scott Herring performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and was a member of the Northwestern University Graduate Percussion Quartet, which traveled to Germany and London for performances. He frequently appears as a guest artist with university percussion ensembles across the U.S. and has presented concerts and clinics at PASIC 1996, 2002, 2006 and 2011.

Saxophone

Clifford Leaman is in great demand as a soloist and clinician and has performed and taught throughout the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, France, Slovenia, Sweden, Thailand and in China where he was a featured guest artist eight times since 2004. He has performed as a concerto soloist with the ShenZhen Symphony Orchestra, at the XII World Saxophone Congress in Montreal, Canada (2000), the North American Saxophone Alliance’s 2006 Biennial Conference in Iowa City, Iowa, the 2008 International Navy Band Symposium in Washington D.C., and the XV World Saxophone Congress in July, 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Trombone

Trumpet

Hailed in jazz circles as “a standout soloist with the power, range and flexibility to rival Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw,” (DownBeat Magazine, 2014) and in classical as “among the very best trumpet soloists in the world today,” (Journal of the International Trumpet Guild, 2011) and “One of the finest virtuosos of our time,” (Brass Herald, 2018) Yamaha Performing Artist Rex Richardson was named the 2008 Brass Herald International Personality of the Year.

Tuba

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