Tuba-Euphonium Workshop

Benjamin Pierce

University of Arkansas

Benjamin Pierce

University of Arkansas

Benjamin Pierce is highly decorated as a champion of international solo competitions, winning more than a dozen in total between 1998 and 2008. He was notably the first euphonium or tuba player to advance to the final round of New York City’s prestigious Concert Artists Guild annual competition. Other competition wins include both the tuba and euphonium artist divisions of the Leonard Falcone Festival, the Markneukirchen Wettbeverb, and the Japan Wind and Percussion Competition, where he took the grand prize in 2001. An accomplished teacher, Pierce has been called on to lead master classes in Japan, Hong Kong, Spain, Finland, and across the U.S. He has been on the faculty of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville since 2003. His U of A students have gone on to attain prestigious positions in the premiere military bands as well as teaching positions in many secondary and post-secondary institutions. Pierce is perhaps regarded as a pioneer in performing on both the tuba and euphonium, taking advantage of their artistic possibilities in both solo and ensemble situations. He has toured extensively as a recitalist. In the orchestral realm he has been a member of the Ann Arbor Symphony and has performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Tulsa Symphony, among others. He is a member of the acclaimed Brass Band of Battle Creek, with whom he has performed on three instruments--the euphonium, bass tuba, and baritone. Pierce served as Editor of the ITEA Journal from 2011 to 2021 and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of ITEA during that tenure A proud Miraphone representative, Pierce performs on the 5050 Ambassador euphonium and the 481C Elektra F tuba.

MGySgt Mark Jenkins

U.S. Marine Band

MGySgt Mark Jenkins

U.S. Marine Band

Euphonium player Master Gunnery Sergeant Mark Jenkins “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in July 2002. He was appointed principal and section leader in 2012. Master Gunnery Sgt. Jenkins began his musical instruction at age 11. He graduated in 1996 from Durango High School in Las Vegas and continued his education at the University of North Texas in Denton, where he studied euphonium performance with Brian Bowman and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music performance in 2003. He earned a master of music degree from the University of Maryland in College Park in 2006 and a doctorate from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., in 2017. Prior to joining “The President’s Own,” Master Gunnery Sgt. Jenkins was a two-time winner of the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium Competition, and a finalist in the 2001 ITEC Euphonium Solo Competition in Finland. In 2005, Master Gunnery Sgt. Jenkins performed as a founding member of the Marine Band Tuba-Euphonium Quartet at the U.S. Army Band Tuba-Euphonium Conference in Arlington, Va., and the Potomac Festival’s International Tuba and Euphonium Competition in Fairfax, Va. In 2006, the same ensemble performed at the International Tuba-Euphonium Conference (ITEC) in Denver, Colo. He has performed as a guest soloist/clinician for the Southwest Regional Tuba/Euphonium Conference, the International Euphonium Institute at Emory University in Atlanta, and the Tubonium4 at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. The quartet was also featured at the Leonard Falcone Competition 2007 and ITEC 2008 in Cincinnati. Master Gunnery Sgt. Jenkins has performed several solos with the Marine Band including the Fantasia di Concerto by Eduardo Boccalari, “Auld Lang Syne” by Simone Mantia, as a 2010 and 2012 tour soloist performing Vladimir Cosma’s Euphonium Concerto, and Jean-Baptiste Arban's "Carnival of Venice" in 2015. Master Gunnery Sgt. Jenkins was also a soloist on the Marine Band's historic 2019 tour of Japan.

TSgt Alison Mahovsky

U.S. Air Force Band

TSgt Alison Mahovsky

U.S. Air Force Band

Technical Sergeant Alison Mahovsky is a euphoniumist with the Ceremonial Brass, The United States Air Force Band, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C. A native of Burke, Virginia, her Air Force career began in 2020. Sergeant Mahovsky completed her Bachelor of Music Education degree in 2013 at The University of North Texas. She then went on to earn dual Masters Degrees in Music Education and Euphonium Performance at The University of North Texas. Her most influential teachers are Jennifer Cox, Roger Behrend, and Dr. Brian Bowman. An accomplished soloist, Sergeant Mahovsky has received several international accolades. In 2010, she was the winner of The United States Air Force Band’s own George S. Howard Young Artist Competition. She was runner-up in the International Women’s Brass Conference’s Mock Audition competition in 2014, and in 2016 Mahovsky was awarded a Bronze Medal in the Artist Division of the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium Competition.