Joseph Alessi, the New York Philharmonic’s principal trombonist, will be coming to the University for a nine-day seminar July 27 through August 3. The seminar began in 1999 and is held bi-annually in the U.S. This year will be the second consecutive time for the seminar to be hosted at The University of Alabama.

Although he is a great trombonist, it is not just Alessi’s music that will draw attendees to the seminar. It is essentially his person, said UA trombone professor Jonathan Whitaker.

“It’s more him than his music,” Whitaker said. “He is sort of the leading celebrity in what we do. He is the Michael Jordan of the trombone, so to speak. That is why it is such a unique seminar.”

The seminar draws musicians from around the world and will be a great opportunity for students of Whitaker. Whitaker said his students will audit the seminar free of charge because they will be helping with setup.

Three students from the University were chosen to be performers through a recorded audition, a process that maintains anonymity. However, anyone is able to audit the course if he or she desires.

One of these students is doctoral student Bruce Faske.

“When I think about the Alessi Seminar, I am reminded of the legacy of incredible trombonists who have taken part since the first event in 1999,” said Faske, who just completed the third year of his doctorate in musical arts in trombone performance. “The list reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of the trombone world, and I am honored to have my name on that list twice. Joe is a master teacher who gets right to the heart of the matter because he wants you to be your very best. It might sound cliché, but I believe in this seminar because this seminar believes in me.”

This is Faske’s second time to participate in the Alessi seminar, and he believes the honor of hosting this seminar is due to the work of the UA faculty.

“I am not exaggerating when I say that it is as much an honor to host this event on the UA campus as it is to host the best names in sports, science, politics or literature,” he said. “My teacher here at UA, Dr. Jonathan Whitaker, has made it his professional mantra to create the best experience possible for his students, and the Alessi Seminar goes a long way in making that mantra a reality.”

Another third-year doctorate student, John Shanks, was chosen to be a performer at the seminar. This is Shanks’ third year to participate in the seminar. His first year he was an auditor, the second year, a soloist, and this year, he is a participant and will get to work with Alessi personally.

For Shanks, it is not just about the education he will receive during the course of the seminar, but about the people he will meet and interact with.

“It is sort of not only the playing and education I will get, but it also about networking,” he said. “If you look down the list, a lot of the people are very well-known musicians in our field. But to spend time working with [Alessi], you can’t put a price on that.”

Shanks also acknowledged what an honor it is that three UA students were chosen to participate in the seminar.

“All the people who are chosen are chosen anonymously,” he said. “Not just one, but three students were chosen from UA. That speaks well of Dr. Whitaker and the UA music program. There will be people from Europe and Asia and all over the U.S., so it speaks very well of what Dr. Whitaker and the music program are doing.”

The third student chosen is an undergraduate student. Ben Carrasquillo is a junior majoring in trombone performance with a focus in jazz studies.

“To be selected for the Alessi Seminar is an enormous honor, and I feel incredibly lucky to be able to be a part of it,” Carrosquillo said. “As a student, the ability to have hands-on instruction time with the faculty of the seminar is invaluable, and being able to meet and play with other great players is an important part of what we do as musicians.”

Carrosquillo believes Alessi has probably had an influence on every young trombonist’s playing.

“For me personally, I base a lot of my musical decisions on his recordings of our solo works and orchestral excerpts,” he said. “He is at the top of his field, and any player would be smart to emulate his playing.”

Whitaker believes it is quite an honor to be hosting the seminar, especially for the second time. For anyone who is not knowledgeable of the trombone, Whitaker parallels the experience to auditing Coach Saban’s football practices.

“It’s like a football player or high school football coach getting a pass to all of Nick Saban’s practices for a week,” he said. “It’s on that level of intensity in the trombone world. It’s absolutely invaluable.”