2026 Faculty and Guest Artists
Dr. Anne-Marie Cherry
Columbus State University
Dr. Anne-Marie Cherry is a versatile performer and educator enjoying a varied career as a soloist, chamber/orchestral musician, clinician, and recording artist. She performs with orchestras nationwide, including recent engagements with the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Spokane Symphony, and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Cherry spends her summers performing with the Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestra as Associate Principal Horn, and a member of Breckenridge Brass Quintet.
As a soloist, she has performed with the Iowa Center for New Music, the Bainbridge Symphony, Texas Chamber Group, USC Wind Ensemble, UT New Music Ensemble, and the UT Jazz Orchestra. Additionally, she is the featured solo horn on the soundtrack of the upcoming film The Last Full Measure. Anne-Marie can also be heard on City People by Greg Johnson, the UT Wind Ensemble recording of John Corigliano’s Circus Maximus, and a soon to be released album of the chamber works of Zack Stanton.
A strong advocate of performer/composer collaboration, Anne-Marie frequently commissions new works for the horn in diverse contexts. She has collaborated with composers such as Zack Stanton, Hermes Camacho, Dennis Llinas, and Gabriel Santiago—and was the dedicatee of the ASCAP winning “Northern Impressions Suite,” which she recorded in the fall of 2009 with the University of Texas Jazz Orchestra. Another commission, Stanton’s Trio for Horn, Harp and Viola was recorded this summer and for an upcoming album of the composer’s chamber works.
Previously, Dr. Cherry has been on the faculties of The University of Texas at Austin, Spokane Falls Community College and Pasadena City College. An active guest artist & clinician, she explores mindfulness in music performance and practice with students and teachers around the country.
Dr. Cherry completed her D.M.A at the University of Southern California, crafting a unique course of study in horn performance, music education, arts leadership, and contemporary music studies. A proud longhorn alum, she received her M.M. and B.M. from The University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music.
Dr. Aaron Jensen
Columbus State University
Dr. Aaron Jensen is the recently appointed Assistant Professor of Trumpet at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University. He previously taught at the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley, Tarleton State University, the University of North Texas, and the University of Colorado at Boulder, as well as privately in the Dallas – Fort Worth metroplex.
Dr. Jensen’s students have gone on to attend both graduate and undergraduate programs and be performers throughout the United States and Europe. His students have competed and performed multiple times at the National Trumpet Competition and International Trumpet Guild conferences and have won multiple university level awards including Outstanding Instrumentalist, Most Improved Instrumentalist, Outstanding Jazz Musician, Outstanding Music Business Student, as well as winning the Honor’s Competition. In addition to his university teaching his private students have been members of the TMEA All-State bands, auditioned into the National Youth Wind Ensemble, participated in DCI, were members of the Denton Youth Symphony, and were awarded Outstanding Soloist at the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Competition. Dr. Jensen is an active clinician, having taught masterclasses at the International Trumpet Guild conference in 2022 and multiple universities, including the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, Arkansas State University, Colorado State University, Brigham Young University, and the University of Central Arkansas.
As a performer, Aaron performs and tours with the Session Brass Quintet, and was a founding member of the Eastside Brass Octet and the 956 Brass. As an orchestral performer, he frequently performs as a substitute musician with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with the Valley Symphony Orchestra, Monroe Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Arlington, the Fort Smith Symphony, Motown legends “The Four Tops”, the Denver Pops Orchestra, and the Red River Lyric Opera Festival. Aaron has performed and recorded with Grammy award winning “The Indigo Girls” as well as the University of North Texas Wind Symphony in addition to many other projects.
Dr. Jensen has served in various roles with the International Trumpet guild including conference reporter and recently completed his two-and-a-half-year tenure as Video Coordinator. He also served as Assistant Host to the 2017 National Trumpet Competition.
A lover of music technology, Aaron has produced and engineered albums and video projects for numerous artists and institutions including Caleb Hudson of the Canadian Brass, Jason Bergman, and Ryan Gardner.
Dr. Jensen earned a doctorate from The University of North Texas and holds degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder (MM), Oklahoma State University (BM), and Snow College (AS). Aaron is greatly indebted to his primary mentors as well as his previous trumpet colleagues: Ryan Gardner, Caleb Hudson, Jason Bergman, Justin Bartels, Terry Sawchuk, Brian Walker, Jared Broussard, David Blackinton, Scott Wilson, and Steve Meredith.
Johanna Yarbrough
Louisiana State University
Johanna Yarbrough joined the Louisiana State University music faculty as the Julian R. & Sidney Nicolle Caruth Assistant Professor of French Horn in 2024. Prior to her appointment at LSU, she was a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra beginning in 2012.
While a member of the DSO, Johanna actively pursued educational opportunities, including her role as an adjunct horn instructor at Wayne State University. In 2020, she co-created the DSO’s Summer Institute, a fully online summer music festival. She has also served as a judge for the university division of the International Horn Competition of America (IHCA) and frequently tours the country presenting masterclasses and recitals at universities and conservatories.
Johanna has won many prestigious awards, including first prize of the 2009 University division of the IHCA. She has appeared as a soloist with the DSO on numerous occasions. She was a member of the Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon , where she performed for three weeks each year between 2014-2022 under the direction of Teddy Abrams. She has performed with several renowned orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Grand Teton Music Festival, Festival Mozaik, and the Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival, and she is a member of the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings.
Johanna completed her graduate studies with a professional studies certificate at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. Prior to her time in LA, Johanna attended the University of Alabama, where she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree. She also studied abroad at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, Norway with famed horn pedagogue, Frøydis Ree Wekre. Johanna’s other principal teachers include David Krehbiel, Andrew Bain, Charles “Skip” Snead, and Michelle Stebleton. Johanna was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida and now resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Ryan Gardner
University of Colorado
Ryan Gardner is Professor of Trumpet at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Originally from Santa Monica, California, Gardner received his B.M. from the Eastman School of Music with highest distinction, his M.M. Degree from Rice University - Shepherd School of Music, and his D.M.A. from the Manhattan School of Music.
As an orchestral performer, Gardner has played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Colorado Symphony, Kansas CitySymphony, the Honolulu Symphony, the Charleston Symphony, and the Rochester Philharmonic, among others. Gardner is a featured recitalist and his CDs On Track, Sempiternal Songs, and New American Treasures have received critical acclaim. He is anavid chamber musician and a champion of new music having played with Alarm Will Sound and Crash Ensemble.
In addition to an exciting performing career, Gardner continues to enjoy impressive teaching successes. His students have gone on to distinguished careers, graduate programs and elite summer festivals. Gardner’s students have also achieved success at the international, national and regional levels, most notably at International Trumpet Guild Conferences, International Women’s Brass Conferences, the Music Teachers National Association, the Roger Voisin Competition, and National Trumpet Competitions.
Gardner serves as the Artist Manager for Music for Autism and was named their 2010 Spotlight Artist of the Year.
He is a Bach Performing Artist and Clinician, he serves as the Past President for the International Trumpet Guild, and has recorded with Naxos, Mark Records, and BX Entertainment.
Ryan Little
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Hailed by Montréal’s La Presse as “nuanced and singing,” Ryan Little was appointed as Principal Horn of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 2023 by Music Director Nathalie Stutzmann. Born in Burke, Virginia to a musical family, he began studying piano at age 3 before switching to viola, trumpet, and eventually to horn at the age of 10. Ryan received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music in 2015 where he studied with Gail Williams and Jonathan Boen. In 2017 he received his Master of Music degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University where he studied with William VerMeulen of the Houston Symphony.
In addition to his responsibilities in Atlanta, Ryan performs as the Principal Horn at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina. He has performed as Guest Principal Horn with the orchestras of Cincinnati, Frankfurt Radio, Minnesota, National Arts Centre, Orlando, Palm Beach, San Francisco, Sarasota, Vancouver, and WDR Cologne, and has also performed with the Chicago Arts Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Florida Grand Opera, Florida Orchestra, Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, Nu Deco Ensemble, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Utah Symphony. He won Second Prize and the Gretchen Snedeker Prize at the 2013 International Horn Competition of America. In 2014, he was selected as a finalist for the International Horn Society’s Premier Soloist Competition in London, England and at the Aeolus International Competition for Wind Instruments in Düsseldorf, Germany. As a concert soloist, he has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, FGCU Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, Northwestern University’s Baroque Music Ensemble and Symphonic Wind Ensemble, l’Orchestre de la Francophonie (Montréal), and the Skokie Valley Symphony.
During the summers, Ryan has performed at the Britt Music & Arts Festival, Eastern Music Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, Grant Park Music Festival, Lakes Area Music Festival, and Sun Valley Music Festival. He also participated as a fellow in the Castleton Festival, Lucerne Festival Academy, National Orchestral Institute + Festival, l’Orchestre de la Francophonie, Spoleto Festival USA, Tanglewood Music Center, Verbier Festival, and YOA Orchestra of the Americas. Ryan performs on instruments made in 2012 and 2022 by Karl Hill of Rockford, Michigan.
Amy McCabe
The President’s Own Marine Band
Whether playing suspended in midair on the Broadway stage or soloing on the Symphony Hall stage in Chicago, Amy McCabe enjoys performing in a variety of capacities. Recently, she was a featured soloist on the steps of Žofín Palace at the WASBE festival in Prague, at Regents Hall in London, and at Roda Hall in the Netherlands. Amy has also been invited to perform numerous solo recitals at conferences like International Trumpet Guild conference and the International Women's Brass conference. Currently, Amy is currently co-principal trumpet with The “President’s Own” United States Marine Band, and has completed three national and international concert tours as a soloist in addition to her duties at Arlington National Cemetery and the White House. In addition, Amy has extensive orchestral experience performing with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, and as Principal Trumpet with the National Symphony Orchestra on Gianandra Noseda’s George Walker recording project. She is also an active chamber musician, performing on a recital reopening the newly renovated Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater with Stravinsky’s “Fanfare for a New Theater”. Amy also performed and recorded a brass quintet album in 2017 under Summit records with Seraph Brass and is a member of the Barclay Brass. She was also a featured soloist in the first National and Japan touring cast of the Tony and Emmy-award winning show, “Blast!” in addition to touring with pop artist Michael Bolton on a national tour. Amy was also a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra, a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival, Spoleto Music Festival, Pine Mountain Music Festival, Artosphere Festival and was a member of the Walt Disney World Collegiate All-Star Big Band. She holds a degree in elementary education from Illinois Wesleyan University studying with Steve Eggleston and Judith Saxton, and a Master’s degree in trumpet performance from Northwestern University, studying with Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer.
Amy greatly enjoys volunteering with Sound Impact, a chamber music group dedicated to positive social change through authentic community engagement, and spending time with her partner Eli, and 2-year-old Opal.