Parkway Brass
Parkway Brass is a brass quintet based along the Washington D.C. - Baltimore corridor. They perform throughout the Maryland the greater D.C. metro area. Parkway Brass is currently the brass quintet in residence at Christ Lutheran Church in Baltimore. As teachers themselves, the group also values education and performs educational outreach programs at schools. The quintet specializes in new music, having premiered performed a dozen new compositions and arrangements in the last year.
Matthew Barker joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as the 4th/Utility Trumpet beginning in 2016. A native of Houston, he earned a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University in 2013 where he studied under the tutelage of Barbara Butler, Charles Geyer, and Robert Sullivan. He also served two years in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, a premier training program for emerging professional musicians, continuing his studies with Christopher Martin. Matthew returned to Houston and his former teachers Butler and Geyer in pursuing his Masters at Rice University’s esteemed Shepherd School of Music in 2015, where he frequently subbed with the Houston Symphony Orchestra.
Matthew served four of his collegiate summers at Camp-of-the Woods, a Christian family resort in the Adirondack Mountains, as a member of the music staff, where he was frequently featured as a soloist. He also participated in the Music Academy of the West Academy Festival Orchestra in 2015. Matthew is an accomplished arranger with a few of his numerous arrangements being featured at the Fischoff National Chamber Competition and the National Trumpet Competition as well as in professional settings by Yo-Yo Ma and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago Brass Ensemble. During his time in the BSO, Matthew has performed with other esteemed orchestras such as the National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony and others.
In his spare time, Matthew enjoys exercising, cooking, gaming, and spending time with his wife Alicia and children William and Natalie.
Trumpet player Dr. Philippe Brunet has performed across North America and Europe appearing as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. As an advocate for New Music, he has collaborated with composers on over a dozen new works including the premiere of Fanfares for The Apocalypse for Trumpet and Chamber Ensemble by award winning composer and sound artist, Ken Ueno. Philippe was a core member of the Miami City Ballet orchestra for four seasons, and has performed with orchestras across Florida including the Naples Philharmonic, the Southwest Florida Orchestra, and the Boca Symphonia. He has performed with the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California, been a Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, the Dartington International Music Festival in the UK, the Center for Advanced Musical Studies at Chosen Vale in NH, as well as the Atlantic Music festival in Maine. Philippe currently resides in Washington DC where he freelances and teaches.
Dr. Brunet completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts in trumpet performance at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music. He earned a Master of Fine Arts from California Institute of The Arts, and a BMus from the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. His primary teachers were Edward Carroll, Thomas Stevens, Russell DeVuyst, and Craig Morris."
An Ohio native, Clinton Soisson attended the University of Akron to study with Bill Hoyt and graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Music degree in horn performance. He moved to Boca Raton, Florida to enroll at the Lynn University Conservatory of Music and graduated with a Master of Music degree in 2015. While in Florida, he played with the West Palm Beach Opera, Boca Symphonia, and the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, and studied with Greg Miller. He is currently studying with Phil Munds at the University of Maryland working towards a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in horn performance.
Amanda Holmes received her Bachelor of Music in Trombone Performance from the Johns Hopkins Peabody Conservatory of Music where she studied under James Olin, after spending her first year studying under Steven Rawlins at the HARID Conservatory in Florida. While at the Peabody Conservatory, Ms. Holmes performed with the Peabody Concert Orchestra, the Peabody Jazz Ensemble, and the Trombody Peabones. After graduating as a member of the Johns Hopkins Golden Key Honor Society, she began her continuing career as a freelance trombonist performing around the Baltimore metro area, and started to build her private lesson studio. Currently, Ms. Holmes teaches approximately thirty students a week and enjoys performing regionally with various groups ranging from classical to jazz.
A native of Howard County, Maryland, Sam Baronowsky is quickly becoming known for his versatility and enthusiasm for performing in a variety of ensembles and styles. While living in Illinois as a student, Sam performed with the Credo Festival Orchestra and the Northwest Chicago Symphony. Since returning to Maryland, he has regularly performed with the Parkway Brass and the Concert Artists of Baltimore and is an active freelancer in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area.
Sam is very passionate about developing the next generation of musicians. In addition to his large private studio in Howard County, Sam frequently teaches masterclasses and low brass clinics in schools throughout the region. He has also been on the instructional staff for several area marching bands at both the high school and collegiate level.
Sam graduated from Northwestern University (BM) in 2014, studying primarily with Rex Martin. While there, he was a member of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble- including when they recorded their most recent CD, entitled “Rising.”
