Bala Brass

International Women’s Day was yesterday, and we would love to give a huge shoutout to our own Marina Krickler!! We are so lucky to be able to collaborate with her. Holding it down on French Horn and inspiring so many musicians with her amazing musicality.

Meet our tuba player, John Bottomley. He currently teaches tuba and euphonium at UMass Amherst and maintains an active performing career as an orchestral and chamber musician, having performed with such groups as the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and the West Virginia Symphony. In Germany, he performed with the Philharmonie Der Nationen under the baton of Justus Frantz. As a founding member of the Manhattan Brass Quintet he won prizes at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the New York Brass Conference. Dr. Bottomley received his D.M.A. from The Ohio State University under tubist Jim Akins of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. He holds a Master of Music Degree from the Manhattan School of Music and was among the first to graduate from the orchestral performance degree program. While in New York he studied with Toby Hanks, former tubist of the New York City Ballet and the New York Brass Quintet. He completed his Bachelor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison while studying with tubist and composer John Stevens.

Meet our trombonist, Robert Hoveland. Robert is an active chamber and orchestral trombonist performing in Boston area ensembles including the Rhode Island Philharmonic, Portland and Albany Symphonies, and the new music group, ALEA III. He currently sits principal in The Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestraplymouthphil , assistant principal in the Hartford Symphony Orchestra , and second in the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra and Vermont Symphony Orchestra . Robert also teaches privately on the South Shore. Originally from Plano, Texas, Robert stems from one of the largest and most renowned public arts education programs in the United States. He completed his undergraduate degree at the Eastman School of Music in 2007 studying with Dr. John Marcellus and Mark Kellogg. He received his master’s degree from the Butler School of Music in 2009 under the tutelage of Dr. Nathaniel Brickens. In 2013, he received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University School of Music studying under Don Lucas.

Meet our horn player, Marina Krickler! Marina is a sought-after musician and educator throughout New England. Hailed for her “soaring… warmly played” solos (Boston Classical Review), she is currently the Fourth Horn of The Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra , and performs extensively with many of the region’s ensembles.
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Ms. Krickler is a multifaceted musician, frequently performing new music with ensembles such as Sound Icon , and playing natural horn with the period ensembles Grand Harmonie, and La Donna Musicale. Ms. Krickler is also the co-founder of Andromeda Quintet , a brass chamber ensemble dedicated to creating adventurous listening experiences.
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Ms. Krickler enjoys teaching students of all ages, and has presented masterclasses in both the United States and Canada. She holds faculty appointments at College of the Holy Cross , All Newton Music School , Dana Hall School , and Wellesley Public Schools.
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Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Ms. Krickler spent her formative years playing piano and flute before being drawn to the horn at the age of sixteen. She holds a Master of Music in Performance from Boston Conservatory , a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Toronto, and a Music Performance Diploma from Mount Royal University. Her teachers and mentors have included Joan Watson, Eli Epstein, Gabe Radford, and Laurie Matiation. In addition to her formal education, she is an alumna of the Brott Music Festival , the National Arts Centre Young Artists Program, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Meet our newest member, Mark Emery! Mark serves as principal trumpet of Vermont Symphony Orchestra where he has performed as a soloist in Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Trumpets, Barber’s Capricorn Concerto, as well as Shostakovich’s Concerto for Piano (and Trumpet) under Jaime Laredo with celebrated pianist Gloria Chen. Additional positions include assistant principal of Vista Philharmonic, principal trumpet of Opera North (NH), and acting principal of the Gainesville Orchestra (FL).

Since attending New England Conservatory as part of the Honors Brass, Mark has performed extensively with Boston Ballet, Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, Albany Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Portland (ME) Symphony, Odyssey Opera, Cape Symphony, and New Bedford Symphony.

Mark’s work as a substitute/extra with the Boston Symphony include many performances at Carnegie Hall and Tanglewood under Seiji Ozawa, James Levine, and Andris Nelsons, and recording under maestro Andris Nelsons (2017- Shostakovich Festive Overture). With the Boston Pops, Mark’s experiences include many national tours, Fourth of July broadcasts, MLB and NHL World Series and playoff performances, and multiple appearances on PBS Great Performances. Mark recorded with the Boston Pops Brass under John Williams for the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park .

Mark is also active as a chamber musician. He gave celebrated performances of Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat with Providence Ballet, as well as with members of the Boston Symphony for Jordan Hall’s “First Monday” series. Mark performed alongside Branford Marsalis as a soloist with the White Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and has recorded the music of John Zorn and Iannis Xenakis with Callithumpian Consort, under pianist Stephen Drury. He has performed with Empire Brass Quintet and has performed and recorded with Huntington Brass, Triton Brass, Innovata Brass, and New England Brass ensembles.

Mark teaches at Tufts University , and in the Wayland, MA school system. His playing can be heard on a number of labels including: Arsis Audio, Deutsche Grammophon, Delos, and Bridge Records.

Meet founding Bala member, Seelan Manickam. He began his musical studies on the trumpet at the age of ten. Seelan received his Bachelors of Music at the University of Victoria where he studied with Louis Ranger. He finished his Graduate work in trumpet performance at Boston Conservatory where he studied with Steven Emery. Additional studies have been with Jens Lindemann of the Canadian Brass and Charles Schlueter, principal trumpet of the Boston Symphony.
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As a top prizewinner of several solo competitions, Seelan has appeared as a frequent soloist with the Boston Chamber Orchestra, Cambridge Choral Society, South Coast Community Chorale, The University of Massachusetts Orchestra ,The Firelands Symphony Orchestra, Clarion University Wind Ensemble, and most recently the Keene State Concert Band.
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Other professional experience has included playing principal trumpet with The Indian Hill Symphony, New Hampshire Symphony, Salisbury Symphony, Thayer Symphony, New Bedford Symphony, Taipei Sinfionetta and Cape Ann Symphony. A founding member of the award winning Bala Brass Quintet, Seelan has toured the globe appearing in Japan, Canada and Thailand. His keen interest in contemporary music has led Seelan to commission and perform numerous chamber and solo works for brass. He has been a featured artist at several conferences including the the International Trumpet Guild Conference and the New York Brass Conference.
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An advocate of music education, Seelan has given master classes and clinics at the nation’s top conservatories and schools, including the University of Connecticut, SUNY-Purchase, Shenandoah Conservatory, Wisconsin Lutheran College, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Bridgewater State College, Salem State College and Phillips Academy.
In addition to performing with Bala, Seelan is an adjunct trumpet professor at Keene State College , and the director of the Keene State Large Brass Ensemble. Seelan is a XO Brass Performing Artist and performs on the XO Bb and C trumpets.

Thanks, José Lescano for inviting us to your Latin American Music class during our residency at ! It was a pleasure to perform music of Colombia and Venezuela, as well as the Latin-inspired Vuelta del Fuego by

Looking forward to tomorrow night's concert! We'll be playing music by Calvert, Arnold, Plog, a set of Latin American tunes, and more.

Come and see the incredible Bala Brass this Wednesday 9/14 in the Alumni Recital Hall at 7:30pm! You don’t want to miss it! Get your tickets online @ keene.universitytickets.com or call the box office @ 603-358-2168!