Sips & Sounds - Brass Quintet

Apollo Lee is a professional trumpeter and teacher based in Bloomington, IL. He holds a Bachelor of Music (Honors) Degree and a Performance Diploma from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Graduate Performance Diploma from Boston Conservatory in Boston, MA, and a Masters of Music Degree in Trumpet Performance from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Trumpet Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music. Apollo has studied with respected teachers including Professor James Thompson, Edward Hoffman, Steven Emery, Boyde Hood, Jonathan Clarke and Merrill Debski.
 
Apollo is an active performer in classical music, opera, ballet, film music, and musical productions in Asia, and United States. As a professional orchestral player, Apollo served as the principal trumpet of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong from 2010 to 2012. Recently he won the Illinois Symphony Orchestra trumpet audition and joined the trumpet section as 3rd trumpet. As a free-lance musician, he has performed as a guest player with professional orchestras including the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, and the Macau Orchestra in Asia, the Rochester Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, Symphoria, Binghamton Philharmonic, Cape Symphony Orchestra, Plymouth Philharmonic, and the Haffner Sinfonietta in the United States. Apollo also performed with professional wind ensembles such as the Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia and the world renounced Eastman Wind Ensemble. He toured with the Eastman Wind Ensemble to the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in 2009 and to Severance Hall in Cleveland in 2019. As a soloist, Apollo was the winner of the 2007 and 2008 HKAPA Concerto Competitions. Subsequently he performed the Trumpet Concerto by Malcolm Arnold and the Concerto for Two Trumpets in C Major by Antonio Vivaldi with the HKAPA Symphony Orchestra. Apollo was also awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate at the Eastman School of Music in 2019.
 
Apollo is a knowledgeable, creative and patient teacher who loves working with students of all levels. His flexible and efficient teaching style is effective in varied teaching environments, from private lessons, chamber music coachings, and instrumental classes to large ensemble rehearsals. Apollo also speaks multiple languages: Cantonese, English, and conversational Mandarin. He has taught pre-college and college level students at institutions in Asia and the United States using Cantonese and English.
 
Apollo was the Teaching Assistant for the trumpet studio at the Eastman School of Music (ESM), and also worked as the Secondary Trumpet Lesson Instructor for both ESM and the University of Rochester. He hosted the Studio Trumpet Technique Class and Studio Performance Class at ESM, and gave trumpet lessons to non-music major students from University of Rochester. Apollo has also worked as a teaching assistant for the Brass Department at the Boston Conservatory. He gave tutorials for the undergraduate and graduate brass instrument students. At the Hochstein School, Apollo served as the trumpet faculty and gave private trumpet lessons to pre-college students.
 
During his time in Hong Kong, Apollo served as the adjunct trumpet instructor of the Education Institute of Hong Kong (now the Education University of Hong Kong). He was formerly the band conductor and brass instructor at S.K.H. Bishop Baker Secondary School (Hong Kong), high brass instructor at Po Leung Kuk Lee Shing Pik College (Hong Kong) and Chinese Methodist School North Point (Hong Kong), and private trumpet instructor at Macau Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Brian Goodwin is a professional horn player and educator based in Chicago. He began playing with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra as principal horn in 2018. Brian completed his formal training at the Manhattan School of Music and graduate studies at DePaul University before moving to Japan to join the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra as co-principal horn. He moved back to Chicago in 2014, and now juggles a busy schedule as a freelance performer and private teacher.

In addition to the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Brian holds positions with the Illinois Philharmonic, South Bend Symphony, and Sarasota Opera. Brian also frequently performs with the Lyric Opera of Chicago where he can often be heard playing offstage (and occasionally on stage!), as well as with the Joffrey Ballet and Grant Park Symphony Orchestra.

In his free time, Brian enjoys working on cars and has gradually become a Saab and BMW specialist. When his hands aren’t dirty, he also enjoys fixing computers and electronics, expanding his Linux skills, running, and cycling.

Brian and his wife, Janis, live in Highland Park with their dogs, Oberon and Zero.