Sips & Sounds - Brass Quintet

Dr. Apollo Lee is a sought-after trumpeter and educator based in central Illinois. He serves on the faculties of Millikin University, the University of Illinois Springfield, and Lincoln Land Community College. Active in classical music, opera, ballet, film music, and musical theater, Dr. Lee has performed in concert halls throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States.

Currently, he is principal trumpet of the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he served as principal trumpet of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. As a guest musician, Dr. Lee has performed with numerous distinguished ensembles, including the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Macau Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphoria, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, Binghamton Philharmonic, Cape Symphony Orchestra, and Plymouth Philharmonic.

Dr. Lee has also performed with the Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia and toured with the internationally acclaimed Eastman Wind Ensemble, appearing at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago and Severance Music Center in Cleveland. In 2017, he was invited to Malaysia as guest principal trumpet of the Malaysia Bach Festival Orchestra.

An accomplished soloist, Dr. Lee has been featured in performances of J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, Copland’s Quiet City with the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) Concert Band, and trumpet concertos by Malcolm Arnold and Antonio Vivaldi with the HKAPA Symphony Orchestra. He also appeared in American Soundscapes: Music for Cello, Trumpet, and Piano, a chamber music program broadcast live on WXXI Classical from the Hochstein School in Rochester, New York.

As a scholar, Dr. Lee’s research focuses on historical performance practice. In 2021, he presented at the International Trumpet Guild Conference, delivering a lecture on cornet virtuoso Bohumir Kryl and the significance of Kryl’s recordings in understanding nineteenth-century performance traditions.

An experienced and dedicated educator, Dr. Lee has presented masterclasses and lecture-recitals at institutions including Bucknell University, Concordia College, Illinois Wesleyan University, the University of Illinois Springfield, and Nazareth College. He previously served as Secondary Trumpet Lesson Instructor at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Rochester, and as trumpet faculty at the Hochstein School.

Prior to relocating to the United States, Dr. Lee held numerous teaching positions in Hong Kong and Macau. These included trumpet instructor at the Education Institute of Hong Kong (now the Education University of Hong Kong), band conductor and brass instructor at S.K.H. Bishop Baker Secondary School, high brass instructor at Po Leung Kuk Lee Shing Pik College and Chinese Methodist School North Point, and private trumpet instructor for the Macau Youth Orchestra Association.

Dr. Lee holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and a Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from the Eastman School of Music, where he was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate in 2019. He also earned a Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and a Graduate Performance Diploma in Trumpet Performance from the Boston Conservatory. His principal teachers have included James Thompson, Edward Hoffman, Steven Emery, Boyde Hood, Jonathan Clarke, Merrill Debski, and Amos Lee.

Bethany Vaughan is a Chicago-based trumpeter and educator. She is a core member of Axiom Brass and maintains an active freelance career, performing with ensembles including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, among many others. In addition to her work with Axiom Brass, she has toured extensively with Seraph Brass and Stiletto Brass.

Bethany earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University and a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University. She has spent summers as a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School and the Round Top Festival Institute, and has performed at the Bravo! Vail, Ravinia, and Blossom music festivals.

A dedicated educator, Bethany maintains a private studio of students from across the Chicago area, coaches trumpet students at Lake Forest High School, and serves on the faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago.

Anna Mayne, originally from El Paso, Texas, joined the Illinois Symphony Orchestra in 2005. She also serves as Second Horn with the Chicago Sinfonietta, Fourth Horn with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Horn of the Southwest Symphony Orchestra in New Mexico. In addition, she is a frequent performer in pit orchestras for theaters throughout the Chicago area.

A versatile and highly respected musician, Anna has been featured on numerous recordings, including releases on the Arsis label, Albany Records with the Houston Grand Opera and the New Black Music Repertory Ensemble, and Cedille Records with the Chicago Sinfonietta. She is also a member of the faculty at Northeastern Illinois University.

Anna holds degrees in horn performance from Northwestern University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. In addition to her active performing career, she maintains private horn studios throughout the Chicagoland area.

Outside of music, Anna enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, cooking, and distance running. Since November 2020, she has completed seven marathons, including five ultramarathon races at the 50K distance.

Erich Corfman is a Chicago-based trombonist and educator whose career spans orchestral, operatic, and chamber music performance. Originally from Cincinnati, he has established himself as a versatile performer and dedicated teacher throughout the Midwest.

Erich has performed with leading ensembles including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, Opera San Antonio, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, and numerous other organizations across the United States. Since 2025, he has served as Principal Trombone of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and Second Trombone of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. He also served as Acting Second Trombone of the Des Moines Metro Opera during its 2024 season.

He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Trombone Performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he complemented his classical studies with coursework in jazz trombone and improvisation under Wayne Wallace and historical performance on sackbut with Liza Malamut. During his time at Indiana University, he was awarded a fellowship to the Aspen Music Festival and School in 2022. Erich recently completed a Master of Music degree at DePaul University, where he studied with Mark Fisher and Charlie Vernon.

A passionate educator, Erich teaches low brass at Central Middle School in Tinley Park, Illinois, and Wilbur Wright Middle School in Munster, Indiana. Outside of music, he enjoys spending time with his fiancée, Julia Koehler, a violinist and faculty member at the Merit School of Music, and their two cats, Oliver and Juniper.

Colby Fahrenbacher is a freelance tubist based in South Bend, Indiana, a veteran of the United States Air Force regional bands, and the librarian of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra. During his military service, he performed hundreds of concerts throughout the eastern United States, Europe, and Africa as a member of brass quintets, traditional jazz bands, marching bands, and concert bands. He was also featured as a soloist on numerous occasions. Throughout his career with the Air Force bands, Colby had the honor of performing for distinguished audiences, including Presidents Barack Obama and Donald J. Trump, as well as numerous domestic and international dignitaries.

In addition to his military service, Colby has cultivated a diverse musical career both on and off the stage. He has worked as a brass instrument repair technician at Fix This! Musical Instrument Repair in Palatine, Illinois, and Dana Hofer Brass Repair in Des Plaines, Illinois. As a performer, he has appeared with ensembles including the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, and Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as Principal Tuba of the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra.

Colby is a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 2009 and a Master of Music degree in 2011.