Musicians

Trumpet – Benjamin Alle

Benjamin Alle is a freelance trumpet performer and private lesson instructor in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Minnesota School of Music, where he studied with David Baldwin. Dr. Alle has performed with a number of Minnesota-based ensembles, including the Antithesis Ensemble, the Kenwood, Mankato, and Wayzata Symphony Orchestras, the Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis, and the Edina Chorale.

In addition to private trumpet instruction, Dr. Alle also teaches choir at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Latvian School and has taught at the Krisjanis Barons Latvian School in Chicago. 

Dr. Alle also received his Masters of Music in trumpet performance from the University of Minnesota School of Music, during which time he studied with David Baldwin and Gary Bordner. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in trumpet performance from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Terry Schwartz and graduated cum laude.

Dr. Alle lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two cats and enjoys fishing and drinking coffee. Please visit his website, www.benjaminalle.com.

Trumpet – John Huth

John Huth’s trumpet teachers include Ted Betts (Bowling Green State University), David Zauder (Cleveland Institute of Music) and Eugene Blee (Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music). While in Cincinnati, he was featured on NPR’s Performance Today, performing “Stravinsky’s Fanfare for a New Theatre.” Since moving to the Twin Cities area in 1988, he a free lanced regularly in regional orchestras and was a long-time member of the Aurora Brass Quintet. By day, John teaches music instrument repair and restoration at Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical in Red Wing. He is co-creator, with Larry Prescott, of a line of custom trumpet leadpipes.

Trumpet – Larry Prescott

Mr. Prescott began his collegiate musical studies at Iowa State University in 1985. Larry studied trumpet with Joseph Christensen. Upon graduating from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Music in performance, Larry was awarded membership in the Pi Kappa Lambda Honorary Music Society. While attending Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, he performed under the batons of both Victor Yampolsky and John Paynter, and performed in master classes with George Vosburgh, Dale Clevenger, and Vincent Cichowicz. Larry received his Master of Music degree in trumpet performance in 1990.

While in Chicago, Mr. Prescott performed frequently with the Millar Brass Ensemble, and was invited to tour and perform with them in 1991 at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. In 1996, Larry was also invited to perform as a soloist for a live public television broadcast at the 50th of the prestigious Iowa All-State Music Festival, an annual performance festival showcasing Iowa’s top young musicians. He has performed with various orchestras; most recently with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Larry is proud to have executive produced the CRBE’s first CD, Brass Tidings, recorded in 2013.

Larry lives with his wife Karen, two sons Aaron and Eli, in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Trumpet – Dean Heller

Dean Heller earned degrees in music education and trumpet performance from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in New York before moving to Minnesota and completing his Master of Music degree in trumpet performance at the University of Minnesota.

Outside of Compass Rose Brass Ensemble Dean can be heard performing as principal trumpet with the Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis and with the 20th century chamber music group Neoteric Chamber Winds. In addition to his performing Dean teaches private trumpet lessons at Saint Joseph’s School of Music in Saint Paul, MN where he has been a faculty member for 20 years.

When not performing or teaching Dean enjoys playing racquetball as well as hiking with his wife and their Shetland Sheepdogs.

Horn – Matthew Renz

Matthew Renz is one of the founding members of CRBE. Originally from Eden Prairie, MN, he studied horn at the University of Minnesota with Chuck Kavalovski, Herb Winslow, and Michael Gast. He is currently 3rd horn in the Rochester (MN) Symphony and a member of the Minnesota Horn Quartet. Previously he was Principal Horn with the Mankato Symphony. He’s performed with a number of other ensembles including the Duluth Superior Symphony, La Crosse Symphony, and the South Dakota Symphony.

Currently Matthew lives in Watertown, MN with his wife Tara and 2 kids. He enjoys playing golf and biking in his free time.

Tenor Trombone – Zach Gingerich

Zach Gingerich joined the Compass Rose Brass in December of 2015.  Hailing from Conway, Arkansas, he received his Bachelor of Music in Performance from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, where he studied for three years with Larry Zimmerman.  He then spent two years in Boston, playing actively as a freelance musician, teaching lessons to beginning low brass students, and studying with Norman Bolter at The Boston Conservatory, where he graduated with a Masters of Music in Performance in 2015.  Currently, Zach is an active freelance musician in the Twin Cities, teaches low brass through the David Thomas School of Music, and is studying with Tom Ashworth at the University of Minnesota School of Music in pursuit of his third degree, a DMA in Trombone Performance.

Tenor Trombone – Collin Hough

Collin Hough is an active trombonist and educator based in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. He graduated in 2015 from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire with a Bachelor of Music Education degree, having won their Concerto Competition and performed in several solo recitals. His teachers include Dr. Phillip Ostrander and Dr. John Tranter.

Collin maintains an eclectic freelance schedule as the bass trombonist of the Mississippi Valley Orchestra while also performing regularly with Mike’s Brass Quintet and the Prince of Peace (Burnsville) Brass Choir. He teaches private lessons locally and returns each year as a guest artist and educator to Shell Lake Arts Center’s Trombone Camp in Shell Lake, WI.

Tenor Trombone – David Adolphson

David Adolphson joined the Compass Rose Brass Ensemble in 2014. Currently an active freelance musician in the Twin Cities, David has also previously held the Principal Trombone position with the Rochester Symphony Orchestra and Chorale as well as other trombone positions with the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra and the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra. He was a student of Scott Moore at Gustavus Adolphus College and has also studied with Doug Wright and Kari Sundstrom of the Minnesota Orchestra.

David lives in Apple Valley with his wife Rachel, who can often be found photographing Compass Rose Brass events and designing their marketing materials.

Bass Trombone – Scott Moore

Scott Moore maintains an active career as a teacher, soloist and orchestral musician. His performance career includes over one thousand performances with major orchestras and professional theater productions. Since moving to Minnesota he has performed extensively with many of the top music ensembles in the Twin Cities. Before moving to Minnesota he was regularly engaged by the Cincinnati Symphony, and can be heard on many recordings from the Symphony and the Cincinnati Pops. His education includes studies at the Juilliard School, and he holds Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Scott maintains a teaching studio in Carver, Minnesota and is a professor at a local college.

Tuba – Trygve Skaar

Trygve Skaar, tuba, has been a performer and music educator in Minnesota since 1990 joining the Compass Rose Brass in 2014. He studied music at Bethel University and the University of Minnesota. His teachers include Ross Tolbert, David Fedderly, Rex Martin and Charles Olson. Trygve has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra and Minnesota Opera and most recently performed extensively with the LaCrosse Symphony Orchestra. Trygve currently teaches Tuba and Euphonium at Gustavus Adolphus College, and Tuba at the University of Saint Thomas. He has served on the faculty of Saint Olaf College, Augsburg College, Bethel University, Northwestern University (Arden Hills), Crown College and Macalaster College. Trygve is an active soloist and clinician, conducting and performing. Trygve is retired from the United States Army after 24 years of service, having served on Active Duty and with the Minnesota Army National Guard. His military service took him all over the world from Germany to Alabama to Norfolk, Virginia and throughout Southwest Asia. As Commander of the 34th Infantry Division Band, based in Rosemount, Minnesota, he led 45 Soldiers on deployment to Iraq in 2009 where they performed 450 times and traveled over 70,000 miles on the ground and through the air. His proudest professional moment occurred when all 45 Soldiers returned home safely in 2010. Trygve has three children, Meira, Josiah and Cadence and currently works for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving Veterans.