Vance Woolf - TrumpetVance is the Principal Trumpet with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he has held since 2000. During his time with the LPO he has been a regular featured soloist performing works ranging from the high baroque piccolo concertos of Torelli and Tartini, to Arban’s Carnival of Venice and Arutunian’s Concerto for Trumpet. Vance has taught applied trumpet at Southeastern Louisiana University and is currently the trumpet instructor at Tulane University in New Orleans.
Originally from New Zealand, Vance received his Bachelors Degree in Music from Victoria University of Wellington. While attending University in New Zealand he served as a Cornetist in the Central Band of the Royal New Zealand Air force. Upon graduation he traveled to the United States of America to pursue his trumpet studies. He earned a Masters Degree in Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. At the Conservatory he studied with Mario Guarneri and members of the San Francisco Symphony. While a student he spent his summer months attending prestigious music festivals, including two summers at the Music Academy of the West where he got to study with the legendary Adolph Herseth and was the recipient of the Maurice Faulkner Award. He was also successful in being selected twice to the Pacific Music Festival in Japan. At the Pacific Music Festival he received instruction from the principal trumpeters from the Vienna Philharmonic and the Empire Brass and performed in the Festival Orchestra as principal trumpet under Michael Tilson Thomas and Christoph Eschenbach.
Vance completed one year towards Doctoral studies at the University of Miami. He went to Miami to study with one of his all time trumpet heroes, Mr Gil Johnson, the former Principal Trumpet with the Philadelphia Orchestra. While a student at Miami he served as Mr Johnson’s teaching assistant.
Prior to winning his current job in the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Vance has held contracts with the New Zealand Symphony, Auckland Philharmonic and the Stockton Symphony. He has spent one year playing first trumpet with the award winning brass quintet Westwind Brass, and was a regular substitute with the New World Symphony and the Palm Beach Opera in Florida. In recent years he has also worked as a substitute with the Houston Symphony and the Seattle Symphony.
Matthew Ernst - TrumpetMatthew is a native of Massillon, OH, and joined the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra as Associate Principal Trumpet in 2007.Matthew received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan where he studied with William Campbell and his Master of Music degree from Southern Methodist University where he studied with Tom Booth. He also holds a secondary master’s from SMU in conducting.Before moving to New Orleans, Matthew worked as a freelance musician in Dallas, TX, where he played Principal Trumpet in the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra. While in Texas, he also performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Wind Symphony. During the summer, Matthew attended the Tanglewood Music Center, the Pacific Music Festival, and the Brevard Music Center.Matthew and his wife, Janna, have one cat, Jet, who lives up to her name and keeps their hands quite full. They enjoy running in Audubon Park, practicing yoga, and eating the great food New Orleans has to offer.
Samantha La Pointe-Woolf - French hornSamantha is the Second Hornist with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the Horn Instructor at Tulane University in New Orleans. Samantha was born and raised on the beautiful island of Oahu, Hawaii. She began playing the horn when she was twelve years of age. After completing her education through the Hawaii public school system, she entered the University of Hawaii to pursue a bachelor degree in music performance. In 1996 she transferred to the Harid Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton to continue studies with Mr. Greg Miller, hornist with the world famous Empire Brass.
While in Hawaii, Samantha spent two seasons performing with the Hawaii Opera Theater and spent five years playing under contract with the Honolulu Symphony. Samantha has spent two summers with the Sarasota Music Festival and one summer at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara.
Prior to joining the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Samantha was a full scholarship student in the masters program at Rice University where she studied with William Vermuelen. In addition to Mr Vermuelen and Mr Miller, Samantha’s list of teachers is literally a who’s who of American horn players.
Carson Keeble - TromboneCarson is currently the 2nd trombonist with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and is on faculty with both Xavier University and Tulane University. Prior to moving to New Orleans, Carson was 2nd trombone in the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra from 2004 to 2006. Other notable organizations Carson has performed with include the Santa Fe Opera, Malaysia Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, Monterrey Symphony of Mexico, and Orchestra ‘X’ of Houston. Carson has consistently taught students ranging in age from elementary school to college since 2000, and in 2003 Mr. Keeble was the professor of trombone at Oklahoma State University. Carson holds degrees from Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and the Oberlin College of Arts and Sciences. His primary trombone teachers include Raymond Premru, James DeSano, Steve Witser, Milton Stevens, and David Waters.
Robert Nunez - Tuba
Robert Nunez has served as Principal Tuba of both the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the New Orleans Opera since 1992. In addition, he performs as tubist with both the Louisiana Philharmonic Brass Quintet, and the New Orleans Uptown Brass quintet. Mr. Nunez is currently Adjunct Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at both the Tulane University and the University of New Orleans. He has held previous appointments as Professor of Tuba at both Delgado University and Loyola University of New Orleans, as well as serving as Brass Instructor for the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps from 1988-1996. In 2006, Mr. Nunez performed with both the New York Philharmonic and the Nashville Symphony in a series of collaborative concerts with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.His teachers include legendary pedagogue Arnold Jacobs, Principal Tuba of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1944-1988, Neal Tidwell, former Principal Tuba of the New Orleans Symphony and Richard Erb, former bass trombonist of both the New Orleans Symphony and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.Born in New Orleans and raised in Chalmette, Louisiana, Robert’s family has robust historical roots as ancestors from both branches of his family were colonists who preceded the Louisiana Purchase; the Cantrell family arriving to New Orleans in 1724, and the Nunez family residing in St. Bernard Parish in 1789. Robert Nunez is the great-grandson of Alcide "Yellow" Nunez, the pioneer Dixieland clarinetist who performed with the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Louisiana Five, The Moonlight Serenaders, and Papa Jack Laine’s Reliance Brass Bands from 1912-1934.A diverse and eclectic artist, Mr. Nunez demonstrates exceptional proficiency as a soloist and performer within a myriad of ensembles and musical genres (orchestral, opera, chamber, choral, Dixieland, Jazz, rock et. al.). Mr. Nunez’s solo presentations include his performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Tuba Concerto in f minor with the Louisiana Philharmonic in the 1999-2000 season, and his presentation of the Concerto for Horn No. 1 in Eb by Richard Strauss with the New Orleans Concert Band in May 2010. Mr. Nunez has performed with numerous brass ensembles; including the Fanfare Brass Quintet, a school outreach ensemble for disadvantaged children. He is a founding member of both the New Orleans Uptown Brass quintet and the Houston Metropolis Brass Quintet. Mr. Nunez has appeared with the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble, and remains active in many Dixieland groups both in and around New Orleans. Robert Nunez has twice joined forces with Ray Charles and his Orchestra, played with both of the rock bands’ Kansas and The Moody Blues, and performed with luminary jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck and his quartet during a joint endeavor between the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the Baltimore Choral Arts Society.
