Leonard Falcone 
2024 Festival Competitors
Semi-Finalists and Alternates for 2024 Falcone Festival
NOTES:
For all who applied for the 2024 competition: If you do not receive notification via email by the end of May 4, please contact the Applications Team with your name and division included. Please check your spam folder first.
For Semi-Finalists and Alternates: please send any corrections to the Applications Team
Euphonium Artist | Tuba Artist | Euphonium Student | Tuba Student
# Unable to compete ✓ Will compete * may be semifinalist in one division only
Euphonium Artist Semi-Finalists (in alphabetical order)
| Name | Hometown | School/University | Teacher(s) |
| Chris Mendo Carrigg | Gresham, OR, USA | Northwestern University | Matt Gaunt, Gene Pokorny, JáTtik Clark |
| Ed Carter | Vine Grove, KY, USA | University of Kentucky | Dr. Brandon Smith, Dr. Matthew Hightower, Dr. Alex Lapins, Dr. Skip Gray |
| Chris Finch | Richardson, TX, USA | University of North Texas | Dr. David Childs, Richard Murrow, Tom Mahovsky, Corey Rom |
| Jose Gutierrez | Houston, TX, USA | University of Houston | Kevin Fenske, Danny Vinson, Phillip Freeman |
| Andrew Herrick | Mechanicville, NY, USA | Ithaca College | Dr. David Earll, Gina Mancini |
| Stefan Kamelger | Niederdorf, Italy | Hochschule der Künste Bern | Thomas Rüedi |
| Yurika Kotani | Tokushima City, Japan | Aichi University of the Arts | Kaoru Tsuyuki, Takanori Miyake |
| # Nathanael Kumar | Houston, TX, USA | Eastman School of Music | Dr. Justin Benavidez, Mark Kellogg, Dr. Matthew Murchison, Steven Needham |
| Kelley Ozier | Carrollton, GA, USA | University of Cincinnati: College-Conservatory of Music | Timothy Northcut, Michael DeSousa, Dr. JD Handshoe |
| Justin Weis | Franklin, WI, USA | University of North Texas | Dr. David Childs, Dr. Brian Bowman, Dr. John Tuinstra |
Euphonium Artist Alternates (in this order)
| Name | Hometown | School/University | Teacher(s) |
| ✓ Kaho Mills | Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan | University of North Texas | Dr. David Childs, Dr. Mitsuru Saito |
| Clayton Moses | West Monroe, LA, USA | University of Central Arkansas | Dr. Gail Roberston, Dr. Adam Johnson |
| Jose Castillo | Mission, TX, USA | University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Dr. Scott Roeder, Sam Hjort |
| Kathryn Carley | Springfield, IL, USA | Eastman School of Music | Dr. Justin Benavidez, Mark Kellogg, Dr. Matthew Murchison, Dr. Sharon Huff |
Tuba Artist Semi-Finalists (in alphabetical order)
| Name | Hometown | School/University | Teacher(s) |
| Jake Alford | Lexington, KY, USA | University of Kentucky | Dr. Brandon Smith, Dr. Matt Hightower |
| Hunter Bellows | Austin, TX, USA | Baylor University | Dr. Kent Eshelman, Brett Blackstone |
| Micah Crouse | Murray, KY, USA | Illinois State University | Dr. Andy Rummel, Dr. Todd French |
| Victor E. Cruz | Edinburg, TX, USA | University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Dr. Scott Roeder |
| # Eddie Gonzalez | El Paso, TX, USA | Oklahoma State University | Dr. Ryan Robinson, Don Little, Matt Good, Jeff Baker |
| Ryan Lofland | Woodstock, GA, USA | University of Michigan | David Zerkel, Bernard Flythe |
| Christopher Messinger | Hanover, PA, USA | University of Cincinnati: College-Conservatory of Music | Timothy Northcut, John Cradler |
| Arturo Ortega | Brownsville, TX, USA | University of North Texas | Blake Like, Donald C. Little |
| # Chris Seay | Belmont, NC, USA | Oklahoma State University | Dr. Ryan Robinson, Dr. Nick Beltchev, Michael Schallock |
| Benjamin Vargas | Highland, NY, USA | Glenn Gould School | Sasha Johnson, Victor Izzo |
Tuba Artist Alternates (in this order)
| Name | Hometown | School/University | Teacher(s) |
| ✓ Logan Wadley | Rochester, NY, USA | Eastman School of Music | Dr. Justin Benavidez |
| # Azdruball Montemayor | Edinburg, TX, USA | University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley | Dr. Scott Roeder |
| # Ethyn Evans | DeQuincy, LA, USA | Oklahoma State University | Dr. Ryan Robinson, Dr. Nick Beltchev, Dr. Charles Goodman, Dr. Joe Skillen |
| ✓ Mark Sayler | Fairhope, AL, USA | University of South Alabama | Dr. Clayton Maddox |
Euphonium Student Semi-Finalists (in alphabetical order)
| Name | Hometown | School/University | Teacher(s) |
| David Burns | Springfield, KY, USA | Campbellsville University | Andrew Doub |
| Will Claudius | Rushville, IL, USA | Interlochen Arts Academy | Thomas Riccobono, Dr. James Land, Dr. Terry Solomonson, John Mindeman |
| Will Cordell | Oklahoma City, OK, USA | Oklahoma City University | Dr. Genevieve Clarkson |
| Page Judge | Severna Park, MD, USA | University of Michigan | David Zerkel, Alison Miserendino |
| Carter Mitchell | Federal Way, WA, USA | Washington State University | Dr. Chris Dickey, Ryan Wagner, Willow Goodine, Ron Hazenberg |
| Karla Torres | Dallas, TX, USA | University of North Texas | Justin Weis |
Euphonium Student Alternates (in this order)
| Name | Hometown | School/University | Teacher(s) |
| Caleb Langley | Garner, NC, USA | Cleveland High School | Dr. William Beach, Jason Herd |
| Jesse Lawson | League City, TX, USA | Clear Springs High School | Jason Schloesser, Michael Gonzales, Lester Williams, Rick Brockway |
| Seth Lambert | Bloomington, IL, USA | Michigan State University | Philip Sinder, Ed Risinger, Lindsay Ring, Bryce Bowlin |
| Eric Maxey | Louisville, KY, USA | Youth Performing Arts School | Chris Schmidt |
Tuba Student Semi-Finalists (in alphabetical order)
| Name | Hometown | School/University | Teacher(s) |
| Barrett Hoover | Wann, OK, USA | Oklahoma Union High School | Keith Elder |
| Ryan Lamb | Youngstown, OH, USA | Youngstown State University | Dr. Yukitada Onitsuka |
| # James Jihao Liu | Scarsdale , NY, USA | Juilliard Pre-College | Andrew Bove, Kyle Turner |
| Zhaowei Qu | San Jose, CA, USA | University of Michigan | David Zerkel, Tony Clements, Jonathan Hsu |
| Michael Vangeli | Cedar Park, TX, USA | Vista Ridge High School | David Hummel, Robert Herrings, Zach Santos, Trey Hanis |
| Raphael Zhu | Princeton, NJ, USA | Choate Rosemary Hall | Andrew Bove, Kyle Turner |
Tuba Student Alternates (in this order)
| Name | Hometown | School/University | Teacher(s) |
| ✓ Henry Foster | Akron, OH, USA | Copley High School | Michael Foster, Dr Kenneth Heinlein, Christina Wade |
| Wei-Zhen Tung (Rita) | Taichung, Taiwan | Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music | Brett Stemple, Chaio-Xaing Yang , Wen-Chung Li |
| Angelica Hernandez | Cedar Park, TX, USA | Rouse High School | Ryan Johnstone, David Hummel |
| Alan Zhang | Cypress, TX, USA | Cypress Woods High School | Brandon Quam, Steven Needham, Dave Kirk |
2025 FESTIVAL DATES
March 31...Application Deadline
Early May...Semi-Finalists Notified
August 8-11...Festival Competition
Hosted by Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
Statement regarding Diversity, Inclusion & Social Justice #BlackLivesMatter