New Faces at the NHMF

New Hampshire Music Festival Welcomes

Co-Principal Trumpets 

After successful auditions during the 73rd Season, we are pleased to announce that Grace O’Connell and Wiff Rudd will join the New Hampshire Music Festival as Co-Principal Trumpets beginning in the 74th Season, July 2026! 

Grace O’Connell is a musician with highly diverse interests, equally passionate about soloing, orchestral playing, chamber music and teaching. She is a current fellow with Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect program. Grace has performed with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, The Knights, and is a frequent addition to orchestral trumpet sections including the Nashville Symphony, Huntsville Symphony, Greenwich Symphony, Princeton Symphony and others. Grace has been a guest artist with the Manchester Music Festival and the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival. Always a dynamic soloist, Grace is an active recitalist and competitor in national and international competitions.

Most recently, Grace was named the first place winner of the Roger Voisin Memorial Trumpet Competition (2024) and was a finalist in the Ellsworth Smith Competition. She was also named the first place winner in the International Trumpet Guild Solo Division (2023), MTNA Young Artist Solo Division (2022), as well as the National Trumpet Competition Undergraduate Division (2022). She has been a featured soloist with the Yale Philharmia, Eastern Music Festival Orchestra, Southern Stars Symphonic Brass Band, Middle Tennessee Sinfonietta and more. In 2021 and 2023, Grace was the recipient of two separate URECA Grants from Middle Tennessee State University, aiding her in completing several solo trumpet recordings for digital release.

Grace holds a Master of Music from Yale University and a Bachelor of Music from Middle Tennessee State University. She has studied with John Aley, Kevin Cobb and Michael Arndt.

Wiff Rudd has been a distinguished member of Baylor University’s School of Music since 2002, serving as Professor of Trumpet and Brass Area Coordinator. Prior to his tenure at Baylor, he held teaching positions at Oklahoma Baptist University and the University of Arkansas. Throughout his career, Mr. Rudd has earned numerous accolades for his exceptional contributions to teaching and performance. In 2010, he was honored with Baylor’s Outstanding Faculty Award for Teaching and named the Centennial Professor, a distinction that provided a grant for his first book, Collaborative Practice Concepts. This was followed by the publication of Side by Side: Building and Sustaining an Effective Community in the Music Studio. Both works have been embraced worldwide by music educators passionate about fostering collaboration and a positive culture with students and colleagues.

In recognition of his dedication to mentorship and teaching, Mr. Rudd received Baylor’s Elizabeth Vardaman Award for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduates in 2021. The following year, the International Trumpet Guild honored him with its prestigious Award of Merit, celebrating his profound impact on the art of trumpet playing through performance, teaching, publishing, and research. Most recently, in 2025, Baylor recognized his lifetime of achievements with its highest teaching honor, the Master Teacher Award.

A highly sought-after performer and educator, Mr. Rudd has had the privilege of performing and teaching on five continents, participating in over 3,000 concerts. He has presented clinics and performances at more than 300 universities and conservatories and has appeared at leading music events, including the National Trumpet Competition, International Trumpet Guild Conferences, the Midwest Clinic, the Texas Music Educators Association Conference, Music Educators National Conference, and Music for All.

From 1985 to 1993, Mr. Rudd toured internationally with the Dallas Brass. He is a founding member and manager of Rhythm & Brass, established in 1993, and performs with the Baylor Brass faculty quintet. Together, these ensembles have released 11 recordings spanning a wide array of musical styles. He also serves as principal trumpet of the Waco Symphony and co-principal for the New Hampshire Music Festival, and he has performed with renowned orchestras, including those in Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, Austin, and Harrisburg.

Mr. Rudd’s students have achieved notable success, attending premier graduate programs and music festivals, securing teaching positions in leading universities and public school music programs, and performing with prominent symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles, and military bands across the country. The Baylor Trumpet Studio has excelled in competitions, earning top prizes at the National Trumpet Competition and International Trumpet Guild events. Since 2009, 15 Baylor trumpet ensembles have placed at NTC, including six first-place titles. Most recently, Lux Brass earned second prize in ITG’s Chamber Music Competition in 2023, followed by Baylor Gold’s first-place finish in both 2024 and 2025.

A Yamaha Performing Artist/Clinician since 1986, Mr. Rudd is a passionate advocate for music education and remains committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians.

NH Music Festival Welcomes New Board Members

The Music Festival leadership is actively making NHMF the best it can be! Recent additions to our Board of Directors are Annette Holba, Sally Jensen, Richard Kelly, and Cynthia Vascak. We also recognize and honor the service of outgoing Board members Joe Higgins, Winnie Hohlt, and Tido Janssen. Thanks to their dedication and passion, the Festival is stable, stronger, and thriving.

Annette Holba is professor of rhetoric at Plymouth State University. She is a published author of books and journal articles and is the editor for The Journal of Dialogic Ethics. Her board experience includes the Pemi-Baker Home Hospice, Speare Memorial Hospital Ethics Committee, and the Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey. She teaches violin and viola and plays in the Lakes Region Symphony Orchestra. In 2024 she was recognized as “string teacher of the year“ by the New Hampshire American String Teachers Association.

Sally Jensen is a retired teacher with a Masters degree and Certifications in Special Education, Emotionally Handicapped, and Learning Disabilities. She volunteers with the Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative (PAREI) and is a NASA Solar System Ambassador. She plays in the PSU Symphonic & Jazz Bands, Clarinet Choir, and Percussion Ensemble.

Richard Kelly received his music degrees and training from Boston University, New England Conservatory, and the Juilliard School of Music. He attended Bridgewater University and Rutgers for math degrees and was trained at Harvard in Interest Based Bargaining. He is a percussionist with the Portland ME Symphony, Port Opera, and our own New Hampshire Music Festival! He taught middle school math for 33 years, was the Attleboro MA teacher's union President, and has negotiated contracts for non-profits and orchestras.

Cynthia Vascak is Professor Emeritus At Plymouth State Univ. As Professor of Art and Art Education, she coordinated programs for undergrad and graduate study. She served as Chair of the Art Department and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a trained Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction teacher and certified meditation facilitator. Her community service has included New Hampshire Special Arts, Pemi Baker Home Hospice, Squam Lakes Science Center, Campton Planning Board, and Arts & Big Hearts. As an artist she works in the media of Egg Tempera.  

From our Friends at Plymouth Congregational UCC

Concert - The Champlain Trio

Sunday afternoon September 28, 2025 at 3:00 p.m.

Sponsored by the Music Committee Joan Campbell Lovett Fund and Plymouth Congregational UCC.

All proceeds go to the JCL Music Fund to support future music programming.

Since forming in 2020, the Champlain Trio have been sharing compelling performances, and delighting audiences with their artistry, connection and dedication to chamber music. Violinist Letitia Quante, cellist Emily Taubl, and pianist Hiromi Fukuda earned degrees from The Juilliard School, Yale School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, and New England Conservatory collectively, and hold teaching positions at Amherst College and the University of Vermont. 

The New Hampshire Music Festival is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that builds community and enriches lives through the shared experience of exceptional classical music performances and educational outreach. NHMF draws from the best of the past to the edge of the future to champion classical music as a universal language of expression and understanding. Tax ID: 02-0245614

Interested in ensuring the music of the Festival plays long into the future?
Consider joining the Encore Society, or making a donation.

For more information, visit nhmf.org, email info@nhmf.org, 603-238-9007, PO Box 64, Plymouth NH 03264.