1. Home
  2. Colleges
  3. Department of Music
  4. Department of Music News
  5. Mark Sayler Selected as Inaugural USA Bands Student Solo Competition Winner

Mark Sayler Selected as Inaugural USA Bands Student Solo Competition Winner

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Dr. Will Petersen
Dr. Will Petersen

Mark Sayler

Mark Sayler, a senior music education and music performance major from Fairhope, Alabama is the inaugural USA Bands Student Solo Competition winner. Sayler will be performing Martin Ellerby’s “Tuba Concerto” with the USA Wind Ensemble on Tuesday, April, 22nd at 7:30PM in the Laidlaw Recital Hall.  Sayler is a student of Dr. Clayton Maddox, Assistant Professor of Music (tuba and euphonium).

April 22nd's concert will open with the USA Symphony Band, conducted by Dr. Robert Abend, followed by the USA Wind Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Will Petersen.  The Symphony Band will open with "Dublin Dances," a medley of Irish Folk songs by Belgian composer Jan Van der Roost. The program also features "...and the antelope play," a musical portrayal of the vast and beautiful high desert of California composed in 2007 by John Carnahan. The first half of the program concludes with an exciting composition titled "AYO," by Katahj Copley, which is influenced by hip hop and jazz culture. 

The Wind Ensemble will open their porition of the concert with Peter Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Jesters” from The Snow Maiden conducted by Dr. Rob Abend. Dr. Will Petersen takes the podium featuring Sayler for the Ellerby Tuba Concerto. The evening will close with the iconic “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story” composed by Leonard Bernstein, set for wind band by Paul Lavendar in the official Leonard Bernstein Estate transcription.

Jon Grayson KerrJon Grayson Kerr, a junior music education major from Fairhope, Alabama is the 2024-2025 runner-up and alternate. He performed Gordon Jacob’s “Concerto for Trombone” during the final live round, accompanied by Dr. Robert Holm, USA Professor of Music (piano). Kerr is a student of Dr. Chase West, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music (trombone).

In total, seven students submitted recordings during the initial screening round of the solo competition. Faculty from the Department of Music ranked students and provided commentary. Two finalists were identified and invited to the final live, adjudicated round. 

2024-2025 is the first year of the student solo competition with music majors, minors, and those in partcipating in elective studies with an applied Department of Music faculty member eligible to participate. Students need the approval of their applied professor to submit an application and the work selected must have an available wind band accompaniment. All studios in the Department of Music, including piano and voice, are eligible to participate.  

Congratulations to Mark, Jon Grayson, and all of the students who participated in the first year of the USA Bands Student Solo Competition!

Share on Social Media