Music Brass Instructors
Westmont Brass Instructors
Eric C. Heidner, a native Santa Barbaran, is in his sixteenth year as the Director of Bands at Santa Barbara City College, where he directs both the SBCC Concert Band and the "Good Times" Jazz Ensemble. Before joining the faculty at the college, he held the position of Director of Bands for Santa Barbara High School for five years. In addition, he has worked with a great many local school music programs, including those of Dos Pueblos High School, Arroyo Grande High School, Bishop Diego High School, and numerous public elementary and parochial schools. He holds a B.M. in trombone performance from UCSB, as well as an M.A. in musicology. He earned his teaching credential from Westmont College in 1997, and has been teaching trombone there since 2008. As a professional brass instrumentalist, he has worked with such greats as Doc Severinsen, Clark Terry, Alex Iles, Andy Martin, Bill Reichenbach, and Bill Watrous. He also leads the SBCC Trombone Choir, an ensemble made up of trombonists from SBCC, UCSB, Westmont, and the greater Santa Barbara community.
Stephen Hughes currently teaches private trombone lessons at Westmont College. Originally from Rochester, New York, Stephen is in his fifth year as the music teacher at La Colina Junior High School. Before coming to Santa Barbara, he earned his B.M in trombone performance at Oberlin Conservatory (studying with Jame DeSano), as well his M.A. in teaching at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, in Los Angeles. Stephen's has taught and played around the world, from the Bronx, NY to the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, to El Sistema El Salvador. As a brass professional, has shared the stage with such artists as Gustavo Dudamel and Barbara Morrison, and played at venues like the Santa Barbara Bowl and the Eastman Theatre.
John Mason is a freelance musician in the greater Los Angeles area. John records for Motion Pictures, Television and records: some of his most recent work has been: John Williams: Star Wars EpisodeVIII, Geostorm and various Marvel Movie and Television projects, The Black Eyed Peas upcoming Album. John also performs with the Santa Barbara Opera, Santa Barbara Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and is Principal Horn of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony.
A former U.S. Marine and SBCC student, James spent several years in the San Francisco Bay area learning, working, and performing. He holds a B.A. in Electronic Music from San Francisco State University, and an M.A. in Educational Technology from Pepperdine University. James plays trumpet, trombone, and guitar in various jazz, classical, and pop groups at SBCC and around town.