Faculty Concert: Ictus International Trumpet Seminar
Join the 2025 Ictus International Trumpet Competition faculty for a spectacular finale concert featuring renowned trumpeters David Bilger and Brian Neal, accompanied by pianist Anna Kislitsyna. The program will also showcase Alexander Serio, founder and director of Ictus Music. Select participants from the week’s seminar will also perform are to be announced. The concert will include the following works:
Trumpet Concerto in A-flat Major by Alexander Arutiunian
Concerto in D Minor by Alessandro Marcello (transcribed for trumpet and piano)
Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra by Harry James
Siete Canciones Populares Españolas by Manuel de Falla
About the performers:
Hailed by the New York Times for his playing of “easy brilliance” and by the Washington Post for his “engaging legato touch,” David Bilger is Professor of Trumpet at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. From 1995 to 2022, he held the position of principal trumpet of The Philadelphia Orchestra, having previously held the same position with the Dallas Symphony.
As a soloist Mr. Bilger has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Oakland Symphony, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York, and others. His solo appearances with The Philadelphia Orchestra include 2018 performances of Christian Lindberg’s Akbank Bunka, the Hummel Trumpet Concerto in E-flat in 2013, a 2008 United States premiere of Herbert Willi’s Eirene for trumpet and orchestra, as well as performances of Bloch’s Proclamation (2006), Copland’s Quiet City (2004), and Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in E-flat (2003). In 1998 he performed Tomasi’s Trumpet Concerto at Carnegie Hall and on tour in North and South America. Mr. Bilger has performed recitals in New York, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and other major American cities.
Mr. Bilger has appeared with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, with which he recorded Bach’s Second Brandenburg Concerto. Other chamber music appearances include Chamber Music Northwest, the New York Trumpet Ensemble, Saint Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, as well as guest appearances with the Canadian Brass and the Empire Brass. He also released a recording of electro-acoustic music for trumpet and synthesizers with composer Meg Bowles.
For 27 years, Mr. Bilger was on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music. He is a former faculty member at Temple University, the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia, Rice University, and held the position of Visiting Guest Artist at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. He has performed master classes at dozens of institutions, including the Juilliard School of Music, Indiana University, the University of Michigan, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Peabody Conservatory. He has also taught at the Pacific Music Festival, the National Orchestral Institute + Festival, the Aspen Music Festival and School and most recently at the Hamamatsu International Festival and Academy. He has coached NYO-USA and NYO2.
David Bilger holds a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Illinois. He is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
A 2021 Emmy Award Winner in Performance & Composition and praised by Cleveland Classical Review for his “remarkably warm singing tone,” Brian Neal is a multifaceted trumpet player whose artistry has been captivating audiences for decades. Mr. Neal is currently the Trumpet Professor at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music. His performances have taken him across the United States, Europe, and Russia.
Currently in his 14th season as a featured member of the internationally acclaimed Dallas Brass, Mr. Neal has also served as principal trumpet of the Miami City Ballet Orchestra. He has appeared with symphony orchestras nationwide, including performances with the Utah Symphony under Keith Lockhart and the Florida Philharmonic under Peter Nero. As a soloist, he has performed with the California Symphony, Monterey Ensemble, Florida Philharmonic, Orchestra Miami, Miami Wind Symphony, the Leganés Orchestra in Spain, and the Haydn Trumpet Concerto with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.
With the Dallas Brass, Mr. Neal gives over 40 solo performances annually. The ensemble has been featured at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, on the CBS Early Show, and has toured extensively in Europe and Russia. A cornerstone of their work is music education: through clinics and collaborative concerts, Mr. Neal has worked with hundreds of school band programs across the country, inspiring thousands of young musicians.
As a composer and featured soloist, Mr. Neal premiered his original work Concertante #1 at Carnegie Hall and with the Escuela-Conservatorio Orquesta Manuel Rodríguez Sales in Spain. His Emmy-winning 2022 collaboration involved artists from four countries and was recognized for excellence in both performance and composition.
Mr. Neal is a member and soloist with Sitka Brass, an ensemble comprising musicians from major U.S. orchestras. He also founded and directed Brass Miami, featured for five consecutive years in the Miami Bach Society’s Tropical Baroque Festival. Now in his 20th season, he serves as Director of the Brass Ensemble at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp in Alaska.
He studied at the Manhattan School of Music and the University of Miami, and was a fellow at leading summer festivals including Tanglewood, Waterloo, the Fontainebleau Conservatory in France, and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, where he performed with the Meridian Arts Ensemble. He has worked under the direction of world-renowned conductors including Charles Dutoit, Yoel Levi, John Nelson, Seiji Ozawa, Simon Rattle, Stanislav Skrowaczewski, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Leon Fleisher.
His solo album Reflections was featured on NPR’s Pipe Dreams, and he is a prominent soloist on numerous Dallas Brass recordings. He also appeared on Alejandro Sanz’s Latin Grammy–winning album La Música No Se Toca.
Anna Kislitsyna is an internationally renowned pianist and harpsichordist who made her solo debut at the age of 10 with the Omsk Symphony Orchestra. With an illustrious career spanning over three decades, she remains in high demand as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and educator.
Anna's recent season highlights include recording a new Navona Records album of contemporary works with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra at Royal Glasgow Hall. As well as performing Clara Schumann's Piano Concerto with Delaware County Symphony Orchestra and the Mclean Symphony.
She performed at some of the world's most prestigious venues, including The Kimmel Center and The Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Rachmaninov Hall of Moscow Conservatory, and Alfred Cortot Hall of Paris Conservatory. Her performances have been praised for their technical brilliance, emotional depth, and musical sensitivity.
In recital, Anna Kislitsyna is known for her experimental programs, juxtaposing works by contemporary composers with Baroque music and traditional classical repertoire. She enjoys working with living composers and premieres multiple new works for piano solo and chamber ensemble.
As a recording artist, Anna has recently completed an album of contemporary works for piano and orchestra with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Glasgow, as well as, solo CD of contemporary music (Piano Spectrums) with the premier concert at Carnegie Hall and ten contemporary chamber music CD's (MOTO series) as the pianist of Trio Casals on the PARMA Recordings Label.
Anna has won prizes in multiple international competitions, including Global Music Awards (2020, 2022, and 2023), the Lautard-Chetchenko Competition in France, International Chamber Music Competition in Finland, the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, and Chopin International Piano Competition in Connecticut. From 2002-2012 she served as a soloist in residence with the Omsk Symphony Orchestra.
As a collaborative pianist, Anna is a member of Rosalind Trio. She performs recitals with principal players of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and has collaborated with Delaware University, Haverford College, West Chester University, Temple University, the Primavera Fund, Harmony for Peace Foundation, and PMAY Artists Initiative, Ictus International Music Competition, and National Trumpet Competition. 2012-2024 she performed as a pianist of Trio Casals.
Anna is a highly respected educator who has mentored countless aspiring musicians, sharing her passion for music and inspiring the next generation of performers. She is currently on the faculty at Haverford College and the Nelly Berman School of Music. Anna frequently serves as a jury member at international piano competitions and has given masterclasses internationally.
Anna's students are prize winners of more than 150 international piano competitions, including From the Top, the London International Competition, Rachmaninov International Piano Competition, Gershwin International Competition, Greenfield Competition, The Boulder Bach Festival, and more. Other achievements of her students include performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra and giving a solo recital at the White House.
As a distinguished researcher, Dr. Kislitsyna has published a dissertation on Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto for Piano and Strings, as well as articles on the music of Olivier Messiaen, Sergei Prokofiev, Domenico Scarlatti, J.S. Bach, and Rodion Shchedrin.
In 2018 she completed her D.M.A at Temple University (PA). She is from the studio of Dr. Charles Abramovic on Piano, Dr. Joyce Lindorff on Harpsichord, and Pr. Lambert Orkis on chamber music. Prior to her studies at Temple U, Anna completed her Postgraduate Course-work in Piano Performance at the Novosibirsk State Conservatory in Russia with the dissertation on Olivier Messiaen’s “Vingt regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus,” where she also earned a Master Degree and Bachelor Degree with her primary teachers being Pr. Larisa Smeshko and Pr. Mary Lebenzon. Additionally, she holds a Master Degree from West Chester University (PA) where she studied with Dr. Igor Resnianski.
Alexander Serio, founder and director of Ictus Music has had a diverse career as an Arts Leader, Educator, and Performer. Currently Executive Director of the Sitka Music Festival, Serio was named one of Musical America Worldwide’s Top 30 Professionals of the Year in 2024 for his work in Alaska.
Previously, Serio served as Director of the Wynnefield branch of Settlement Music School, one of the nation’s oldest and largest community schools of the arts. There, he oversaw a team of staff and faculty and supported the school’s mission of providing accessible arts education. Serving thousands of students annually, Settlement Music School offers over $2.6 million in financial aid to ensure high-quality music education remains within reach for all.
Beyond the Sitka Music Festival, Serio is the Founder and Director of the Ictus International Music Competition, a platform that supports emerging musicians through accessible opportunities and free educational resources.
A classically trained trumpeter, Serio has built a diverse performance career encompassing solo, orchestral, and crossover projects. He has performed as a soloist at venues such as the Academy of Music in Philadelphia and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. He has performed with the Arcana New Music Ensemble, Lancaster Symphony, Kennett Symphony, Garden State Jazz Orchestra, Lancaster Symphony Brass, Hickory Brass, and Towson University Faculty Brass. Recently, and he has subbed as Assistant Principal Trumpet with the Reading Symphony. From 2009 to 2012, he served as Principal Trumpet of the Loudoun Symphony in Virginia. He was a two-time semi-finalist in the National Trumpet Competition, and won Shenandoah Conservatory’s 2006 Solo Competition. Commercially, Serio has collaborated with the band Stacked Like Pancakes, performing at the 25th Anniversary Vans Warped Tour in Atlantic City and recording trumpet for their album, Everything Happens.
As an educator, Serio has guided his students to success in competitions such as the National Trumpet Competition, International Trumpet Guild, and Young Classical Virtuosos of Tomorrow. His students have earned accolades on From the Top’s Daily Joy, performed at Carnegie Hall as young as age ten, and secured first chair positions in the All-National Honor Ensemble and All-State New Jersey. Recognized by the National YoungArts Foundation (notably, his student Ian Lee), they have also been accepted into leading institutions, including the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, Harvard University, Peabody Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Indiana University, McGill University, and Juilliard’s Pre-College Division. Additionally, Serio has shared his expertise in Music Entrepreneurship through guest lectures at West Chester University, Towson University, and Shenandoah University.
Serio holds a Master of Music from Towson University, where he studied with Rene Shapiro, and a Bachelor of Music from Shenandoah Conservatory, where he trained under Dr. Scott Nelson. He has participated in additional lessons and masterclasses with renowned trumpeters such as Håkan Hardenberger, Thomas Stevens, Markus Stockhausen, Jens Lindemann, Edward Carroll, Gabriele Cassone, David Bilger, and Stephen Burns.
