Dr. Andrew Harms holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with a concentration in German Studies, a Master of Music degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, and a Bachelor of Music degree with a minor in English Literature and Composition from Missouri State University. Andrew also completed performances studies at the University of Miami.
Andrew is equally comfortable as a performer, teacher, and researcher. In addition to serving as 2nd Trumpet with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, he appears regularly with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the East Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, and others. He been a featured soloist with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Brookline Symphony Orchestra, and the New England Brass Band. He has received recognition by several national and international conferences, competitions, and organizations, including the International Trumpet Guild, National Trumpet Competition, the Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition, the Naftzger Young Artist Competition, the Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition, and the U.S. Fulbright Student Program. In the realm of New Music, Andrew has been involved in the commissioning and premier of over a dozen works, including Contraptions by John Cheetham, Zelik by Annika Socolofsky, and Anticitizen One by Paul Poston, and has performed with several of Boston’s top new music ensembles, including Sound Icon. Andrew has toured as a soloist across the U.S. and Europe. Andrew has served on several non-profit boards, including the New England Brass Band and the North American Brass Band Association.
As an educator, Andrew currently serves on the faculty of Colby College in Waterville, ME as Artist Instructor of Trumpet, and is an active teacher and clinician in the New England region. He has served on the faculties of Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, New England Music Camp, and Appel Farm Fine Arts Camp. Andrew has worked extensively with students on all brass instruments and has developed curricula for academic programs and for personal use for both applied studios and brass methods for educators. He has partnered with some of the world’s top performers on education programs for advanced college students and professionals, including with David Bilger to produce “Dave’s Dojo.”
As a researcher, Andrew has participated in research and published on AI and machine learning in music, the history of the trumpet, film music, and brass pedagogy. His writing has been featured in the Journal of the International Trumpet Guild. Andrew has presented extensively on the trumpet’s role in Leni Riefenstahl’s films and their influence on the trumpet music of the period, such as Paul Hindemith and Karl Pilß. In 2020, Andrew developed an analysis program that logs daily practice statistics, then presents correlations between practice habits and performance. In 2020, Andrew consulted on a machine vision project to detect and correct maladaptive brass playing habits such as posture and facial/embouchure movement. Andrew has most recently published on the principals of sound production and embouchure development. Additionally, Andrew has conducted research on the veracity of Torelli’s famous concerto and has performed many of the composer’s works with string ensemble.