About Us

Audrey Foster

Audrey Foster is a Trumpet and Flugelhorn player from Houston, Texas. She received he Bachelor of Music from the University of Houston. Audrey has been playing the trumpet for thirteen years and has been teaching in Houston for two years in the Pearland and Spring Branch areas. She was a student of Bob Walp before studying at the Moores School of Music with Mark Hughes. She played the Flugelhorn for the Houston Brass Band for four years prior to her current position as the solo Flugelhorn in the Magnolia City Brass Band. She also performs with the Houston Brass Collective and plays Principal Trumpet for the Symphony Inspiria in Lake Houston.

Emmanuel Acevedo

A native of the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, Emmanuel Acevedo is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in trumpet performance from the University of Houston Moores School of Music, as a student of Mark Hughes, Principal Trumpet of the Houston Symphony.

As a freelance trumpeter, Emmanuel has had opportunities to perform with the Houston Symphony on programs including “The Rite of Spring” (Stravinsky), Mahler’s First Symphony, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, In Concert” (Williams), and other notable works. He is also a member of the cornet section of the Magnolia City Brass Band, directed by Robert Walp, Assistant Principal Trumpet of the Houston Symphony. Additionally, he is a founding member of the Houston Brass Collective and is elated to add South Wind Brass to his prestigious performance opportunities!

Emmanuel has earned semifinalist status at the National Trumpet Competition in 2022 and 2023 in the Undergraduate Solo division and, along with his colleagues, won the Small Ensemble division in 2024.

As an instructor, he teaches private lessons in Pearland and Friendswood, Texas and truly enjoys creating successful and thrilling musical moments for young trumpet students.

Joel Livsey

Joel Livsey is a performer active in the Houston and New Mexico music scenes. He has experience as a soloist and ensemble musician, having performed with ensembles including the Brazosport Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, Landmark Musicals, and Opera Southwest.

Joel's chamber music experience includes collaboration with Ranchitos Brass, and performing with the Duke City Horns at the 2018 International Horn Symposium. He performed in the premiere of Ryan Chase's "Sur la Choisy" for horn choir at the 2017 Southwest Horn Workshop.

As a co-founder of the Houston Horn Club, Joel remains committed to fostering a vibrant musical community.

Joel Livsey holds a Bachelor of Music in Horn Performance from Stephen F. Austin State

University, where he studied under the guidance of Dr. Charles Gavin. He received his Master of Music in Horn Performance from the University of New Mexico under Dr. Michael Walker. He has since received continuing musical instruction from Thomas Bacon.

Devionne Jones

Devionne Jones is an emerging musician in the Houston area. He previously worked as a teaching graduate assistant and studied trombone under Timothy Dueppen before earning his Master of Music Performance degree from Lamar University.

Mr. Jones is an avid performer adept in a wide range of music genres. Devionne performed with the Symphony of Southeast Texas and is currently a substitute/extra of the Texas Medical Center Orchestra.

As an ensemble collaborator, he has appeared in concerts and numerous recordings with Thomas Hulten, Christopher Bill, Bradley Palmer, and Brad White. Devionne also plays jazz professionally and participated as a performing artist in jazz festivals in Canada, Mexico, and Switzerland.

In education, Devionne enjoys enlightening students about unique methods to improve their performance. Mr. Jones' student history contains numerous TEA 5A & 6A all-staters and recipients of full-tuition scholarships. He enjoys hiking, star-gazing, and reading.

Brandon Padilla

Brandon Padilla is from Claremont, CA and enjoys being an active freelance Tuba player and Low Brass private lesson instructor in the greater Houston area. Brandon received his Bachelor of Music while studying under Dr. Doug Tornquist at the California State University in Fullerton, and received his Masters in Music while studying under Dr. Richard White at the University of New Mexico. He has also studied with Dave Kirk, Dr. Daniel Perantoni, and Mark Barton

Brandon currently performs with the Magnolia City Brass Band on Eb bass, South Wind Brass, and Chroma Chamber Brass.