Dr. Stephanie Ycaza is Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the UNC Greensboro School of Music. Prior to her appointment at UNCG, Dr. Ycaza served as Instructor of Tuba and Euphonium at the University of Northern Iowa. She has also served on the music faculties of Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University, Longwood University, and the University of Richmond.

Dr. Ycaza is a founding member of Calypsus Brass, a brass quintet dedicated to performing new works and providing recordings for composers. Calypsus is committed to promoting the works of composers from historically marginalized groups and serves as an Ensemble-in-Residence for Rising Tide Music Press. Dr. Ycaza is active as an orchestral musician and currently serves as Principal Tuba of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony. Her recent solo performances have focused on music for low brass with electronic accompaniment, music by women composers, and her own transcriptions and arrangements for tuba and euphonium. She has performed as a soloist, offered masterclasses, and presented on the topic of mindfulness in music around the United States and in South America.

Dr. Ycaza holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Shenandoah University, a Master of Music degree and Artist Diploma from Yale University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has studied with Ross Walter, Toby Hanks, Mike Roylance, Andrew Hitz, and Michael Bunn. Dr. Ycaza is a Miraphone Tuba Artist.

The UNCG Wind Ensemble is a highly select concert band of fifty performers majoring in music at the UNCG School of Music. Performers in the current Wind Ensemble are drawn from sixteen states, Slovenia, and Hong Kong. The ensemble has enjoyed a distinguished record of performance throughout its history. In January 1992, the UNCG Wind Ensemble performed “A Tribute to John Philip Sousa” to a capacity crowd of 2,700 at the Concert Hall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Twice, the Wind Ensemble earned critical acclaim from The Washington Post following concerts in the nation’s capital. The Wind Ensemble has performed throughout the eastern United States in recent years including the first-ever performance, in 1987, by a North Carolina collegiate ensemble in Lincoln Center, New York City. The Wind Ensemble performed that same year in West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. The Wind Ensemble has recorded nineteen commercially-available albums which have received widespread praise.

In 1985, the Wind Ensemble performed a series of concerts with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer-conductor Karel Husa. In 1988, the UNCG Wind Ensemble performed in New Orleans, Louisiana by invitation of the College Band Directors National Association for the Southern Division convention. On a number of occasions, the Wind Ensemble has commissioned and premiered works from leading band composers. In November of 1990, the Wind Ensemble performed for the Southern Division of MENC convention. In February 1994, the UNCG Wind Ensemble performed for a convention of the CBDNA and NBA in Williamsburg, Virginia. In March 1999, the Wind Ensemble performed for the national convention of the American Bandmasters Association in Melbourne, Florida. In February 2000, the Wind Ensemble performed for the CBDNA Southern Division Convention hosted at UNCG. In 2006, the Wind Ensemble performed in The Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland, shared a concert with the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in Arlington, Virginia, and collaborated with Karel Husa, David Dzubay, and Carter Pann in the performaces of their music, including two commissions. In 2009, the Wind Ensemble performed at the CBDNA National Convention at the University of Texas at Austin and performed additional concerts in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas as part of a week-long tour. The Wind Ensemble performed at the 2011 National Convention of the American Bandmasters Association and the 2013 National Conference of the College Band Directors National Association hosted in Greensboro. Most recently, the UNCG took a twelve day concert tour through the Czech Republic, Austria, and Italy, the highlight of which was a concert in Prague’s famed Dvořák Hall.