Meet the Faculty for the
Savannah Trombone Workshop:

Dr. Bradley Palmer

Dr. Bradley Palmer is Professor of Trombone at Columbus State University's Schwob School of Music, where he has led and developed the trombone studio since 1999. He earned his bachelor's degree in music from Millikin University, his master's degree from the University of Iowa, and he completed his doctoral work at Florida State University.

An S.E. Shires Performing Artist, Dr. Palmer has appeared as a soloist in 14 states, Canada, Brazil and Hong Kong. He has also performed many times in Europe and the UK. Dr. Palmer performs regularly with a number of orchestras in the Southeast and has held the principal trombone chair with the LaGrange Symphony since 2003. He has performed with many other orchestras including the Alabama Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Macon Symphony, and the Savannah Philharmonic. He has performed at seven International Trombone Festivals, most recently at the 2016 Festival held at the Juilliard School, and he hosted the 2013 Festival at the Schwob School of Music at CSU. He can be heard as a soloist on Summit Records, and has appeared on St. Louis Symphony bass trombonist Gerry Pagano’s CD entitled “Ubiquity” (2014) and on Pagano's 2016 release "Horizons" performing music for two trombones and piano.

At Columbus State University, Dr. Palmer is the brass area coordinator. He teaches trombone, coaches chamber music and teaches brass literature and pedagogy courses. His former students include national and international solo competition winners, college, high school, middle school and elementary school teachers, music ministers and a number of others performing professionally. He is the conductor of the Schwob Trombone Ensemble at CSU, including performances in Hong Kong, Germany, the American Trombone Workshop in Washington D.C., and numerous International Trombone Festivals.  In 2013 the Ensemble finished a multi-year recording project featuring some of the finest trombonists in the US as guest soloists: Joseph Alessi, George Curran, James Markey, Denson Paul Pollard, Bill Thomas, Charlie Vernon and Ko-Ichiro Yamamoto. The CD was released by Summit Records to critical acclaim and has received airtime on NPR stations in the US and in Europe. The CSU Schwob Trombone Ensemble was featured at the 2017 International Trombone Festival, and the 2013 ITF opening ceremony. 2017 marked the release of the CSU Trombone Ensemble's newest CD "Full Tilt" which followed performances at the Southeast Trombone Symposium and the International Trombone Festival. The CSU Schwob Trombone Ensemble performed on James Markey's most recent solo CD "Psychedelia" released in 2014, and performed on George Curran's 2017 CD "Vital Signs". YouTube videos of the CSU Trombone Choir and other trombone-related performances at CSU have been viewed over three million times worldwide.

Along with members of the Atlanta Symphony and New York Philharmonic trombone sections, Palmer serves on the faculty of the Southeast Trombone Symposium and coordinates the STS Professors Choir. In addition to a busy performance schedule, he enjoys presenting master classes, clinics and serving as an adjudicator from solo and ensemble competitions to marching band competitions. He has guest conducted performances with trombone ensembles at many schools in the US including Juilliard, in addition to groups in Canada, China and Brazil. He has served as a member of the brass staff of the Phantom Regiment, Pioneer, and Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps. His arrangements for trombone ensemble are published by Cherry Classics.

As a recording engineer and producer, Dr. Palmer has recorded some of today's leading brass players from the Atlanta Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburg Symphony, and Seattle Symphony in CSU's Legacy Hall. In addition, Dr. Palmer serves as the Vice Chair of the International Trombone Association Executive Board, and also serves as the Vice President of the International Trombone Festival board.

Fletcher Peacock

A native of Asheville, NC, Fletcher Peacock is the Director of Instrumental Studies at The University of North Carolina at Asheville. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education and a Bachelor of Music in Bass Trombone Performance from Mars Hill College and a Master of Music Performance in Bass Trombone from Columbus State University. During his time at Columbus State University, he was a graduate assistant for the Wind Ensemble Activities area under Dr. Jamie Nix. Fletcher was the administrator for the 17th Annual Conductor’s Workshop in 2014 with clinicians Eugene Corporon and Kevin Sedatole. Fletcher’s past trombone teachers include Dr. Brad Palmer, Dr. James Sparrow, Mr. Jay Evans, Mr. Dan Satterwhite, and Mr. Keig Garvin. He was a winner of the Alma Dark Howard Memorial Music Scholarship Competition in 2013 and a finalist for the 2014 Schwob School of Music Concerto Competition (CSU). As the Program Assistant, he traveled to Hong Kong, China, with the Columbus State University Trombone Octet to perform for the SliderAsia Trombone Festival in 2014. Fletcher is a member of the STS Professor’s Choir (GA), recorded on CSU’s CD entitled Full Tilt, Brevard Music Center’s Alumni CD entitled Night Sounds, and Jim Markey’s Solo CD entitled Psychedelia.

Mark Spradley

Mark Spradley is currently the Second Trombone with the Savannah Philharmonic. An extensive orchestral musician, Mr. Spradley has appeared with many orchestras in the South, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Hilton Head Symphony, Waco Symphony, LaGrange Symphony, and the North Charleston POPS. In 2015, he was named a semi-finalist for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's section trombone audition. Also an accomplished soloist, Mr. Spradley was a national finalist and placed as one of the top prize winners in the Young Artist Brass Competition hosted by the Music Teachers National Association, held in Anaheim, California.

He earned his education at Columbus State University's Schwob School of Music. While attending CSU, he was a member of the Columbus State University’s Trombone Choir and Octet, which released their Debut CD, “A Beautiful Noise” with Summit Records in 2013. “A Beautiful Noise” is a collaboration with some of the world’s top trombonists representing symphonies and other ensembles from Boston, Atlanta, Seattle, Chicago, New York and the Metropolitan Opera. His primary trombone teachers/mentors include Bradley Palmer and Nathan Zgonc.

In addition to maintaining a busy performance schedule, Mr. Spradley enjoys teaching private lessons, presenting masterclasses, and conducting the Savannah Trombone Choir in rehearsals on a weekly basis. Recently he held a two week residency in Argentina, giving masterclasses and culminating with a performance with the Superbanda at the National University of Villa Maria. Mr. Spradley founded the Savannah Trombone Workshop and has served on faculty since the inaugural program in 2016.