Meet the Faculty for the
Savannah Trombone Workshop:

Mark Spradley

Mark Spradley is currently the Second Trombone with the Savannah Philharmonic and the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with many other orchestras in the Southeast, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Waco Symphony, LaGrange Symphony, Albany Symphony, Beaufort Symphony, and the North Charleston POPS. 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 bachelor's degree in music performance 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 Dr. Bradley Palmer and Nathan Zgonc.

In addition to maintaining a busy performance schedule, Mr. Spradley enjoys teaching private lessons and leading the Savannah Trombone Choir in rehearsals on a weekly basis. Mr. Spradley founded the Savannah Trombone Workshop and has served on faculty since the inaugural program in 2016.

Evan Williams

A native of Georgia, Evan Williams holds a Bachelor of Music Performance Degree from Columbus State University, a Master of Music Degree from the University of Texas at Austin (UT), and is currently working towards a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Trombone Performance at UT. His principal teachers include Nathaniel Brickens, Bradley Palmer and Craig Mulcahy.

Currently Mr. Williams is working as Principal Trombone for the Richmond Symphony, but has also served as Principal Trombone in the Central Texas Philharmonic as well as 2nd Trombonist with the Mid-Texas Symphony. Mr. Williams has also been named a winner in several international competitions, including the International Trombone Association Alto Trombone Competition, the ITA Van Haney Orchestral Tenor Competition, ITA Frank Smith Solo Tenor Competition, as well as the Steven Zellmer Orchestral Trombone Competition, which is hosted by the Minnesota Orchestra. As a soloist, Mr. Williams has also been featured with the University of Texas, Columbus State Trombone Choir, the Fort Benning Army Brass Band and the Victoria University Wind Ensemble.

Maria Menendez

Ms. Menendez, a native of Ontario, Canada, joined the Carrollton City School System as a band director in 2014. After three years at Carrollton Upper Elementary School she joined the faculty at Carrollton Junior High School. Ms.Menendez is an active teacher, player and clinician outside of her daily schedule at Carrollton City Schools. In 2015 she presented at the Georgia Music Educators In-Service Conference in Athens, Georgia aimed at aiding young teachers beginning in the field. In 2018 she served as one of the guest conductors for the 2018 Fayette County Sixth Grade Honor Band.  Past awards include the Fred Factor Award (2016) awarded for going above and beyond as well as the University of West Georgia’s Graduate Studies Fellowship for Underrepresented Minority Students in 2017.  In 2019, Ms. Menendez was named the CJHS Teacher of the Year!

She is a graduate of South Paulding High School and attended Columbus State University where she earned her Bachelors of Music degree in Music Education. While attending, Ms. Menendez was a member of the Columbus State University’s Trombone Choir, Trombone Octet, CSU Wind Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, and the CSU Philharmonic Orchestra. During her senior year Ms. Menendez served as the president of CSU’s collegiate chapter of the National Association for Music Education. In 2013, Ms. Menendez studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark. Additionally she spent seven weeks of her summer at Interlochen Center for the Arts where she worked as a counselor in the High School Girls’ division.

Recently, Ms. Menendez earned her Master’s in Music Education from the University of West Georgia and proudly resides in Carrollton, Georgia.