Meet the founders

A photograph of Logan Wadley, tubist and co-founder of American Brass Press, holding a tuba and wearing a tuxedo.

Logan Wadley is a Doctoral student at the Eastman School of Music studying with Dr. Justin Benavidez, while also serving on the faculty of the Eastman Community Music School. An award-winning soloist and ensemble musician, he has appeared as a guest artist across the United States, and earned top honors at national and international competitions. 


Logan’s accolades include earning the Silver Medal at the 2024 Falcone Tuba Artist Competition, first place in the Tuba Artist Division at the Northeast Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference, and winning the Eastman School of Music Concerto Competition, where he performed the Arild Plau Tuba Concerto with the Eastman Symphony Orchestra in 2025. He is also the recipient of the 2023 Celentano Award for Excellence in Chamber Music, the 2021 Jim Self Award, and prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award, culminating in a performance on NPR's "From the Top" show #371 in La Jolla, California.  


Logan has performed as a guest artist on recitals at the University of Rhode Island, North Carolina School of the Arts, University of South Dakota, University of Houston at Victoria  and the National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota. His festival attendance includes the Curtis Summerfest in Philadelphia (2019), National Music Festival in Chestertown, Maryland (2023), Round Top Music Festival in Round Top, Texas (2023, 2024), the Falcone Festival (2024), as well as the Victoria Bach Festival, where he appeared as an emerging artist for the duration of the festival (2025).


Logan earned his Bachelor’s degree in Tuba Performance with High Distinction and a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music in 2023, followed by a Master’s degree in Tuba Performance in 2025. His principal instructors include Roger Bobo, Don Harry, Chris Olka, Craig Knox, Todd Cranson, and Chuck Dibley.

 

 

 

A photograph of Nathanael Kumar, euphonist and co-founder of American Brass Press, holding a euphonium and wearing a suit.

 

Nathanael Kumar has been creating for as long as he can remember. After a decade spent writing fantasy stories, humming inscrutable tunes, and theorizing new inventions, he found a permanent creative home in classical music in the sixth grade, when he discovered a miniature tuba called the “euphonium”. In the ensuing years, he fell in love with soloing, composition, and the violin standard repertoire. Now, as a full-time music student, he leads a double life as a euphonist and composer.
As a soloist, Nathanael has performed with the Houston Symphonic Band and won first place at the 2025 Falcone Festival competition. In his recitals, he champions new and unusual euphonium repertoire, and has a penchant for transcriptions (most recently: the violin concerti of Sibelius and Barber).
As a composer of new music, Nathanael strives to balance technical innovation with accessibility for listeners. In his latest work, a concertante solo entitled Norwegian Serenade, he blends quasi-tonal harmonies and violinistic melodies with a folk song in reflection on his childhood.
In addition to his academic studies, Nathanael is currently working towards a certificate in arts leadership. As part of this work, he’s completed internships in music admissions and summer-festival administration.
He currently studies with Justin Benavidez and Elizabeth Ogonek at the Eastman School of Music. Past euphonium teachers include Mark Kellogg, Matthew Murchison, and Steven Needham. In composition, Nathanael has also studied with Daniel Pesca, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Tom Schneller, and David Liptak.