BENEFICENCE
BRASS
ABOUT US
Beneficence Brass is a brass chamber group dedicated to performing and educating our audiences about music. The group consists of Abbie French (horn), Ben Maynard (trumpet), Kieran McNamara (trumpet), Austin Hinkle (trombone), and Sam Michels (tuba). Beneficence Brass was founded in January of 2018. They have performed recitals in Indiana, Iowa, and in Bavaria, Germany. Beneficence Brass has worked with several notable brass chamber ensembles and artists including Boston Brass, Canadian Brass, Rekkenze Brass, and with John Manning from Atlantic Brass. In addition to performing, they have given masterclasses at Greenfield-Central High School, Dowling Catholic High School, and Burris Laboratory School.
ABBIE FRENCH
Abbie is a horn player from Goshen, Indiana. She is a sophomore at Ball State University and is majoring in Spanish and minoring in music. In addition to playing with Beneficence Brass, she plays horn in the Ball State Symphony Orchestra. In her free time she enjoys reading and learning to play the upright bass.
AUSTIN HINKLE
Austin Hinkle is a graduate assistant with the bands and is working toward his Master’s of Music in Conducting at Ball State University. He received his undergraduate from the University of Northern Colorado in 2013 and was a middle school and high school band director in Colorado until his time here in Indiana.
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Austin began his musical career on piano at the age of four and began playing trombone at the age of eight. He has experience playing in bands, orchestras, jazz bands, and various other ensembles. Austin owes his musical influence to his parents, all of whom encouraged him throughout his childhood.
BEN MAYNARD
Ben is a trumpet player of Beneficence Brass. He was born and grew up in Greenfield, In. He is finishing up his coursework at Ball State University located in Muncie, Indiana for his Bachelors of Science in Music Education. In addition to Beneficence Brass, he has performed with the Ball State Wind Ensemble, Ball State Symphony Orchestra, Muncie Symphony Orchestra, and the Ball State University Trumpet Ensemble. He enjoys exploring his passion for music by performing brass quintet repertoire and a variety of arrangements with Beneficence Brass.
KIERAN McNAMARA
Kieran is a trumpet player from Bloomington, Indiana. He is a trumpet performance major at Ball State University in his junior year. Along side playing second trumpet in our quintet he is also the trumpet player for the New Music Ensemble and a member of the symphony band. In his spare time he enjoys backpacking, getting coffee, and cooking.
SAM MICHELS
Sam is a tuba player from Des Moines, Iowa. When not playing with Beneficence Brass, he sits principal in the Ball State Symphony Orchestra and The Ball State Wind Ensemble. He has also played with the Muncie Symphony. His primary teachers are Mathew Lyon and Michael Short. He has been a member Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia since 2015. His hobbies include making coffee for his friends, going to art museums, and looking at his long hair.