Events

Brent Runnels
Executive and Artistic Director

Brent Runnels has fashioned a broad and diverse musical career as a performer, arts administrator and advocate, educator and musical entrepreneur.

As a pianist Brent Runnels has won critical acclaim for his performances in the US, Europe, Australia and Russia as an orchestral and recital soloist, chamber musician, and jazz pianist. He is the top-award winner of the New Orleans International Piano Competition and the Jacksonville Classical Piano Competition. Mr. Runnels has appeared as a soloist with such orchestras as the Atlanta Symphony, Prague Radio Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Kosice State Philharmonic, Ural Academic Philharmonic, Slovak Sinfonietta of Zilina, Florida Orchestra, Florida Symphony, Dubuque Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, Mansfield Symphony, Brevard Symphony and the Gwinnett Philharmonic. He has given recitals in London, Prague, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Sydney and Atlanta.

Chamber music and jazz performance are a significant part of his performance career. He is the founder and pianist of The Inman Piano Trio, an ensemble represented by Philip Truckenbrod Concert Artists (www.concertartists.com). With violinist Beth Newdome and cellist David Bjella, the Inman Piano Trio is known for performances of the masterpieces of the trio repertoire as well as unusual and rarely heard chamber works. Brent Runnels has performed extensively as a jazz pianist and has appeared with such jazz artists as Jon Faddis, Clark Terry, Gene Bertoncini, Lou Soloff, Laurie Holloway and Warren Covington. In 1993 and 1994 he toured central Europe with John Whitney as the Runnels/Whitney Jazz Piano Duo. Mr. Runnels also sings professionally with The Schola and Cathedral Choir of the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, where he is a staff tenor and director of the concert series (www.stphilipscathedral.org)

Brent Runnels maintains a strong commitment to arts education and support for the performing arts. From 1993-1999 he was founder and Artistic Director of the Orlando Jazz Festival. He has been a frequent guest at the South Bohemia Music Festival in the Czech Republic and has given masterclasses for the European Piano Teacher's Association in Prague, Brno and as guest artist at the Urals Summer International Academy of Arts in Novouralsk, Russia. Mr. Runnels has taught on the music faculties of Rollins College, Concordia College, the Manhattan School of Music and Georgia State University.

Brent Runnels trained with Constance Keene and John Browning as a scholarship student at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. There he earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree as well as the school's highest graduate honor, the Harold Bauer Award. A native of Rockville, Maryland, he is a member of the international roster of Steinway Artists.

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Justin Varnes studied music at the University of North Florida. After a brief stint with the Noel Freidline Quintet, Justin relocated to New York City to pursue a master's degree in jazz studies at the New School. In New York, Justin toured for six years with vocalist Phoebe Snow, with whom he performed on the Roseanne Barr Show, as well as National Public Radio's "World Cafe" (Justin would later perform on "World Cafe" with pop group "Five for Fighting"). He also performed with Phoebe at Madison Square Garden, where he played alongside singers Jewel and Paula Cole.

Justin has performed with several jazz greats in New York, including: Ben Wolfe (Harry Connick, Jr.), Aaron Goldberg (Joshua Redman), Wessell Anderson, Wycliffe Gordon, Marcus Printup, Steve Kirby (Cyrus Chestnut), Peter Bernstein, and Eric Lewis (Wynton Marsalis).

Currently residing in Atlanta, GA, Justin performs regularly with the Christian Tamburr Quartet, as well as Bob Reynolds, Kevin Bales, Joe Gransden and Gary Motley. Justin is also a top call sideman for touring artists through Atlanta. He has performed with Vincent Herring, Kevin Hays, Victor Goines and recently has been tapped for some work with Earl Klugh.

MACE HIBBARD

Born and raised in Waco, Texas, Mace Hibbard continues in the tradition of Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker, and Stan Getz, while drawing inspiration from the more contemporary players such as Kenny Garrett, Chris Potter, and Branford Marsalis.

Coming from a musical family, early music lessons included piano and voice until settling on the saxophone at age ten. Mace's firm grasp of the history of jazz and its standard repertoire comes from the gigs he played with his father - Dave Hibbard, a great trumpet player who has been a staple in the Texas jazz scene for years - throughout his teen years.

From there, he attended the University of Texas in Austin, where he earned a Bachelors degree in Musical Performance and a Masters degree in Jazz Studies. While in Austin, Mace developed as a composer and formed Odd Man Out, who released their self-titled debut on Viewpoint Records in 2000.

After 10 years of being one of the most sought after woodwind players in Austin, Mace relocated to Atlanta, Georgia in the summer of 2003 where he is continuing his reputation as an accomplished performer and composer. In 2007, Mace released his second recording, When Last We Met. Mace has performed throughout the United States and Europe, sharing the stage with Wynton Marsalis, The Derek Trucks Band, The Yonrico Scott Band, Wessell Anderson, Marcus Printup, Michael Brecker, Phil Woods, Bobby Shew, Arturo Sandoval, James Moody, the Austin Symphony, Bjorkestra, the Four Tops, the Temptations and the O'Jays.