Our Musicians
Learn more about the individual musicians that make up the Zephyr Brass Collective.
Troy Rowlands
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Troy Rowlands is an award-winning tubist, bass trombonist, and educator based in Northern Colorado. An active freelance musician, Troy performs regularly throughout Colorado and the surrounding region on tuba, bass trombone, tenor trombone, and sousaphone.
Troy currently serves as Principal Tuba of the Longmont Symphony Orchestra and regularly performs with ensembles including the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Steamboat Symphony Orchestra, Wyoming Symphony Orchestra, and Denver Municipal Band. His orchestral experience encompasses both tuba and bass trombone, allowing him to work across a wide range of repertoire and ensemble settings. His performance experience has included appearances in the Dominican Republic, Carnegie Hall, the Jazz Education Network Conference, and the Colorado Music Educators Association Conference.
As a chamber musician, Troy is a member of the Zephyr Brass Collective, a nationally touring professional brass quintet. He is also a member of the Longmont Symphony Brass Quintet and regularly performs with the Fort Collins Symphony Brass Quintet. Troy has also performed extensively in jazz and commercial settings, including with the Compass Jazz Orchestra, Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, and Jordan Kahn Music Company. He can be heard playing bass trombone on the album Carmen Sings Carmen: Echoes of Carmen McRae recorded by the Compass Jazz Orchestra.
In addition to his performing career, Troy maintains a private studio where he mentors the next generation of trombone, euphonium, and tuba musicians.
Troy earned his Master of Music from the University of Northern Colorado, where he studied tuba with Dr. Steven Vaughn. He holds his Bachelor of Music Education from The Pennsylvania State University, where he studied with Velvet Brown.
Outside of music he enjoys rock climbing and cooking.
Amanda Hernandez is a Denver-based French horn artist who is a founding member of Zephyr Brass Collective, blending her experience in classical performance, music education, and the marching arts. A graduate of the University of New Mexico, she studied with internationally renowned horn soloist J.D. Shaw.
Her performance background includes notable roles with respected drum and bugle corps, including as the mellophone soloist for Bluecoats in 2011. She later transitioned into instructional positions with ensembles such as the Santa Clara Vanguard, and the Troopers. She now serves on the brass staff for the Blue Knights Drum & Bugle Corps, bringing her expertise and passion for musical excellence to the next generation of performers.
As a music educator, Amanda specialized in developing Spanish-language elementary music curricula that deliver culturally authentic and responsible musical experiences. Her work has been instrumental in shaping innovative programs in El Paso, TX, where she established the city’s first homogeneous beginning band program, the first immersion dual-language elementary music program, and the first elementary fine arts academy. In addition to her work in elementary education, she is a sought-after clinician for high school programs across the Southwest, helping students strengthen brass musicianship, ensemble skills, and confidence as performers.
Outside of music, Amanda has been active in community service, including her time with the Junior League of El Paso, where she served on its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee. In her free time, she enjoys competitive archery, baking, camping in her rooftop tent, and chasing squirrels with her shepherd mix, Ramona.
Amanda Hernandez
John Pirillo
John Pirillo is an accomplished trumpet artist and educator based in Fort Collins, Colorado. With a strong academic foundation—holding a Bachelor of Music from Florida Southern College and a Master’s from Colorado State University—John has studied with Don McLaurin, Stanley Curtis, and Justin Bartels.
John is a founding member of Zephyr Brass Collective, and is a fixture on the Colorado music scene, known for his versatility as a trumpet player. John serves as the principal cornet of Colorado Brass, and principal of Fort Collins Wind Symphony. John has also performed with the Fort Collins Symphony, Denver Philharmonic Orchestra, Cheyenne Symphony, Longmont Symphony, Boulder Dinner Theater, Neue Polka, and Hand Turkey. John has won awards with Colorado Versatile Brass, a 10 piece ensemble that has competed at NABBA Championships (North American Brass Band Association).
As an educator, John is passionate about guiding the next generation of trumpet players. He offers tailored lessons both locally and online, with a student-first philosophy that emphasizes personal artistry and musical growth. With roots deeply embedded in his Fort Collins community, John Pirillo continues to make a vibrant mark as a performer, collaborator, and mentor.
John is an endorsing artist for BAC trumpets, playing a G2 Plaza Bb Trumpet.
Joe Smith is an award-winning Denver-based trumpeter, bandleader, producer, and educator whose career bridges classical, chamber, and jazz traditions. Introduced to music through piano before focusing on trumpet, he was mentored by jazz artists Brad Goode, Jeff Barnhart, Dan Barrett, and Hal Smith, as well as classical pedagogues Dr. Amy Schendel and Phil Hembree. He holds a BA in Music from the University of Iowa and is recognized as a versatile, genre-spanning artist.
Joe performs across a wide range of classical settings, from orchestral and British brass band repertoire to chamber music. He is a founding member and Artistic Director of Zephyr Brass Collective, a touring brass quintet committed to commissioning new works and reimagining contemporary and popular repertoire. In 2024 and 2025, Joe founded and led a brass quintet that earned consecutive First Place finishes in the Small Ensemble Division at the North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) Championships.
On the jazz stage, Joe is known for his stylistic fluency in traditional jazz, swing, and early jump blues. He has led all-star big bands at festivals across the United States and has performed with artists including Bria Skonberg, Bobby Floyd, Danny Coots, Brad Goode, Jeff Barnhart, Aaron Johnson, and Miss Tammy Savoy, among others.
In 2013, Joe founded The Spicy Pickles, a Denver-based ensemble blending swing, jump blues, funk, and soul. The group has released six full-length albums and multiple EPs, with original music featured in global advertising campaigns for UPS, LeoVegas, and Visit Seattle, as well as in the feature film The Killing of a Sacred Deer (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos). Touring coast to coast for over a decade, the band has performed in more than 35 states, including appearances at the Telluride Jazz Festival, Vail Jazz Festival, and San Diego Jazz Festival.
A dedicated educator, Joe has presented clinics and lectures at the University of Colorado Denver, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Iowa, University of Wyoming, and national festivals. He has also created educational content for BAC Musical Instruments. His producing and music direction work includes a five-year tenure as Music Director of the Denver Jazz Festival and advisory roles with the Evergreen Jazz Festival.
Joe is a performing artist for BAC Trumpets and Denis Wick Mouthpieces and Mutes. He plays on a BAC G2 Plaza Bb trumpet. He is also a staff photographer for the International Trumpet Guild Conference.
Outside of music, he enjoys motorcycling, cooking for friends, and life with his whippet, Butter.
Joe Smith
Zach Rich is a multi-award winning composer, trombonist, arranger, and educator based in Denver, Colorado. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Jazz Trombone Performance from Friends University in 2016, and is currently a Doctoral candidate in Jazz Studies at the University of Northern Colorado. He currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Jazz Trombone and Jazz Arranging at the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music.
Zach has written music for many professional ensembles and organizations including the New York Youth Symphony, the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, the Dallas String Quartet, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas Music Educators Associations, Pathways to Jazz, the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra, and many universities and high schools throughout the country. Recently, he has worked professionally with Billy Childs, Rufus Reid, Steve Wilson, Knower, Shane Endsley, John Clayton, Randy Brecker, Tia Fuller, Rene Marie, Ari Hoenig, Wayne Bergeron, and the Count Basie Jazz Orchestra, just to name a few. He is also a regular collaborator with saxophonist Remy LeBoeuf.
His works have received awards from organizations such as ISJAC, the Jazz Education Network, ASCAP, ASMAC, Downbeat Magazine, Pathways to Jazz, the Helsinki Jazz Orchestra, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Zach continues to write for and perform with a variety of ensembles throughout the Front Range and beyond.
His debut album as a bandleader, "Solidarity", released on OA2 Records, is an expansive program of original music orchestrated for his Denver-based jazz quintet and chamber orchestra, blending modern jazz dynamism with contemporary classical counterpoint. The record received widespread critical acclaim, with 33 Third.org calling it "one of the best large ensembles of 2024" and Arts Axis Florida awarding it four stars, noting that listeners will be "shocked that this is his first foray into studio recording as a bandleader." "Solidarity" is available on all streaming platforms.
Zach Rich
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