Curtis trumpeter Alexander Greene killed in auto accident

Alexander R. Greene, 23, a promising Curtis Institute of Music trumpet student who made an impression as both charmer and role model, died Monday afternoon, Aug. 24, in an auto accident about 11 miles northwest of Farson, Wyo., along with his traveling companion, tuba player Benjamin K. Darneille, 21.

The two were on their way to Jackson, Wyo., after spending eight weeks at the Aspen Music Festival, where their brass quintet, formed at Curtis, had a summer residency. Their car, traveling in the wrong lane, collided with an oncoming truck; its driver was treated at a local hospital, said a spokesman for the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

Mr. Greene would have been beginning his second year at Curtis in pursuit of an artist diploma.

"He was a fine trumpet player, but a finer human being - an absolute joy to have around," said David Bilger, his trumpet teacher at Curtis. "He had this wit that was unbelievable, and was relentlessly positive. Like a lot of students when they get to Curtis, he questioned whether he had the goods to become a professional, but that was more because he was humble in spirit. I had no concerns, and after a while he realized he had some special things to offer."

Listeners last Wednesday at Aspen might have agreed. Mr. Greene made a strong impression with the Aspen Philharmonic in Mahler's Symphony No. 5, with its famously strident - and infamously exposed - solos. "I remember listening and thinking, 'Wow, what an amazing talent,' " said festival president Alan Fletcher. "He totally carried the performance."

Aspen names one student brass quintet each year, and this year chose Mr. Greene's ensemble. Darneille, from Rochester, Ill., joined the Rendezvous Brass Quintet when the regular Curtis tuba player wasn't able to attend.

Mr. Greene grew up in Orlando and began trumpet studies in the sixth grade. He was a popular presence at Curtis, where arriving students were stunned to learn of his death. "He was very down to earth, very positive, very energetic," said Curtis president Roberto Díaz. "The minute he arrived, he parked himself down in [the dean's] office and said, 'I want to start a quintet, I want to start a new-music group, I want to do this, I want to do that.' He was very focused on the future."

Somewhat more experienced than other students - he already had a degree from DePaul University - he quickly became a role model. "His energy and work ethic started to rub off on some of the younger students," said Díaz.

Horn player Eric Huckins, a fellow brass quintet member starting his fifth year at Curtis, said that last Wednesday's Mahler left players calling Mr. Greene "Alex Herseth" - a portmanteau referring to Adolph Sylvester "Bud" Herseth, late principal trumpeter of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Among those in the audience were his parents, Robert and Sheryl.

"It was honestly some of the best playing I heard from him ever," said Huckins, "and it was his first time playing the piece. . . . It was spectacular. He had that principal trumpet sound, and I have no doubt he was going to get a principal job in a major orchestra. The brilliance and life would carry to the back row."

Information on other survivors and services was not immediately available.

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