Ben Hay

Trumpet Performer and Educator

Ben Hay is a trumpet player and teacher based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He serves as Assistant Professor of Music (Trumpet/Theory) at Northeastern State University.

Back to All Events

Lacey Hays Residency at NSU

Dr. Lacey Hays will teach lessons and present a masterclass for all music students at Northeastern State University.  

Dr. Lacey Hays, founding member and director of DFW Brass, grew up on a farm in central Oklahoma and began playing the trumpet in 5th grade. Before beginning her Undergraduate studies, she was named an Emerson Scholar and attended Interlochen. Dr. Hays has enjoyed a career in numerous settings and has performed with orchestras throughout Europe as well as North, South and Central America.  She has also given masterclasses and clinics throughout the US and South/Central America.  Comfortable with numerous styles, Dr. Hays has performed with Johnny Mathis numerous times, has played lead trumpet for Broadway Tours such as Matilida and If/Then at the AT&T Center in Dallas, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Verdi Opera House in Italy and the Classical Music Festival in Austria.

Dr. Hays previously held a position at the Verdi Opera House in Trieste, Italy and has performed at numerous music festivals including The Second International Brass Festival (Mexico), The Aspen Music Festival (Colorado), Young Euro Festival (Berlin), Spoleto (Italy), Spoleto USA (South Carolina), Le Domain Forget (Canada), Great Waters International Music Festival (New Hampshire), Le Festival Bel Canto (Québec), Snape Maltings (England), Festival de Musique de Monton (France), Musica Riva Festival (Italy), and Campos do Jordao Music Festival (Brasil). Dr. Hays co-founded Les Femmes Five Quintet, an all female brass quintet that performs and teaches in Panama (Central America).

n addition to participating in several recording projects, Dr. Hays can be heard on multiple DVDs, including: The Legacy, a documentary featuring the Youth Orchestra of the Americas where she can be heard playing principal trumpet of Bartok's "Concerto for Orchestra" under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel (Lobo Productions) and Messa Da Requiem with Placido Domingo conducting Verdi's Requiem which was recorded and videoed in Munich, Germany (Glor Music Productions). Dr. Hays has also recorded for PIPE DREAMS, and Internationally Syndicated Broadcast. Currently Dr. Hays performs throughout DFW as a freelance artist, and often serves as a clinician and adjudicator, and is a member of the Blast of Brass Ensemble.

Enthusiastic about teaching, Dr. Hays is on the faculty of both Mountain View College and North Central Texas College where she teaches trumpet and lecture courses. She has been asked to join the faculty at the Oklahoma Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain in the summer of 2016 and will also present clinics and performances at the 2016 Oklahoma Band Master's Association in Tulsa, OK as well as the Dallas Trumpet Workshop.  She has also presented master classes at the University of Panama, Bethel College (Kansas), Baylor University (Texas), University of Oklahoma, and Marshall University (West Virginia). Dr. Hays hold degrees from The School of Music at The University of Oklahoma (BM, BME, DMA) and The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University (MM).  She is a member of Tau Beta Sigma, Pi Kappa Lambda, Gamma Beta Phi Academic Honor Society, Golden Key International Honor Society, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, International Trumpet Guild (for which she has authored articles), International Women's Brass Conference, ASCAP, and Texas Music Educator's Association.

Lacey and her husband Chad reside in the Dallas area. They have two dogs, Toto and Pepper and a cat named Miss Priss.