Caster Teoh teaches trumpet, trombone, tuba and conducting in the Los Angeles area and online. He teaches classical, jazz, pop and mariachi styles. He has had many competition and music festival winners and also prestigious universities acceptance students. Caster specializes in teaching instrument technique, practice technique, performance preparation, critical thinking and problem-solving, performance anxiety, college entrance preparation, music exams and orchestra/ensemble auditions. Caster hails from Penang, Malaysia, Caster was appointed Principal Trumpet with Dream Orchestra of Los Angeles since 2015 and has just released his solo debut recording album with Dream Orchestra of Los Angeles in 2018. Recently, he also serves as Associate Conductor for Intergenerational Orchestra at Heart of LA. While in universities, he was one of the finalists in the Maia Quartet competition and was awarded outstanding Pi Kappa Lambda award. Caster has been performing with many professional ensembles, including the Malaysian Philharmonic, Brazilian Symphony, Kumamoto International Orchestra, Baltimore Brass, Quad City Symphony, Cedar Rapids Opera, National Symphony of Malaysia etc. under numerous conductors and artists, such as Kees Bakel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Marin Alsop, Kurt Mazur, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Carl St. Clair and many more. During the summers, he has performed in many countries, including Brazil, Italy, Japan, Korea, Belgium, Taiwan, Australia, Thailand, Canada, etc. A doctorate graduate from the University of Southern California (USC) Thornton School of Music, Caster was inducted as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society in 2007 and 2013. While at school, he was also a Fulbright scholarship student and has been awarded 2013 outstanding Brass Chamber Music award. For the past summers, Caster has been performing in many world-class music festivals, including the International Winter Music Festival in Brazil, Alba music festival in Italy, Domaine Forget Academy in Canada etc. In 2014, he was invited to perform Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 with West Coast Chamber Orchestra. His primary teachers include Andrew Balio, Boyde Hood, David Greenhoe, John Bourque and William Theis. Aside from being an orchestra musician, Caster had served as Music Director/ Conductor of the Youth Symphony West, Brass Instructor at California Summer School for the Arts and Adjunct Professor of Brass at Grace Mission University. Besides this, Caster also served as recording artists in Hollywood studios, where he had recorded multiple movies, advertisement soundtracks throughout the years. Moreover, Caster has also appeared in many TV channels, including Channel 18, doing interviews and performances. Caster is a much sought after teacher of trumpet and other brass instruments. His students have won numerous music awards, admitted to credited universities, such as San Francisco Conservatory, Michigan University, Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, Oberlin College, Manhattan School of Music etc. At the same time, Caster’s students also performed in music festivals, orchestras and competitions throughout the country, including the National Young Arts and International Trumpet Guild competition, Colburn Youth Symphony and Jazz Orchestra, Pacific Youth Symphony, Idyllwild Music Academy, Colorado Youth Jazz Ensemble, etc.
