Saturday, November 12, 2022
The Music Hall - Kansas City
"The Masters"
Inspired by the worlds foremost brass entertainment festivals such as England’s Brass in Concert and Norway’s Siddis Brass, as well as the truly American institutions of marching bands and Drum Corps International; the US Masters is a can’t miss experience for brass bands and audiences alike.
Our Vision
Be a catalyst for deepening the engagement and development of the American brass band community.
Our Mission
To create the most innovative, compelling, entertaining, and inclusive brass band competition in the world.
Our Goal
Provide a platform free of artistic restriction for brass bands to perform and entertain through innovative programs and presentations.
Schedule
9:30 AM Doors and Exhibits Open
10:00 AM Welcome & Fountain City Youth Brass Academy
11:00 AM Free State Brass Band
12:00 PM Lunch Break & Visit Exhibits
2:00 PM Colorado Brass
3:00 PM Frontier Brass Band
4:00 PM Exhibits Close
Dinner Break
6:30 Reception at Kansas City Music Hall
7:30 PM Fountain City Brass Band The Show Must Go On: The Music of Queen & Awards Ceremony
2022 Prizes
Grand Champion
2nd Place
3rd Place
Most Entertaining Band
Outstanding New Arrangement or Composition
Outstanding Featured Soloist
Outstanding Percussion Section
Outstanding Bass Section (sponsored by Mercy & Barker)
“Roy Newsome Award” Best Performance of a March
Adjudicators
Dr. Jennifer Oliverio
Dr. Jennifer Oliverio is a celebrated cornet and flugelhorn player who holds the positions of principal cornet with the Fountain City Brass Band and flugelhorn with the Athena Brass Band. Jen is currently the Assistant Professor of Music in trumpet at Missouri Western State University.
Jen is an avid supporter of new music for cornet and flugelhorn, having commissioned and premiered solo works by Lucy Pankhurst, Dorothy Gates, Kevin Day, Andrea Hobson, Jen Mitchell, and Joel Collier for her premiere solo album Enigma. Her work on Enigma received overwhelmingly positive reviews and was nominated for the 2021 4barsrest Album of the Year and resulted in Jen being nominated for 4barsrest 2021 Player of the Year, and her being named to the 2021 Band of the Year. Jen is on the board of directors for the Fountain City Brass Band, the Athena Brass Band, and is on the Visionary Panel for the National Youth Brass Band of America.
As an orchestral musician, Jen has performed as an extra with the Kansas City Symphony and the Alabama Symphony. She also performed as the second trumpet player with the Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Jen is a founding member of the Trilogy Brass Trio based out of Kansas City and has performed with Trilogy at the International Women’s Brass Conference.
As a teacher, Jen has had students accepted as semi-finalists in the National Trumpet Competition, semi-finalists for the International Trumpet Guild solo competitions, and as winners in the North American Brass Band Championships solo and ensemble competitions.
Jen is proud mother to son Ben and wife to husband Patrick.
Adjudicators
Dr. Will Porter
Originally from the United Kingdom, Dr. Will Porter (he/him) has recently joined the faculty at Ithaca College as Assistant Professor of Trombone. Previous teaching engagements have included Eastern Illinois University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Will has performed with orchestras throughout Europe, South America and North America, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago, and Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. In 2021, he was invited to play Solo Trombone with the Fountain City Brass Band with whom he went on to win the U.S. Open, Gateway Championships, and North American Brass Band Championships. He has commissioned and premiered numerous works for solo trombone, performing them at events such as the International Trombone Festival and the American Trombone Workshop. Will’s research examines the relationships between music education and social development and has included projects in Mozambique and Tanzania. He regularly works with court-involved youth, giving music workshops at juvenile detention centers and youth shelters in the US. A first-generation student, Will is a graduate of the University of Leeds (BMus Hons), the Royal Academy of Music (MMus and LRAM), and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (DMA). Will is an Edwards Trombone Artist.
Adjudicators
Thomas Stein
Thomas G. Stein is a recently retired associate professor of tuba and euphonium at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Conservatory of Music and Dance. A native of Michigan, he received the Bachelor of Music (with high distinction) and the Master of Music in tuba performance from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Prior to coming to Missouri, Stein taught at Central Michigan University, University of Colorado-Boulder, and University of Southern Mississippi.
Stein is very active throughout the United States as a recitalist, clinician, and chamber musician. He has appeared several times at the International Tuba-Euphonium Conference (ITEC) and the U.S. Army Band Tuba Euphonium Conferences, at all of the regional conferences since 1996, and has appeared in six European countries and at numerous universities throughout the United States.
Under Stein’s direction, the UMKC Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble has appeared in several ITECs, the U.S. Army Band Tuba Euphonium Conference, and all the regional conferences. With Scott Watson and Dr. Lee Harrelson, Stein co-directs Thunder! and the Thunder All-Star Tuba Euphonium Ensembles (TASTEE). A unique joint ensemble comprised of students from UMKC, University of Kansas, and Missouri Western State University, TASTEE is gaining national attention for its mission and high level of performance. Thunder! and TASTEE has performed twice at ITEC, at the U.S. Army Band Tuba Euphonium Conference, several regional conferences, and was featured again at the 2014 ITEC.
An avid supporter of chamber music, Stein currently performs with Missouri Brass Quintet (in residence at UMKC), has performed with numerous brass quintets and tuba quartets throughout the United States, serves as the coordinator for UMKC’s brass chamber music program, and coaches the UMKC Conservatory Graduate Fellowship Brass Quintet. He is a founding member of the Fountain City Brass Band, an internationally acclaimed, award-winning British-style brass band.
Stein has been extremely fortunate to have gifted and passionate students who have enjoyed excellent success in state, regional, national, and international competitions, including the International Tuba-Euphonium Solo and Quartet Competitions; Leonard Falcone Solo Euphonium Competition (Artist Division); International Women’s Brass Conference Solo Competition; Colonial Euphonium-Tuba Institute Solo Euphonium Competition; National Music Teachers Association State, Regional, and National Collegiate Artist Solo Competitions; National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors National Solo Competition; Great Plains Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference Solo and Quartet Competitions; Texas Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference Solo Competition; Southeast Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference Solo and Quartet Competitions; Tubonium Tuba Euphonium Conference; North American Brass Band Association Solo and Chamber Ensemble Competitions; U.S. Open Brass Band Championship Solo Competition; Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition; and the Coleman Chamber Music Competition.
Stein is the recipient of UMKC’s 2005–06 Muriel McBrien Kauffman Excellence in Teaching Award and has been nominated for the award almost every year since.
Stein’s teachers include Abe Torchinsky, Warren Deck, Wesley Jacobs, and Rex Conner.
Stein is very active throughout the United States as a recitalist, clinician, and chamber musician. He has appeared several times at the International Tuba-Euphonium Conference (ITEC) and the U.S. Army Band Tuba Euphonium Conferences, at all of the regional conferences since 1996, and has appeared in six European countries and at numerous universities throughout the United States.
Under Stein’s direction, the UMKC Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble has appeared in several ITECs, the U.S. Army Band Tuba Euphonium Conference, and all the regional conferences. With Scott Watson and Dr. Lee Harrelson, Stein co-directs Thunder! and the Thunder All-Star Tuba Euphonium Ensembles (TASTEE). A unique joint ensemble comprised of students from UMKC, University of Kansas, and Missouri Western State University, TASTEE is gaining national attention for its mission and high level of performance. Thunder! and TASTEE has performed twice at ITEC, at the U.S. Army Band Tuba Euphonium Conference, several regional conferences, and was featured again at the 2014 ITEC.
An avid supporter of chamber music, Stein currently performs with Missouri Brass Quintet (in residence at UMKC), has performed with numerous brass quintets and tuba quartets throughout the United States, serves as the coordinator for UMKC’s brass chamber music program, and coaches the UMKC Conservatory Graduate Fellowship Brass Quintet. He is a founding member of the Fountain City Brass Band, an internationally acclaimed, award-winning British-style brass band.
Stein has been extremely fortunate to have gifted and passionate students who have enjoyed excellent success in state, regional, national, and international competitions, including the International Tuba-Euphonium Solo and Quartet Competitions; Leonard Falcone Solo Euphonium Competition (Artist Division); International Women’s Brass Conference Solo Competition; Colonial Euphonium-Tuba Institute Solo Euphonium Competition; National Music Teachers Association State, Regional, and National Collegiate Artist Solo Competitions; National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors National Solo Competition; Great Plains Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference Solo and Quartet Competitions; Texas Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference Solo Competition; Southeast Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference Solo and Quartet Competitions; Tubonium Tuba Euphonium Conference; North American Brass Band Association Solo and Chamber Ensemble Competitions; U.S. Open Brass Band Championship Solo Competition; Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition; and the Coleman Chamber Music Competition.
Stein is the recipient of UMKC’s 2005–06 Muriel McBrien Kauffman Excellence in Teaching Award and has been nominated for the award almost every year since.
Stein’s teachers include Abe Torchinsky, Warren Deck, Wesley Jacobs, and Rex Conner.
Colorado Brass
Batman the Movie: Main Title Theme — Danny Elfman, arr. Alan Catherall
Vidda — Ole Edvard Antonsen & Atle Halstensen, arr. Ole Edvard Antonsen
Melinda Ho, Cornet Soloist
Mephistopheles — Shipley Douglas, ed. Drake Domingue
‘Elegy’ from Siege — Jared McCunnie
Peacemakers — Dan Price
Conductor
Dr. Brett M. Keating
Soprano Cornet
Justin Peterson
Solo Cornet
Zak Ruffert
Denise Clark
Austin Kinard
Alexander Hardin
Repiano Cornet
Melinda Ho
2nd Cornet
Keith Acuncius
Andrew Bernal
3rd Cornet
Leonard Fahrni
Annabella Brotherston
Patti Sweeden
Flugelhorn
Larry Pennel
Solo Horn
Geoff Tyndall
1st Horn
Tim Dailey
2nd Horn
Janice Baugh
1st Baritone
Brian Sugrue
2nd Baritone
Caden Quintana
1st Trombone
Riley Bahin
2nd Trombone
Grayson Stewart
Mark Hsieh
Bass Trombone
Dan Morris
Euphonium
Keven Stewart
Chris Forkner
E-flat Bass
Joe Boylan
Drake Domingue
B-flat Bass
Braeden Held
Josh Galerstein
Percussion
Alana Boyles
Duke Roberts
Ben Justis
Founded in January of 2018 by Dr. Michael McLean, the Colorado Brass is the premiere championship level British-style brass band on the Front Range. The ensemble is comprised of thirty brass players and percussionists from all over Colorado. Members come to the band as professional musicians, music educators, and students pursuing advanced music degrees.
The founders of the ensemble set out to create a championship level brass band that could compete on both national and global stages. Their 2022 – 2023 season includes five concert programs in addition to participation in the Rocky Mountain Brassworks Festival, the U.S. Masters Brass Band Championships, and the North American Brass Band Association Championships. The group performs a variety of compositions beyond test pieces, engaging audiences with British standards and toe-tapping favorites. The band has been privileged with premiering works by a number of composers and has big plans for the future, including the development of a youth brass band to work alongside members of the Colorado Brass.
The founders of the ensemble set out to create a championship level brass band that could compete on both national and global stages. Their 2022 – 2023 season includes five concert programs in addition to participation in the Rocky Mountain Brassworks Festival, the U.S. Masters Brass Band Championships, and the North American Brass Band Association Championships. The group performs a variety of compositions beyond test pieces, engaging audiences with British standards and toe-tapping favorites. The band has been privileged with premiering works by a number of composers and has big plans for the future, including the development of a youth brass band to work alongside members of the Colorado Brass.
Colorado Brass is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
As a performer Dr. Brett M. Keating has appeared as a featured soloist with orchestra, brass bands, and wind bands in the US and Europe, including Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and the UK. His playing has been recognized at national and international competitions including: The Fischoff International & Plowman Chamber Music Competitions, Swiss National and North American Brass Band Championships. Brett has been brass banding for over fifteen years and has enjoyed the opportunity to compete in England, Switzerland, and the US while being a member of bands stateside and abroad. Most recently Brett has performed with the award-winning Fountain City Brass Band (Kansas City) and recorded with the Gramercy Brass Orchestra (New York City). Beyond performing as a soloist and with brass bands, Brett is an active chamber musician. nominal duo, an experimental project with tubist Tom Curry, merges brass performance with electro-acoustic practices through their original compositions, improvisations, adaptations, thievery, and loads of wires. nominal has performed throughout the US and in Canada, and was recently featured in the 2021 Virtual Tuba Euphonium Conference and the 2022 new music festival, Omaha Under the Radar. Their debut EP, s.i.p_1, was released in 2020 (Nominalduo.wordpress.com)
Currently Brett serves as Director of Bands & Brass at Western Colorado University. In this role he directs the Symphonic Band, Brass Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and the Athletic Band Program. He teaches applied brass lessons and courses in conducting and brass methods. Additionally, Brett is the Musical Director of the Colorado Brass Band (Gunnison, CO).
Prior to his appointment at WCU, Brett was Director of Athletic Bands and Professor of Low Brass at Carroll University. He has also served as Interim Instructor of euphonium and tuba and served on the Athletic Band Staff at the University of Kansas. Brett held simultaneous Graduate Teaching Assistantships with the wind conducting and the tuba/euphonium studios while earning his DMA in tuba/euphonium performance, an MM in wind band conducting, and a cognate in electro-acoustic composition at KU. Brett holds an MM in performance and interpretation of classical & contemporary music from the Hochschule Luzern-Musik, where he lived in beautiful Lucerne, Switzerland for three years. He earned an Artist’s Certificate in low brass performance, as well as a BA in performance from the University of Wisconsin.
Fountain City Youth Brass Academy
‘Overture’ from Dancer in the Dark — Björk Guðmundsdóttir, arr. Lee Harrelson
Libertango — Astor Piazzolla arr. Lee Harrelson
Song & Dance — Philip Wilby, ed. Lee Harrelson
Ian Lester, Euphonium
‘Allegretto’ from Four Scottish Dances — Malcolm Arnold, arr. Ray Farr
Masque — Kenneth Hesketh
Conductor
Dr. Lee Harrelson
Soprano Cornet
Josh McKeague
Solo Cornet
Nicholas Weaver
Ethan Kauffman
Zach West
Jack McNiel
Repiano Cornet
Jared Coté
2nd Cornet
Alex Hardinger
Cole Bichelmeyer
3rd Cornet
Hassan Ahad
Brynn Sankey
Cole Bichelmeyer
Flugelhorn
Caleb Niehoff
Solo Horn
Jeremy Kuehnen
1st Horn
Whitney Schweiger
2nd Horn
Ethan McCulloch
1st Baritone
Drew Leslie
2nd Baritone
Shelby Jensen
Gabe Rocha
1st Trombone
Taylor Edwards
David Welter
Aidan Hamer
2nd Trombone
Miles Anderson
Tyler Boone
Nicholas Maskil
Bass Trombone
Gage Brown
Euphonium
Ian Lester
Grant Johnson
E-flat Bass
Jake Robinson
B-flat Bass
Jared Sherman
Elijah Cobb
Percussion
Zach Oliver
Isaiah Sterling
Paula Villavicencio
Jennifer Wagner
The Fountain City Youth Brass Academy (FCYBA) is the educational outreach component of the Fountain City Brass Band (FCBB), North America’s premiere volunteer brass and percussion ensemble. The mission of the FCYBA is to inspire young musicians of all performance ability levels to achieve a high standard of musicianship and to foster a life-long love of music.
FCYBA was founded in 2008 by Helen Harrelson, while she was on a sabbatical from her job in England. Helen is a native of England and grew up in the brass band tradition before attending the Royal Northern College of Music. From there she became one of the world’s foremost baritonist and performed with some of the finest bands in the United Kingdom. It was her passion for music education coupled with this rich tradition that led her to establish the FCYBA.
The FCYBA began as day-long ‘Expo’ workshops and has grown into season-long brass bands with over 150 members. There are four bands within the Academy made up of brass and percussionists of all standards and abilities from late elementary through young adult. The bands of the FCYBA are non-cut programs for those participants that are 18 years of age and younger. The conductors for the FCYBA bands are professional music educators that also perform with the Fountain City Brass Band. The bands meet during the spring academic semester, once per week on Sundays.
Since its inception the bands of the FCYBA have won numerous national championships at the North Ameri- can Brass Band Championships and been featured at prestigious events such as the Great American Brass Band Festival and the Kansas Music Educators Association’s annual conference.
Lee Harrelson is a Professor of Music at Missouri Western State University. At Missouri Western, he serves as the Director of Instrumental Studies and Bands and conducts the Missouri Western Symphonic Winds. For the 2022-2023 academic year, Dr. Harrelson is a Visiting Professor of Euphonium & Tuba at the UMKC Conservatory. Dr. Harrelson attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where he studied music education and performance before completing his masters and doctorate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music and Dance.
Dr. Harrelson is the founder of the Fountain City Brass Band and currently serves as its artistic director, executive director, and principal euphoniumist. The Fountain City Brass Band (FCBB) is one of America’s premiere brass and percussion ensembles and has been featured throughout the U.S. and Europe in concerts and competitions. The FCBB is currently the top-ranked brass band in the United States. Under Dr. Harrelson’s artistic leadership, the band has won nine North American Brass Band Association Championships, nine U.S. Open Brass Band Championships, and one Scottish Open Brass Band Championship since it began competing in 2004. At the 2011 All England International Brass Band Competition, as a member of the FCBB, Lee was named Best Instrumentalist, a first for an American at an English brass band competition. During his tenure, the FCBB has produced four commercial recordings, performed with countless world-class soloists, and developed a youth brass program, the Fountain City Youth Brass Academy, that serves over 120 students annually.
Dedicated to furthering the development of brass bands in America, Dr. Harrelson regularly serves on the faculty of the North American Brass Band Summer School and, in 2019, along with his wife Helen, founded the National Youth Brass Band of America. In 2022 Dr. Harrelson founded the US Masters Brass Band Entertainment Championships. The inaugural competition will take place in Kansas City this November.
In the fall of 2019, Dr. Harrelson was awarded the first ever Visiting International Professor position with the world-famous Brighouse & Rastrick Band (England). In addition to collaborating with and conducting the band, Dr. Harrelson was able to work closely with Professor David King during preparations for the band’s appearances at the British Open Brass Band Championships (Symphony Hall, Birmingham) and the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain (Royal Albert Hall, London).
Dr. Harrelson can be heard on numerous commercially released recordings and has appeared throughout North America and Europe as a clinician, soloist, and chamber musician.
Lee Harrelson is a Buffet Group/Besson Performing Artist.
Free State Brass Band
Thy Matchless King – Joel Collier
Love of My Life – Queen arr. Svein H Giske
Trombone Soloist, Andrew Anderson
Rains of Castamere – Paul McGhee
Wrath – Peter Graham
Revelry – Tom Davoren
Conductor
Dr. Tom Davoren
Soprano Cornet
Dalton Imhoff-Brey
Solo Cornet
Nick Proctor
Kali Ivy
Dr. Gary Ziek
Kevin Warner
Dwight Rhodes
Repiano Cornet
Erick Sherman
2nd Cornet
Lee Hake
Janelle Sharp
Tom Moss
3rd Cornet
Steve Case
Vicki Case
Hanna Bonnifield
Flugelhorn
Anna Bender
Solo Horn
Wendy Bonnifield
1st Horn
Terrisa Ziek
2nd Horn
Sarah Grose
1st Baritone
Emily Riding
2nd Baritone
Courtney Nichols
1st Trombone
Andrew Anderson
2nd Trombone
Brady Gell
Bass Trombone
Thomas McMurray
Euphonium
David Grimes
Erin Bonnifield
E-flat Bass
Josh Westacott
Eric Banks
B-flat Bass
Jeff Carlson
Martin Bergee
Percussion
Mark Paquette
Matt Calbeck
Andy Zerr
Narrator/Conductor Emeritus
Scott C. Watson
Considered one of the region’s hidden musical treasures, the Free State Brass Band has been providing excellence in British-style brass banding to the Northeast Kansas region with concerts throughout the Lawrence, Kansas City, and Topeka metro areas for nearly ten years.
Made up of over 30 professional musicians and music educators from around the region, the Free State Brass Band has been feature concert artists at the Kansas Music Educators Workshop and the Kansas Bandmasters Association Conference, and has established itself as a competitive ensemble at both the North American Brass Band Association and the United States Open Brass Band Championships (3rd place in 2019 and 2021).
Free State Brass Band is an incorporated non-profit in the state of Kansas and is dedicated to the development of brass band music for the masses throughout Northeast Kansas area and the United States.
Tom Davoren (b.1986) is a conductor and composer with a growing international reputation.
He began his conducting career with the BTM Band from South Wales and has since held positions with Britain’s famous Desford Colliery and Fairey Bands, as well as Bristol’s Filton Concert Brass, with whom he won a National Brass Band Championship in 2014. He directed Maidstone Wind Symphony to British National Concert Band Championship honours in 2015, served as conductor to the National Youth Brass Band of Wales in 2016, and has appeared as a guest conductor in Austria, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. He taught the conducting course and directed bands at the University of Salford from 2015 – 2019.
Tom’s music for band has been premiered, recorded, and commissioned by artists including ‘The President’s Own’ United States Marine Band, Central Band of the Royal Air Force, Brass Band of Battle Creek, Cory Band, Jens Lindemann, Steven Mead, Hiram Diaz, and Glenn Van Looy. Memorable performances include New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Midwest Clinic, the College Band Directors National Association National Conference, Royal Northern College of Music Festival of Brass, World Music Contest (Kerkrade, The Netherlands), Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival (South Korea), International Tuba Euphonium Association Conferences, International Trumpet Guild Conferences, and the solo and band sections of the National Championships of New Zealand, Australia, and Great Britain. In 2015 / 16 he was Associate Composer to the Belgian ensemble Brassband Buizingen and became Composer in Residence with the Band of the Welsh Guards, of the Household Division of the Royal Corps of Army Music, in 2019.
Away from traditional band repertoire Tom composed a fanfare for the Royal opening of the fifth National Assembly for Wales in 2016 whilst his work ‘Legacy’, commissioned by Tredegar Town Band and the Aneurin Bevan Society, celebrated the 70th Anniversary of the British National Health Service through a performance at Westminster Palace, the House of the British Parliament. His first work for orchestra, ‘Tourbillon’, was premiered by Denmark’s Aalborg Symfoniorkester in 2017.
Tom studied tuba with Nigel Seaman at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in composition from Cardiff University School of Music, where in 2009/10 he was awarded a research scholarship from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Welsh Livery Guild Composition Award. He was a BASCA British Composer Award nominee in 2011, a prizewinner at the EBBA European Composers Competition 2012, recipient of the Harvey Phillips Award for excellence in composition, presented by the International Tuba Euphonium Association, in 2014, and winner of the American National Band Association ‘Merrill Jones’ Composition Contest in 2020 for his work, ‘A Midwestern Suite‘.
In 2022 Tom completed a Doctoral degree in Wind Conducting, working at the University of Kansas, USA, with Dr. Paul Popiel. In 2021 he was appointed Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Music at Benedictine College, a private liberal arts college in central Kansas. He currently lives in Lawrence Kansas, where he also directs the Free State Brass Band.
Frontier Brass Band
Spain — Chick Corea, arr. Ryan Sharp
Karl Kirch, Xylophone
Ryan Sharp, Cornet
Bolivar — Eric Cook arr. Derek Ashmore
Naomi Wharry, Trombone
Spanish Impressions — Alan Fernie
The Impossible Dream— Mitch Leigh & Joe Darion, arr. Sandy Smith
Malaga — Bill Holman, arr. Ryan Sharp
Candice Neel, Euphonium
Ryan Sharp, Trumpet
Conductor
Dr. Doug Henderson
Soprano Cornet
Michael Pruett
Solo Cornet
Ryan Sharp
Jeremy Goodson
Kevin Kamau
Jake Waldrup
Repiano Cornet
David Marvel
2nd Cornet
Clayton Chai
Lauren Fletcher
3rd Cornet
Kara VanVickle
Matt Stock
Flugelhorn
Jared VanVickle
Horn
Andrew Sharp
Alyson Byers
James Doss
Genevieve Craig
Baritone
David Craig
Isaiah Crawford
Trombone
Naomi Wharry
Trey Cole
Tyler Gitthens
Bass Trombone
Roger Nunn
Euphonium
Candice Neel
Cy Curtis
E-flat Bass
Evan Dommer
Dawson Holloway
B-flat Bass
Brian Dobbins
Paul Nesper
Fernando Cardenas
Percussion
Karl Kirch
Derek Johnson
Maya Johnson
Kendrick Brown
The Frontier Brass Band was founded in the spring of 2014 and is draws its members from the Oklahoma City Area and includes brass faculty from OCU, OU, and UCO as well as freelance musicians and community members. FBB is committed to celebrating the unique British brass band genre and taking a leading role in the community to raise arts awareness. Frontier presents four eclectic concerts each season performing a wide range of styles and genres and has collaborated with artists such as Vince DiMartino, Wiff Rudd, Greg Wing, Brian Bowman, and more. The band has enjoyed the opportunities to perform three times at the International William Adam Trumpet Festival as well as performances for the Oklahoma Music Educators Conference, Oklahoma Bandmaster’s Association Summer Conference, and regional International Trumpet Guild and International Tuba Euphonium Conferences.
Frontier Brass Band is thrilled to take part in the first U.S. Masters Championships today. The band is honored to share the stage with the other groups and is thankful to be part of an expanding brass band scene in the United States.
Douglas Henderson is a musician based out of Stillwater, Oklahoma, and the conductor of the Frontier Brass Band. He served for twelve years as an Associate Professor of Music at Oklahoma State University, where his duties included conducting the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Cowboy Marching Band, and taught several courses in music education.
Dr. Henderson is active as a guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician throughout the United States, and he has guest conducted in Austria and Japan. He is a frequent guest conductor of the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project (WYWOP), an ensemble comprised of talented young international musicians from Europe, Australia, Japan, and North America that is associated with the annual Mid Europe Festival.
Dr. Henderson received his Bachelor of Music degree from The University of Texas at Austin, his Master of Music degree in Wind Conducting from Michigan State University, and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting from The University of Texas at Austin. His primary conducting mentors were Jerry Junkin, Kevin Sedatole, and Robert Carnochan.
Music at Western
The U.S. Masters would like to say a special thank you to Missouri Western State University for providing all of the percussion instruments for today’s competition and the evening’s gala concert.
Fountain City Brass Band
Fanfare for Full Fathom Five – John Mackey
Hope – Stijn Aertgeerts
Titan’s Progress – Herman Palhuber
Caravan – Duke Ellington/Arr. Sykes
Intermission (15 minutes)
‘Masters’ Awards Presentation
“The Show Must Go On – The Music of Queen”
I. Innuendo
Innuendo
II. Rhapsody
Bohemian Rhapsody, Bicycle, Too Much Love Will Kill You
III. Love
Love of My Life
Dr. Helen Harrelson, Baritone
IV. Rock
The Show Must Go On, Under Pressure, A Kind of Magic, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, We Will Rock You
V. Fun
Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon, Seaside Rendezvous, Bring Back That Leroy Brown
VI. Finale
Who Wants To Live Forever, Don’t Stop Me Now
Dr. Anne McNamara, Flugelhorn & Dr. Ryan Sharp, Trumpet
Conductor
Dr. Joseph Parisi*
Soprano Cornet
Ryan Sharp
Solo Cornet
Jennifer Oliverio
John Marchiando
Dalton Imhoff-Brey
Bob Luther
Repiano Cornet
John-Thomas Burson
2nd Cornet
Bobby Feller
Maddy Flebbe
3rd Cornet
Ethan Moulden
Heaven Bataille
Flugelhorn
Ann McNamara
Solo Horn
Patrick Oliverio
1st Horn
Emelie Pfaff
2nd Horn
Jeremy Kuehnen
John Wilson
1st Baritone
Helen Harrelson
2nd Baritone
Jared Sherman
1st Trombone
Will Porter
2nd Trombone
Chris Bradley
Bass Trombone
Jason Hausback
Euphonium
Lee Harrelson*
Ian Lester
E-flat Bass
Scott Watson*
Jamey Mitchell*
B-flat Bass
Brian Dobbins
Paul Nesper
Jon Heaver
Percussion
Jeff Seba
Theo Musick
Isaiah Sterling
Jennifer Wagner
* Founding Member
The Fountain City Brass Band (FCBB), founded in 2002, is an all-volunteer thirty‐piece brass and percussion ensemble based in Kansas City but draws its members from around the United States. FCBB is committed to a mission of cultural enrichment by performing eclectic concerts that expand the brass band art form and are both entertaining and educational for audiences. Performing a wide variety of music including modern compositions written specifically for brass bands, as well as arrangements of classical works, jazz, and Broadway hits, FCBB seeks to bridge the gap between popular and classical art music. Offering audience-friendly concerts, the band actively seeks to initiate cultural revitalization and arts awareness in the local community. When not performing for regional audiences, FCBB competes nationally and internationally. FCBB has won 10 U.S. Open Brass Band Championships, 8 North American Brass Band Championships, and 1 Scottish Open Brass Band Championship, becoming the first U.S. band ever, and the first non‐UK band in over 50 years, to win a major brass band competition on UK soil.
The Fountain City Brass Band is the reigning U.S. Open, Gateway, and North American Brass Band Champions.
Joseph Parisi is a Curators’ Distinguished Professor at the UMKC Conservatory where he conducts the Conservatory Wind Ensemble and serves as a music education and conducting faculty member. Recognized as one of the most well-rounded faculty members at UMKC, Parisi has amassed an impressive career as a conductor, performing artist, pedagogue, and scholar.
He has appeared throughout the world conducting music festivals, adjudicating ensembles, performing, and presenting clinics, research, lectures and workshops. Recognized as one of America’s outstanding brass conductors, Parisi is the principal conductor of Summit Brass at the Rafael Méndez Brass Institute and Fountain City Brass Band.
Save the Date!
The U.S. Masters will return to Kansas City on Saturday, November 11, 2023!
