Brass Reflections plays free Christmas concert in Wilkes-Barre on Dec. 27
From a press release:
The Wyoming Valley Art League and Circle Centre for the Arts in downtown Wilkes-Barre will celebrate the holiday season with a rousing concert by Brass Reflections on Sunday, Dec. 27 at 4 p.m.
Admission is free to this all-ages event at the Circle (130 S. Franklin St., Rear, Wilkes-Barre), and donations are appreciated. Beverages and snacks will be provided.
New to the music scene in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Brass Reflections is composed of veteran musicians who have long been involved in both musical performance and education. Since forming this past summer, they have fired up audiences at the PMEA Holiday Series at the Viewmont Mall, the Scranton Antique Association’s Christmas Party, St. Ignatius Church in Kingston, Sacred Heart Church in Scranton, and the Erie Lackawanna Historic Dining Car Restoring Society’s “Holiday Express Train Excursion.”
At Wyoming Valley Art League’s Sunday at the Circle event, Brass Reflections will perform selections from “The Joy and Spirit of Christmas,” arranged by legendary Sammy Nestico, who has worked with musicians like Steve Allen, Bobby Troupe, and Johnny Mercer. In addition, the band will present several classic brass favorites. Will a few sing-alongs be in the works with this brassy bunch? We shall see!
Musicians will include:
Barrie Bartle (trumpet) is music educator who taught most recently at the Delaware Valley School District in Milford. Bartle was also the “Minister of Music” at Hamlin Pentecostal Assembly for 23 years.
Cliff Girard (trombone) is a retired music educator and owner of Cliff Girard Music in Throop. Girard was lead trombone for concert and jazz groups in the 19th Army Band in Fort Dix, New Jersey.
Jared Hayden (trombone) plays for the Marywood Wind Ensemble and the Wyoming Seminary Civic Orchestra.
Raymond Stedenfeld (tuba and trombone) recently retired as music department chair and director of bands for the Western Wayne School District. He performs with the Northern Tier Symphony, Brass Concepts, and the Scranton Brass Orchestra. Also, Stedenfeld was a recipient of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Citation of Excellence.
Mary Ann Yonchiuk (trumpet) plays with the Northern Tier Symphony and the Northern Tier Symphony Brass Ensemble. She has also performed the National Anthem as trumpet soloist for the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Railriders on multiple occasions.
