Official Website: www.brassroots.ca

• Bram Gregson, music director
• Paul Stevenson, trumpet
• Gwyn Beynon, trumpet
• Julia Vaughn, trumpet
• Kevin Swinden, trumpet
• Tony Snyder, horn
• Michael Medeiros, tuba
• John Monkhouse, trombone
• David Davidson, trombone
• Karl Hermann, trombone
• James Edwards, trombone
• Susan Follows, trombone
• Rob Inch, percussion
• Bryan Malito, percussion

Brassroots was founded in 1986 by Professor James White and brass students at the University of Western Ontario. Self presented concerts have been presented without interruption in the ensuing years and the 2008-09 season is its twenty-third season of eclectic, entertaining concerts that have elicited a faithful following in the community.

The combination of four trumpets (doubling on piccolo trumpet, cornet and flugel horn), a horn, tuba and four trombones and the additional color provided by percussion, gives Brassroots the flexibility to demonstrate every mood and style in compositions that are more often performed by more traditional groups. In addition to its local concert series, Brassroots has performed in such communities as Barrie, Chatham, Goderich, Kitchener, St. Thomas, Strathroy, Sudbury, Toronto and West Lorne. It has also performed to enthusiastic audiences at The Great American Band Festival in Danville Kentucky, twice at The Great Canadian Band Festival in Orono, Ontario, performing arts series in Niagara Falls and Uxbridge, the Guelph Spring festival and in a CBC broadcast.

Collaborations with many choirs in South Western Ontario have been an added feature. These include the Amabile choirs, Pro Musica of London, Karen Schuessler Singers, Woodstck-Fanshawe Singers, Guelph Chamber Choir, and the Gerald Fagen Singers to name just a few. Brassroots has featured many of Canada's outstanding instrumentalists in its main series concerts and has been an enthusiastic supporter of Canadian composers and arrangers. Over seventy compositions and arrangements have been showcased in first performances during the twenty three years of self-presented concerts. These have spanned the wide range of music literature for which the ensemble is renowned. Indeed Brassroots performs Baroque and classical transcriptions, jazz, pops and original music with equal enthusiasm and polish.

Four Recordings have enhanced the reputation of Brassroots far beyond the shores of Canada. The latest "Brassroots 20", celebrates twenty years of continuous concert seasons and was released in 2007. These CD's have been heard on CBC Radio and Public Radio Stations in The United States and Australia. After ten years of distinguished leadership James White, the foundingdirector, retired in 1995 and was succeeded by Bramwell Gregson.

Bram Gregson, music director

Bram has been involved in brass performance all his life. In his early career he made a dozen recordings with various bands including Her Majesty's Coldstream Guards of which he was principal euphonium. He also played bass trombone and tuba. He came to Canada in 1964 to become the conductor of London Citadel Band of the Salvation Army. Under his leadership the band toured extensively in Canada, the United States, and England. The band's international reputation was enhanced by twenty recordings. He retired from the band in 1995 and founded Intrada Brass. Under his dynamic leadership, Intrada Brass, now based in Oakville, Ontario, has produced seven recordings often heard on CBC Radio, Public Radio in The United States, the BBC and in radio programs in Australia and Europe. He was appointed Music Director of Brassroots in 1995 and counts his relationship with the musicians of Brassroots as one of the most cherished of his career. He has guest conducted many Canadian and American bands, and at national music camps and universities. He is also a frequent adjudicator and clinician. He has presented radio programs on band music and has authored many articles on brass performance. His conducting career has included over thirty recordings. He is a past director of the North American Brass Band Association and in 1993 was elected to the prestigious American Bandmasters Association for his distinguished services to the band movement in North America.

Paul Stevenson, trumpet

Paul Stevenson has been the Principal Trumpet with Brassroots for 21 years. He regularly plays with Orchestra London and the Fanshawe Symphonic Chorus. He has performed with such artists as the Temptations, Diana Krall, Allen Frew, Rick Emmitt, Larry Gowan, Della Reese, Frankie Valli, the Four Seasons and most recently with Natalie Cole. Paul performed his second show, "Brassed Off II" in "Jeans and Classics" series with Orchestra London. He has also been featured as a soloist with Intrada Brass of Oakville. He holds a Masters Degree in Performance from the University of Western Ontario and is a secondary school music educator with the Thames Valley District School Board.

Gwyn Beynon, trumpet

Gwyn joined Brassroots in the fall of 2001. A music educator with graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Western Ontario, Gwyn is frequently called upon as conductor, clinician and adjudicator for various music programs and festivals across Canada. In addition to performing with Brassroots, he is also a member of Encore and the London Jazz Orchestra. Gwyn currently teaches instrumental music at the University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Education.

Julia Vaughn, trumpet

Julia is a founding member of Brassroots. Julia received her musical training at the University of Western Ontario. She furthered her studies at the Faculty of Education at UWO and is presently an elementary school teacher with the Thames Valley District School Board. Julia is currently Principal Trumpet with the Fanshawe Symphonic Concert Players in London, and is the librarian and personnel manager of Brassroots. She was a solo cornet and flugel horn with Intrada Brass for several seasons. Also a freelance musician, she has performed with Orchestra London, the International Symphony, Windsor Symphony and at the Huron County Playhouse. She has performed with such international artists as Grammy Award recipient Diana Krall and has travelled extensively with various brass and wind ensembles.

Kevin Swinden, trumpet

Kevin completed an undergraduate degree in music at the University of Western Ontario and a Ph.D. in music theory from SUNY at Buffalo. He is an Associate Professor of music theory at Wilfrid Laurier University, a position he has held since 2002. In addition to a busy academic career, Kevin is a freelance musician in the Kitchener/Waterloo area, having played with the KW Symphony, Stratford Civic Orchestra, Wellington Winds, and Windjammers. In addition to playing with Brassroots, Kevin holds a solo cornet chair with Intrada Brass of Oakville. He joined Brassroots for the 2008-2009 season.

Tony Snyder, French horn

Tony Snyder received his Bachelor of Music Degree at the University of Western Ontario. He studied horn with Ronald George, Robert Creech and John Simonelli. He has performed in master classes for Hermann Baumann, Ifor James and Michael Holtzel.

Tony has performed as a soloist and principal player with the Sudbury Symphony, North Bay Symphony and the Northern Music Festival Orchestra. Currently he is also principal horn for the Guelph Symphony and the Wellington Winds. Tony is in his sixth season with Brassroots.

Michael Medeiros, tuba

Michael Medeiros joined Brassroots for the 2008-2009 season. He was born and raised in Brampton Ontario. He began playing the tuba at age fourteen under the instruction of his father in the Banda Lira Portuguesa de Brampton. He took an interest in the tuba and decided to attend the University of Toronto where he received his Bachelor of Music. Michael has just recently completed a Masters in Music performance degree from the Eastman School of Music. Michael's teachers include Sal Fratia, and most recently Don Harry. Michael has been a member of many prominent ensembles including the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and the Orquestra Sinfonica UANL in Monterrey Mexico. When not playing the Tuba Michael enjoys watching and playing hockey.

John Monkhouse, trombone

Since graduating from the music program at the University of Western Ontario, John has continued to perform in all styles of music ranging from classical, chamber and musical theatre to Oktoberfest polkas. He is currently principal trombone / euphonium with the Wellington Winds and the trombone quartet, Slide by Slide. An Amateur hockey player, canoeist and skier, John still finds some spare time to operate his wire spring manufacturing business in Guelph, Ontario. He is in his thirteenth season with Brassroots.

David Davidson, trombone

Dave is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario with a B. Mus. in Education and Associate Degree in performance. In addition to Brassroots he also performs with Wellington Winds and Windjammers and sings with the Guelph Chamber Choir. He has had an active freelance career with Ice Capades International, local stage productions as well as big band, Dixie and small combo work. His conducting credits include Wellington Winds, local stage musicals and several community bands. He has also served as guest conductor and clinician in several Southern Ontario locations. Dave recently retired from his position as Head of Music at Guelph Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Guelph, Ontario. Dave is in his sixth season with Brassroots.

Karl Hermann, trombone

Karl is a founding member of Brassroots. Karl plays both the trombone and the euphonium. Currently, he is the Chair of the Board of Directors. Karl has a Master of Music Education Degree, with a performance concentration from Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana. After 12 years teaching music at high schools, Karl decided on a career change and is currently a commercial airline pilot.

James Edwards, trombone

James is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University, where he obtained a B.A. in Music as well as a diploma in Jazz Performance. From 1989 to 1994, he performed fulltime with the Canadian Forces as a trombonist and featured jazz soloist. He is presently principal trombone for the Guelph Symphony, and is an active freelance trombonist in the Southwestern Ontario area.

Susan Follows, trombone

Susan is in her eighteenth year with Brassroots. Originally from Stratford, Susan started her trombone career by playing with the Stratford Shakespearean Festival Orchestra and Orchestra London. After 10 years working as a professional musician both in Canada and Germany, she began her teaching career. She is currently teaching music at Eastwood Collegiate Institute in Kitchener, Ontario. Along with playing bass trombone in Brassroots, she also plays in the Slide by Slide trombone quartet and Wellington Winds. She is principal trombone with the Stratford Civic Orchestra and WindJammers and conducts the Ebytown Brass.

Rob Inch, percussion

Rob joined Brassroots in 1988. He is presently teaching elementary school music with the Thames Valley District School Board. Originally from Toronto, his music and education studies had brought him to the University of Western Ontario, graduating in 1989. Rob maintains a busy schedule including Brassroots, Principal Timpanist with the London-Fanshaw Symphonic Chorus Concert Players Orchestra, freelance work with Orchestra London, Amabile Choirs, the Percussion Trio and other groups throughout Western Ontario.

Bryan Malito, percussion

Bryan F. Malito is a graduate from the University of Western Ontario where he earned a Bachelor of Music Degree (Music Education), Artist Diploma in Percussion Performance, Masters in Music (Percussion and Orchestral Conducting), and a Bachelors of Education. In addition, he completed doctoral courses at the University of Oregon and the University of Western Ontario. He studied with percussionists such as Russell Hartenberger (NEXUS), D'Arcy Gray (Orchestra London), Louis Charbonneau (Montreal Symphony Orchestra), Salvatore Rabbio (Detroit Symphony Orchestra), Charles Dowd (Eugene Symphony Orchestra), and Bob Hughes (University of Western Ontario).

Bryan has been recorded with ensembles such as Orchestra London, Brassroots, Intrada Brass, Band of the Ceremonial Guards, the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, the Oregon Percussion Ensemble, and the University if Windsor Faculty Ensemble.

Bryan is the director of music at Regina Mundi College. He is the coordinator of the RMC Recording Studio Program, and he is the vice-president of the Ontario Percussive Arts Society. Bryan is in his eighth season with Brassroots.