Allan Dean, Trumpet — Professor of Music, Yale School of Music

Allan lived for many years in New York City, performing with the New York Brass Quintet, the New York Cornet and Sacbut Ensemble. As a top call freelance concert and recording artist he worked with Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky and a virtual Who’s Who of the greatest musicians and composers of the 20th Century. He is a founding member of Summit Brass, and is also a renowned player of the cornetto in the group “Calliope: A Renaissance Band.” He has performed at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Casals Festival, Spoleto Festival, U.S.A., Banff Centre for the Arts, and Prairie Home Companion. He formerly taught at the Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and Indiana University, and he has students in key positions throughout the world.

Mikio Sasaki, Trumpet – Freelance Trumpet Player in New York

He is an active freelance trumpet player in New York City, having just earned his Master’s Degree in trumpet performance at the Yale University School of Music after completing a Bachelor’s Degree at the Juilliard School. He began playing trumpet at age 7, studying with his father, Ray Sasaki, and has become an active performer of various styles in addition to his dedicated work as an educator and arranger. He has performed with Music, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Yale Philharmonia, Juilliard Orchestra, Axiom Ensemble, and Feist, among others, and has appeared as a soloist with the Austin Symphony. He has performed internationally with Music in Athens, and Thessaloniki, Greece, the Axiom Ensemble at the Helsiki Festival, and with fellow Juilliard students at Festival de Inverno in Campos do Jordao, Brazil. Mikio’s previous teachers include Allan Dean, Mark Gould, Raymond Mase, and Ray Sasaki.

Victoria Knudtson, Horn

Born to a pianist mother and singer father, Victoria Knudtson has always been surrounded by music. As a pianist herself from the age of 5, it wasn’t until she was 16 that she began to foster her love for the horn. It was then that she initiated solo and orchestral studies as a private student of Wayne Lu, who ignited her young musical career. She is a recent graduate of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with a Bachelor of Music performance degree under the tutelage of Jeff Nelsen. Thanks to the horn department at the Jacobs School, she also benefited from the pedagogy of Dale Clevenger and studied early music performance on the natural horn with Richard Seraphinoff. Later pedagogues include Wolfgang Vladar of the Vienna Philharmonic, and Kendall Betts, formerly of the Minnesota Orchestra. At IU, she was awarded the Premiere Young Artist Award and Scholarship for the Class of 2018, along with the Camarata Scholarship. Knudtson holds the position of Principal horn of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic. In 2016, Knudtson won the IU Brass Concerto Competition for her performance of Richard Strauss’ 1st Horn Cocnerto, and was rewarded with a solo performance with orchestra under the direction of Daniel Boico. She was invited to perform in the Outstanding Soloist Showcase at the 2013 IHSMA Solo contest, and was honored as the featured soloist at the Dorian Music Festival held at Luther College.

Melvyn Jernigan, Trombone — Executive Director, Primo Concerts

For many years Mel was Bass Trombonist with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, having joined the orchestra right after graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music. He is the founding member of the Saint Louis Brass Quintet and is also a founding member of Summit Brass. In addition to his performing duties, Mel manages Primo Concerts, which handles bookings for the Saint Louis Brass Quintet, Summit Brass and The RiverCity Ramblers, a Dixieland jazz group. He is a recording and television producer as well as an arts manager, and has served on various committees and/or boards of the Missouri Arts Council, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, ACUCAA, Young Audiences St. Louis, Summit Brass and Summit Recordings.

Daniel Perantoni, Tuba — Professor of Music, Indiana University

Dan, or “Mr. P” as he is called by his students, is a renowned tuba soloist, clinician, chamber musician, instrument designer and master teacher. He has been a featured artist at Carnegie Hall, the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Spoleto Festival U.S.A., the Adelaide Festival in Australia, the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada, the Montreux Brass Congress in Switzerland, and as soloist throughout Japan. He is a founding member of Summit Brass, a member of Symphonia, the Matteson – Phillips Tubajazz Consort, and has released numerous solo and chamber music CDs. Along with Robert Tucci, he designed the “Perantucci” line of low brass instruments and mouthpieces that has become the equipment choice for thousands of low brass players worldwide. He also serves as the vice-president of educational matters and consultant/clinician for Custom Music Company.

Source: www.saintlouisbrass.com