Metro Brass Quintet

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Metro Brass Quintet Concert!

4:00pm, Saturday, October 12th

Location: Änna’s Bistro - 11 Judd Street, Marine on Saint Croix, MN

Enjoy an afternoon of music, fun, and community!

This concert is also a bonus "salon" for Salon Series Season Ticket Holders!

Cash Bar will be available.

Dan Julson, trumpet/flugelhorn

A native of Eau Claire, WI, Dan graduated from UW-Eau Claire in music education and computer science.  He has been fortunate enough to play with a wide variety of musical genre groups, including Metro Brass, Metro Brass Quintet, Mississippi River Brass Band, Rochester Symphony Orchestra, Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble, After Hours Big Band, and more.  He works by day as a software development manager at Infinite Campus.  He resides currently in Woodbury, MN with his wife and has two married children, two granddaughters, a grand corgi, and two grand horses. 

Keith Thompson, trumpet

 Keith Thompson enjoys a varied musical life.  As a leader of his own brass ensemble, Metro Brass, Keith is music director and trumpeter and occasionally a member of its sister ensemble, the Metro Brass Quintet.  He is in his 26th year as principal trumpet with the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra and can frequently be seen performing with the After Hours Big Band and other jazz groups.  A long time British brass band enthusiast, he has been a member of the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band, the Mississippi River Brass Band, and even a short stay with the Cory Band in Wales, one of the top brass bands in the world.  Keith and his wife Barbara live in Woodbury, enjoy traveling the world together, and can be found in the audience for many concerts, musicals, plays, and dance programs as committed supporters of live performance arts.

Steve Ecklund, horn

Steve currently plays with the Metro Brass, the Metro Brass Quintet, the Lake Wobegon Brass Band, and was formerly principal horn of the Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis. He also plays the Swiss alphorn and can occasionally be heard at ethnic festivals and beer gardens around the Twin Cities wearing his alpine hat and lederhosen. He’s retired from 39-year career with Honeywell’s Aerospace Division.

Bruce Alpern, trombone

Originally from the Chicago area, Bruce has been playing in the US Army Band system since 1982, is currently playing with the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band, Metro Brass, Metro Brass quintet, the Minnesota Jazz Orchestra, and various other groups around the Twin Cities.  He retired from the US Postal Service in 2019.

Gary Bird, tuba

Gary is Professor Emeritus from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he taught for 36 years. He has music degrees from UW-River Falls, University of North Texas and Indiana University. He is a member of the Metro Brass Quintet and the larger 12 piece group, as well as the Lake Wobegon Brass Band, the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band, and the Above Average Tuba Quartet. He has three grown children all of whom are teachers, four grandchildren and one Great-Grandson.