Mainstreet Brass | Biographies

KEVIN LONG, trumpet, holds both his undergraduate degree in music education and master of music in performance degree from West Chester University. He has studied trumpet with current and former members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Delaware Symphony and the United States Marine Band "The President's Own." In 1986, Kevin and trombonist Bryan Hay co-founded the Mainstreet Brass and continue a friendship that began in high school. In 1991, he was selected to be solo trumpet for the premiere of composer David Ifkovitz's Mass, an experience that led to many varied and unique performance opportunities. Freelancing extensively, Kevin has performed with the Allentown Symphony, Allentown Symphony Pops, the Allentown Band, Philadelphia Brass, Appalachian Brass and the Bethlehem Bach Festival Brass Choir. His enduring friendships with several former brass players who served in the Regimental Band of Her Majesty's Coldstream Guards have led to may unique musical collaborations and experiences for the Mainstreet Brass. In summer, Kevin and his wife, Karen, and their two sons enjoy camping and hiking in New York's Adirondack Mountains and Canada.

DONALD HUGHES, trumpet, received a performance certificate from the Philadelphia College of the Arts and earned his bachelor of music degree in performance from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he was a s

tudent of Michael Natale and Frank Kaderabek. A native of Valparaiso, Ind., Don studied cornet and trumpet and grew in technical ability and musicianship under the watchful eye of Steven Orcutt. Don later studied with Jerry Franks, former trumpet with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Don has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra, the Bethlehem Bach Festival Orchestra, the Pennsylvania Sinfonia, the Allentown Symphony, the Pottstown Symphony and the Reading Symphony. His distinct, multifaceted trumpet skills have led to collaborations with a variety of popular artists, including Clay Aiken, Richard Kiley, Barry Williams, Marilyn Horne, Barbara Cook, Wally Harper and the Irish Tenors. Don serves as principal trumpet of the Germantown Academy Chamber Orchestra, the Muhlenberg Summer Theater pit orchestra, the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and the Act One pit orchestra. As a member of the Mainstreet Brass, Don has toured extensively with the ensemble throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. He plays Yamaha, Bach and Schilke trumpets. In addition to his active freelance solo performance itinerary and teaching schedule, Don is the director of music for Asbury United Methodist Church in Allentown, Pa., writes database computer programs and is very involved in youth sports, acting as softball sport coordinator and association registrar for the Lower Macungie Youth Association. He lives in Allentown, Pa., with his wife, Susan, daughter Kara, and son Nolan.

SHARI GLEASON-MAYRHOFER, horn, earned a Bachelor of Music degree in performance and music theory from Oberlin College Conservatory and a Master of Arts in Music in horn performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also holds a master's degree in theory from Georgia State

University in Atlanta. Shari has participated in the Grand Teton Orchestral Seminar and spent a summer studying at the Banff Centre. Her private teachers include Douglas Hill, Froydis Ree Wekre, Robert Fries and Kendall Betts. As a freelance musician, she has played in a variety of ensembles in the Midwest, including the Beloit Symphony (Wisconsin), Class Brass (Minnesota) and the Camerata Wind Quintet (Ohio). Shari has conducted high school horn clinics and acted as music director of a community children's production. She teaches horn and piano privately, is active as an accompanist and sings in the Bach Choir of Bethlehem. A talented and creative knitter, Shari has made stylish woolen hats and other garments for her Mainstreet Brass colleagues.

BRYAN HAY, trombone, is a graduate of Moravian College, where he received a bachelors degree in journalism and pursued trombone performance with a concentration in music. At Moravian, he was a brass ensemble student of Lawrence Wright. Bryan has

performed at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival with Don Hughes and with the Pottstown Symphony, Schuylkill Symphony, the Bethlehem Bach Festival Orchestra, Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, the Central Jersey Symphony, the Hunterdon Symphony Orchestra, the Moravian Music Festival Orchestra, the Lehigh Valley Pops, the Allentown Band and the Appalachian Brass. Bryan, whose love of Gabrieli and Schutz is not equally appreciated by his Mainstreet Brass colleagues, is a charter member of the Mainstreet Brass and the Silver and Brass Trombone Quartet. When he's not playing trombone, he's singing bass in the Bach Choir of Bethlehem and the Chancel Choir at the First Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem. Bryan and his wife, Jen, also enjoy hiking in the southern Appalachians, the Adirondacks and the Chic-Choc mountains of Quebec. Their American Eskimo, Tundra, and mischievous border collie, Peatie, also love to hit the trails.

ALLEN H. FRANK, tuba, holds a bachelor of arts degree in music from Moravian College. While at Moravian, Allen studied tuba with Grant Moore II and was a brass ensemble student of Lawrence Wright. Prior to h

is collegiate studies, he studied at the Armed Forces School of Music in Little Creek, Va., before a three-year tour of duty with the U.S. Marine Corps Band of Quantico, Va. As a member of the Marine Corps Band, Allen served as principal tubist and soloist for the concert and marching bands and performed with the band's brass quintet, the Ambassador Brass, collaborating with such names as the Canadian Brass and the Neville Brothers. He was a cast member on the national tour of "Blast!," which won a Tony Award for best special theatrical event and an Emmy Award for best choreography. Allen has performed as a member of the tuba section and as a soloist with the Allentown Band, America's oldest civilian concert band, and remains active around the musically rich Lehigh Valley of eastern Pennsylvania. Allen lives in Bangor, Pa., with his wife, Janelle, son Jonathan and their Westie, Chloe.