Fanfare and Fireworks!
April 6, 2019 | 7:30 PM
Featuring
John Varona, organist John Cord, trumpeter Garrett Klein, trumpeter Ron Beitel, hornist Myra Lee, trombonist David Kassler, tubist Terry Gresser, timpanist Chris Jankowski, trumpeter Program Bach (1685-1750) – Toccata and Fugue in D Minor Albinoni (1671-1751) - Trumpet Concerto in F Major, Op. 7 No. 9 Hudson (1908-1981) - White Rose Elegy Vierne (1870-1937) - Marche triomphale centenaire de Napoleon INTERMISSION Bach (1685-1750) - Contrapunctus IX Vierne (1870-1937) - Naiades Forsythe (1936-2011) - Golyardes Ground Dupré (1886-1971) - Poème héroïque, Op. 33 |
John Varona

A pupil of America’s premier organist, Catherine Crozier, John Varona is known for making his concert programs both informative and entertaining. John believes in the power of music to communicate directly with his audience and uses this to great effect in all his performances.
John’s forte centers in baroque music by French composers. His extensive repertoire spans six centuries and includes organ works of Messiaen, Langlais, Widor, Vierne, Reubke, and Bach. He has performed in venues throughout the world and he also enjoys theatre organ music as well as providing live accompaniment for silent film movies. John Varona is principal organist at Christ United Methodist Church and is a consultant for Midwest Home Staging Company & Design.
John’s forte centers in baroque music by French composers. His extensive repertoire spans six centuries and includes organ works of Messiaen, Langlais, Widor, Vierne, Reubke, and Bach. He has performed in venues throughout the world and he also enjoys theatre organ music as well as providing live accompaniment for silent film movies. John Varona is principal organist at Christ United Methodist Church and is a consultant for Midwest Home Staging Company & Design.
John Cord

Dr. John T. Cord holds trumpet performance degrees from the University of Iowa, the Yale University School of Music and the University of North Texas. He is currently the Associate Professor of Trumpet at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. From 2009 to 2013 he served as the Assistant Professor of Trumpet at Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
Cord’s performance career includes appearances with dozens of professional symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, and jazz and commercial ensembles from throughout the country. He has performed with the Fort Worth Opera, DFW Metropolitan Ballet, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra, Cedar Rapids Symphony, Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Wind Symphony and Winona Symphony Orchestra. Cord is currently a member of the La Crosse Symphony (WI) Orchestra and was a member of the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra from 2009 to 2013.
Cord’s commercial career has included memberships with the Ringling Brother’s Barnum and Bailey’s Circus Band, touring Broadway companies such as Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof and The Music Man, as well as numerous live and studio recording engagements as a jazz and commercial artist. Cord has recently released his first solo trumpet album entitled Beyond Borders, featuring a wide variety of music including contemporary, baroque, folk and jazz styles.
Cord has presented recitals, clinics and master classes throughout the country as a Vincent Bach Trumpets performing artist. He has also appeared as a guest clinician, adjudicator and guest lecturer at several state and national music conferences such as the Iowa Bandmaster’s Association Convention, the Texas Music Educators Association Convention, The National Trumpet Competition and the International Trumpet Guild Conference.
Cord’s performance career includes appearances with dozens of professional symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, and jazz and commercial ensembles from throughout the country. He has performed with the Fort Worth Opera, DFW Metropolitan Ballet, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra, Cedar Rapids Symphony, Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Wind Symphony and Winona Symphony Orchestra. Cord is currently a member of the La Crosse Symphony (WI) Orchestra and was a member of the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra from 2009 to 2013.
Cord’s commercial career has included memberships with the Ringling Brother’s Barnum and Bailey’s Circus Band, touring Broadway companies such as Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof and The Music Man, as well as numerous live and studio recording engagements as a jazz and commercial artist. Cord has recently released his first solo trumpet album entitled Beyond Borders, featuring a wide variety of music including contemporary, baroque, folk and jazz styles.
Cord has presented recitals, clinics and master classes throughout the country as a Vincent Bach Trumpets performing artist. He has also appeared as a guest clinician, adjudicator and guest lecturer at several state and national music conferences such as the Iowa Bandmaster’s Association Convention, the Texas Music Educators Association Convention, The National Trumpet Competition and the International Trumpet Guild Conference.
Garrett Klein

As an artist-teacher of the trumpet, Garrett Klein is deeply committed to providing engaging performances that thrill and inspire audiences. Garrett is a member of the internationally recognized Dallas Brass, which is well-known for performing a wide variety of music around the United States. Outside of touring with the Dallas Brass, Garrett is in demand as a soloist, orchestral musician, and clinician. He has performed with the Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass, The Phoenix Symphony, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, and the National Repertory Orchestra. As an enthusiastic proponent of new music, Garrett has been invited to present new compositions at International Trumpet Guild Conferences in Columbus, OH and San Antonio, TX.
During the 2018-2019 academic year, Garrett is serving as Visiting Instructor of Music at St. Olaf College, where he teaches trumpet and chamber music. He is also on faculty at Gustavus Adolphus College, where he directs the Chapel Brass and has taught music theory. Garrett holds degrees from St. Olaf College and Arizona State University, where he is currently completing a Doctorate of Music Arts. His primary teachers include Dr. Martin Hodel, Charles Lazarus, and David Hickman.
During the 2018-2019 academic year, Garrett is serving as Visiting Instructor of Music at St. Olaf College, where he teaches trumpet and chamber music. He is also on faculty at Gustavus Adolphus College, where he directs the Chapel Brass and has taught music theory. Garrett holds degrees from St. Olaf College and Arizona State University, where he is currently completing a Doctorate of Music Arts. His primary teachers include Dr. Martin Hodel, Charles Lazarus, and David Hickman.
Ron Beitel

Ronald Beitel, horn, is an active soloist, chamber music artist, and horn class clinician. As a soloist, he has appeared with the National Arts Chamber Orchestra, the San Antonio Symphony, the Salt Lake Symphony, the Vivaldi by Candlelight Orchestra in Salt Lake City, and the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Mr. Beitel has appeared with numerous friends and colleagues around the country, most recently on the Nova and Intermezzo series in Utah, and Manhattan to the Mountains at Snow College and Southern Utah University. For the last 29 years, his music career as an orchestral artist has included positions with the Utah Symphony for 18 years, the San Antonio for 9 years, and the Memphis Symphony and the Ohio Chamber Orchestra for one season each. He has also performed, recorded, and toured with the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Houston Symphony. Now a resident of Rochester, his musical activities are varied, including composing and arranging music for horn, and teaching private lessons.
Myra Lee

Myra Lee is active, on both trombone and euphonium, as a chamber musician and soloist in southeastern Minnesota. Myra has performed as principal trombone with the Austin Symphony Orchestra and as the trombonist in a brass quintet that she has formed of professional regional musicians. She is also active in the International Trombone Association and the International Tuba and Euphonium Association by attending conferences and participating in international solo competitions. As a high school euphonium student Myra earned the distinguished award of Best in Site in the Minnesota State High School League Solo and Ensemble Contest, was a member of the Minnesota All State Band, and appeared as a soloist with the John Marshall High School Wind Ensemble. Myra’s private students have been members of the Minnesota All State Bands and Orchestra and have earned college and university music scholarships.
David Kassler

David Kassler is currently an adjunct professor at Rochester Community and Technical College and Director of Music at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. He also maintains a large low brass studio in Rochester. Previously he was Assistant Professor at Fort Hays State University, played bass trumpet and tenor tuba with the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra, and played Principal Tuba with the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared as a guest artist on euphonium on numerous university campuses throughout the United States.
David studied euphonium and trombone with the late Edward Kleinhammer and with Hugh Harbison, Timothy Mahr, John Olah and Robert Yeats. His principal composition teachers include Quincy Hilliard and Gabriel Miller. He holds an MM in Music Education from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, an MM in Music Composition and Theory from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, and a DMA in Baritone Horn Performance from the University of Miami. His articles on low brass pedagogy appear in the Instrumentalist and the Kansas Music Review.
David studied euphonium and trombone with the late Edward Kleinhammer and with Hugh Harbison, Timothy Mahr, John Olah and Robert Yeats. His principal composition teachers include Quincy Hilliard and Gabriel Miller. He holds an MM in Music Education from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, an MM in Music Composition and Theory from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, and a DMA in Baritone Horn Performance from the University of Miami. His articles on low brass pedagogy appear in the Instrumentalist and the Kansas Music Review.
Terry Gresser

Terry Gresser, drums, taught elementary music in the Rochester Public Schools for 28 years and retired in 2017. He has taught applied percussion methods classes for Rochester Community and Technical College for the past 18 years, as well as MU 320 for the education department of Winona State University, Rochester Campus for the past 14 years. Earlier music teaching positions at the college level were at the College of Saint Teresa and Saint Mary’s College both in Winona. His professional percussion performance career has included national and international touring in a variety of popular music performing groups, jazz combos, pit orchestras, experiences in both the theater and ballet genres, and work with the Winona State Symphony (1987-1990). He holds a BS degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland, a BA degree in Music Education from the College of Saint Teresa, Winona, and an MA in Ethnomusicology and Music Education from Saint Mary’s College in Minneapolis. He currently resides in Rochester.
Chris Jankowski

Chris Jankowski, trumpet, is a longtime member of the Rochester Symphony Orchestra and was a featured soloist on the Vivaldi Concerto in C for Two Trumpets. He was a founding member of the Med City Brass and has performed with the La Crosse Symphony. Chris holds a bachelor’s of music degree from Lawrence University and studied jazz composition and arranging at the Eastman School of Music. His principal teachers were Bob Levy, Dennis Najoom, Fred Sturm and Bob Dorer. He lives in Rochester and works as an anesthesiologist at Mayo Clinic.