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Saugerties Pro Musica welcomes back our long-time friends, the Prometheus Brass. Prometheus Brass is made up of professional musicians Sandra Coffin, Matthew Ragsdale, Susan LaFever and Dale Turk, all from the greater New York area. These four engaging horn players are appearing for the fifth time on our stage with their usual crowd-pleasing performance.
They will perform a rousing salute to the season and the Germanic tradition of brass band celebrations fittingly titled “Salut! to OktoberFest”. Compositions include classical as well as contemporary and traditional pieces composed by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Scott Joplin. You’ll even hear the standard drinking song, “In Heaven There is No Beer,” to complete the October, beer hall celebration of music. Please join Saugerties Pro Musica in welcoming Prometheus Brass for a heart-pumping brass band concert October 23th.
Prometheus brass has been featured on numerous concert series, including Noonday Concerts at Trinity Wall Street, Noontime Concerts at Columbia University, Chamber Music at Grace Chapel (Lake George), The Ticonderoga Festival Guild, and the Saugerties Pro Musica, as well as performing for numerous celebrations, services, and events. Prometheus Brass maintains an active schedule of public outreach concerts and educational presentations throughout the Tri-State area.
Sandra Coffin, trumpet, has performed throughout the country and abroad as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player. In June 2012 she presented a solo recital at the International Women’s Brass Conference. This past May she performed the Hummel Trumpet Concerto with the Einstein Symphony. Sandy freelances throughout the Greater New York area, and is currently Principal Trumpet of the Garden State Philharmonic and a member of Gramercy Brass. She has been a member of the Finnish National Opera Orchestra, Colorado Philharmonic, and Canton Symphony. Sandy is also Director of Brass Band at St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s School in NYC. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and the Manhattan School of Music.
Matthew Ragsdale, trumpet, freelances throughout the New York area, performing opera, orchestra and chamber music. In 1995, he completed a 5-month NEA residency with the Encore Brass Quintet, whose highlights included live performances on High Plains Public Radio and WNYC's Around New York, in addition to the world and NY premieres of Katherine Hoover's Sonata. He has performed with the Sarasota (FL) Opera, the Jupiter Symphony, the Garden State Philharmonic, Amor Artis, and the Westchester Symphony Orchestra, as well as with the Four Tops, the Temptations, and the Duprees.
Susan LaFever, Principal Horn, Doansburg Chamber Orchestra; Third Horn, Bridgeport Symphony; and Hornist, Zinkali Trio; was reviewed by the New York Times, where her playing was called “bold and striking” with “a confident lyric quality”. Ms. LaFever has been a frequent recitalist and soloist in the Northeast and on tour in the Midwest. She has given master classes at the University of Iowa, Western Illinois University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara as well as clinics/performances at the Northeast Horn Workshops ’06, ’08 and ‘10. In May, 2010 she performed the world premiere of Carol Worthey’s Romanza for Horn and Piano. She and Zinkali presented a lecture/performance at the 2010 International Women’s Brass Conference in Toronto. Susan is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and Manhattan School of Music.
Dale Turk, bass trombone, has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival, the New York Pops, the New Philharmonia of New Jersey, the Queens Symphony Orchestra and the Bronx Symphony Orchestra. He has toured with the bands of Gerry Mulligan and Lionel Hampton and productions of the Broadway shows Nunsense and Les Miserables. Freelancing in the New York area includes substituting in many Broadway pits and recording with Ray Barretto and David Byrne. A versatile performer, Dale also plays tuba, baritone, and tenor trombone. He is on the faculty of the Mannes College Preparatory Division.
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