Cellist Elizabeth Byrd began her career playing in the pit orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera and Broadway shows while studying at the Juilliard School in New York. She has since performed with several orchestras including the London Festival Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, Greensboro Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Miami City Ballet, Boca Pops, and the National Symphony of the Dominican Republic and has toured internationally with the famed Mantovani Orchestra.  For ten years, she was principal cellist for the Palm Beach Pops. 

This will be Ms. Byrd's second season serving as Principal Cellist and chamber musician for Bravo! Vancouver.  She has taught on the faculty of the Dominican Republic National Conservatory, Florida International University, the Georgia Academy of Music, the 92nd Street YMCA in New York City, and on the faculty of the Pre-College Department of the University of New York at Stony Brook (SUNY).  She recently was invited to join the faculty at Clark College in Vancouver where she will develop the cello studio and coach members of the orchestra.  Ms. Byrd also maintains a growing private teaching studio in Portland, Oregon.  Her recent work in Portland includes productions and collaborations at Portland Center Stage, Portland Actors Conservatory, Broadway Rose, Pixie Dust Productions, and Stumptown Stages. 

As a composer, she has been commissioned to provide original scores for productions of Sarah Ruhl's Melancholy Play (Portland Actor's Conservatory) and Jane Austin's Persuasion (Quintessence Theater).  For many years she has been closely involved with Music for People, an international organization that promotes self-expression through music and improvisation.  Ms. Byrd leads Free-Improvisation workshops for classically trained and novice musicians in schools and universities that she calls SOUNDplay.  She is the founder and a member of the World Fusion improvisation group Beyond the Wood that can be heard at www.BeyondTheWood.com.

Violinist Fritz Gearhart joined the University of Oregon music faculty in 1998, teaching violin and chamber music and performing regularly with the Oregon String Quartet.  The third generation of professional musicians in his family, Gearhart received his master's degree and the prestigious Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Donald Weilerstein. Gearhart's earlier studies were at the Hartt School of Music, where he worked with Charles Treger and members of the Emerson Quartet.  Gearhart has performed in major concert halls around the country, including Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Recital Hall, and the 92nd Street Y, as well as the Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center. Prior to his appointment at the University of Oregon, Gearhart was first violinist of the Chester String Quartet, which was widely acclaimed by the press and singled out as a highlight of the 1989 American String Quartet Congress.

Gearhart has been heard frequently on public radio, including live broadcasts featured on WFMT Chicago, WQXR New York, and NPR's "Performance Today."  Gearhart has recorded nine compact discs, including The Complete Works for Violin by Robert Casadesus and Oregon Festival of American Music Presents: William Grant Still, released in 2001 and 2002, respectively. All were enthusiastically praised by the press, including Fanfare, American Record Guide, and Strad magazines. Gearhart continues an active performing career around the country. October 26, 2003 marked his sixth appearance in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie since 1998 with pianist John Owings. Most recently, Gearhart worked with the Oregon String Quartet to complete their newest CD recording: The Oregon String Quartet and All That Jazz, Jazz Influences in the Contemporary American String Quartet, now available on the Koch Entertainment label. 

A dedicated music educator, Gearhart has taught at the university level since 1998, including his previous appointments at East Carolina University and Indiana University at South Bend. Gearhart has been a featured clinician at music conventions and workshops for MENC, ASTA, and NSOA, and has presented master classes at music schools all around the country, including Texas Christian University, Boise State University, Ithaca College, Eastman School of Music, and the Hartt School, among many others. In addition to his many performing and teaching activities, Professor Gearhart has appeared as a guest conductor at several string festivals around the country, including South Carolina All-State String Orchestra, Northern Virginia Honors Orchestra, Wyoming String Clinic, and All-City Strings in Salem, OR. 

The Wall Street Journal has said of Fritz Gearhart "...a sizzling performance of Ravel's bluesy violin sonata..." and The New York Times has said: "... pianist John Owings and violinist Fritz Gearhart gave a supple and imaginative account of a sweetly modal Homage a Chausson [Casadesus Centennial Concert]"

Baritone soloist Douglas Webster has performed on stages and a variety of venues – including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Boston Symphony Hall, on PBS, NPR and on Broadway – across forty-six of the United States and throughout Europe as soloist with symphony orchestras, opera companies and in solo concerts.  As an actor, he has appeared on Broadway and in regional theaters.  His recordings include the Grammy nominated A Disney Spectacular with Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops and classical recordings for Koch, New World, Eco Classics, Yamaha and Zephyr.  He has performed with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops and has sung the Walt Whitman songs of Kurt Weill with Carl St. Clair and the Pacific Symphony.  Douglas made his debut singing the Celebrant in Leonard Bernstein's epic theater piece, MASS for the composer's 70th Birthday Gala at Tanglewood.  As the Celebrant in Leonard Bernstein's MASS, he has led over twenty productions, including those at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center; the music festivals at Aspen, Cabrillo and Tanglewood; with the symphonies in Dallas, Denver, Portland, Columbus, Eugene; and Internationally in Spain, Lithuania and Latvia. 

In 2000, Douglas was invited to assemble the cast and lead the premiere performance of MASS at The Vatican.  He and his hand-picked cast are featured in the Kultur Video release of Bernstein's MASS at The Vatican.  For the 2011-2012 season he directed the concert performance of MASS for George Mason University celebrating the 40th anniversary of the work.  Guest appearances took him to the University of Nebraska, University of Arkansas, Little Rock and The Arkansas Repertory Theater.  Locally, he is winner of the 2009 Portland Drammy Award for Best Actor in a Musical (Les Misérables, Broadway Rose).  He's performed locally with the Third Angle Ensemble, the Broadway Baritones at the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival and in recital at the Keller Opera House with Hollywood pianist, Lincoln Mayorga.  In spring 2012, he will join Northwest New Music for staging of Eight Songs For a Mad King and a new opera by Theresa Koon, The Promise.  He also can be heard singing the National Anthem for the Vancouver Victory Hockey Club Home Games at Mountain View Arena.  Former director of opera for the University of Oregon, he is a popular guest master clinician for college music programs and currently teaches voice privately in Portland and Vancouver.  His former students are working in opera and musical theater on Broadway and around the country.  Douglas rejoins Bravo! Vancouver for Handel's Messiah and Israel in Egypt and the Vancouver premiere of Leonard Bernstein's MASS.

Kathryn Alexis Hamilton, mezzo-soprano, has long been a favorite throughout Oregon and Southern Washington.  Most recently, Alexis was seen as Katisha in The Mikado, with Mocks Crest Theatre, Tracey Edson, conducting.  Her concert and oratorio work is extensive in the region and she has appeared with the Columbia Symphony, Bravo Vancouver, Rose City Orchestra, Sunnyside Orchestra, and Oregon East Symphony.  In addition, she has been the soloist for the Brahms Alto Rhapsody with the Portland Gay Men's Chorus, and appeared as a soloist with the Choral Arts Ensemble.  Alexis is an active singer actress throughout the Portland Metro Area.  Her versatility and passionate presence have led to critically acclaimed performances of operatic roles including Mrs. Herring in Albert Herring, Berta in The Barber of Seville, the title role in Carmen, Mrs. Noah in Noye's Fludd, the Mother in Hänsel und Gretel, La Principessa in Suor Angelica, and Zita in Gianni Schicci.  Alexis is often seen in Gilbert and Sullivan operetta and is a veteran of Mock's Crest Productions.  Among her myriad roles for this company are Lady Jane, The Fairy Queen, Katisha, Prince Orlofsky, The Duchess, Mad Margaret, Buttercup, and Mrs. Page. 

In addition to her many ties to operetta, Alexis has worked mainstage with Portland Opera as Maddelena in The Journey to Reims, and the Forester's Wife in The Cunning Little Vixen.  Alexis is currently the Manager of Education & Outreach for the Portland Opera where she is responsible for bring opera to communities throughout Oregon and southwest Washington.

Tenor Leslie W. Green is in high demand as a soloist in the Northwest.  Praised for his seemingly effortless, expressive singing, Mr. Green performs a wide variety of literature ranging from Bach arias to contemporary art songs. Green has appeared throughout the Northwest with many of the finest ensembles and events including Oregon Repertory Singers, Portland Symphonic Choir, Annas Bay Music Festival, Mount Angel Abbey, Willamette Master Chorus, Eclectic Orange Festival in Orange County California, Rose City Chamber Orchestra, Cascade Music Festival, Northwest Mahler Festival, Salem Chamber Orchestra, Columbia Chorale and numerous Church concerts and music series.  Mr. Green's recent engagements have included an enthusiastically received performance of Schubert's landmark song cycle Winterreise, the role of Victory in Hildegard von Bingen's Ordo Virtutem, the lead role of the Stage Manager in the Northwest Premiere of Ned Rorem's Opera Our Town at Willamette University, Joseph Haydn's Creation with Bravo! Vancouver and Willamette Master Chorus, and Benjamin Britten's Les Illuminations and Serenade with Salem Chamber Orchestra.  He has performed on numerous concert tours with the professional vocal ensemble Cappella Romana including trips to London, New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles and an appearance on the prestigious Music before 1800 series in New York.  Recent opera, oratorio and other roles have included Alfredo in La Traviata and Don Jose in Carmen (both productions with Opera Theater of Oregon); as the Evangelist in Heinrich Schutz's St. John Passion with Portland Vocal Consort; and the Premiere of Robert Kyr's A Time for Life with Cappella Romana. 

Mr. Green regularly sings as the primary tenor soloist for the Bach Cantata series at St. James Lutheran Church in Portland.  Mr. Green originally hails from the Midwest where he earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Ball State University.  He resides in Vancouver, Washington with his wife and daughter.  He is on the faculty in the Department of Music at Willamette University where he teaches singing and vocal pedagogy.  He also maintains a thriving private voice studio in Vancouver and works with many area high schools as a vocal clinician and adjudicator.

Lindsey Cafferky-McMahon is a soprano from Portland, Oregon.  Last year she performed the role of Venus in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld with Eugene Opera, Anne Page in Nicolai's Merry Wives of Windsor with Rogue Opera, soprano soloist in Vivaldi's Gloria with the Oregon Chorale and Gabriel in Sunnyside Orchestra's performances of Haydn's Creation.  Recent roles include Papagena in Mozart's The Magic Flute with Eugene Opera and over ninety performances of the title role in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel with Portland Opera's Educational Outreach Program.  Past roles include Despina in Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte, Zdenka in Strauss' Arabella, Belona in Velasco's La Purpura de la Rosa, Lucia in Britten's Rape of Lucretia, Zerbinetta in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and Sister Genevieve in Puccini's Suor Angelica. 

Lindsey earned her Bachelors of Music and Bachelors of Business Administration from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.  She earned her Masters in Music from the University of Michigan.

Pianist Michael Barnes, a native of Seattle, has been performing as a pianist and accompanying singers for 35 years.  He has toured nationally for Community Concerts, and tours internationally as the third member of the now infamous BoZoArtZ Duo.  Barnes is the award-winning accompanist of the Portland Gay Men's Chorus (with whom he has also appeared as vocal soloist and accordionist), Pacific Youth Choir, Bravo Vancouver, Lewis & Clark College, Portland State University and with the Old Church Society, for whom he schedules their Sack Lunch Recitals. He is the organist of Westminster Presbyterian Church and assists at Temple Beth Israel and 6th Church of Christ Scientist.  His mentors have been Dr. Alberto Rafols (University of Washington) and Dr. Edith Kilbuck (Lewis and Clark College). He received a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance & Accompaniment in 1986. During that time he studied vocal diction with Dr. Richard Poppino. He has played for 10 years in the diction class at Portland State University taught by Rodney Menn. In addition, he has coached with Dalton Baldwin, Gwendolyn Koldofsky and with Jan Meyerowitz at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, where he also attended a master class with diction expert Nico Castel.  Michael was the accompanist for Ellen Faull, the internationally acclaimed Metropolitan Opera soprano and Juilliard School of Music voice teacher.  Ms. Faull retired to Camas, Washington, where singers traveled from around the world to study with her.  Michael was Ms. Faull accompanist until her death in 2008.  Mr. Barnes performs as a soloist and chamber musician, and with vocalists and opera singers, including Metropolitan Opera baritone Richard Zeller and others.

Brubeck Brothers Quartet
The Brubeck Brothers Quartet is an exciting jazz group featuring two members of one of America's most accomplished musical families, Daniel Brubeck (drums,) and Chris Brubeck (bass & trombone.) Guitarist Mike DeMicco, and pianist Chuck Lamb, complete this dynamic quartet. They have performed at concert series, colleges, and jazz festivals across North America and Europe including the Newport, Detroit, Ravinia, Las Vegas, Sedona, Spokane, Vancouver (Washington) and Monterey Jazz Festivals. Their hour long concert at Sierra Nevada Brewery has been broadcast on the nationally syndicated program: Sierra Center Stage. The BBQ was chosen to kick off the New Year with an hour long, coast-to-coast live broadcast on Toast of the Nation on National Public Radio. Their new Koch release, Classified, has already earned this rave review from All About Jazz: "Once again the BBQ attains that rarefied level where music is both relaxed and expressive, and their joy in its creation is contagious. There's really nothing out there that comes close to their unique brand of inventiveness." 

These versatile musicians also collaborate with orchestras, and in 2006 ignited the Salt Lake City Jazz Festival by playing with the Utah Symphony conducted by Keith Lockhart. With Chris Brubeck's compositions as a vehicle, the BBQ has joined with chamber groups to collaborate with musicians from the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Russian National Symphony Orchestra.  The Brubeck Brothers Quartet's debut Koch recording, Intuition, impressed the national jazz media and spent several weeks in the top ten radio charts while earning enthusiastic reviews from JazzTimes, Downbeat, Boston Globe and many other respected publications. "Intuition was measure for measure one of the hardest swinging sets of the year." (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Although the quartet's style is rooted in "straight-ahead" jazz, their concerts reveal an inherent ability to explore and play odd time signatures while naturally integrating the influences of funk, blues and world music. The group's creativity, technique and improvisation can be heard in their uncompromising music, which reflects their dedication to melody, rhythm, culture and the spontaneous spirit of jazz. For more information, see www.brubeckmusic.com.

Chris Brubeck: Composer, orchestral arranger, lyricist and performer, Christopher Brubeck is equally at home playing jazz, rock, classical, funk and folk music, displaying his multiple talents on three instruments. An award-winning composer, Chris has been called ".a 21st Century Leonard Bernstein" by John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune. Chris's composition, Vignettes for Nonet for woodwind quintet and The BBQ was commissioned by and premiered at Bay Chamber Concerts, Rockport, Maine in August, 2003 to great acclaim. Since its premiere, Vignettes for Nonet has been performed by many woodwind quintets, including the Russian National Orchestra Woodwind Quintet.  It is on the Brubeck Brothers Quartet's Koch recording, Classified, with the ASCAP award-winning woodwind quintet, Imani Winds.  Chris's composition Interplay for 3 Violins and Orchestra featuring The Boston Pops and violin virtuoso Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Jazz violinist Regina Carter and Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers of Riverdance fame was broadcast on PBS' Evening at Pops and won the ASCAP Deems Taylor award for Chris for best composition for television broadcast. Chris has twice been named a Meet The Composer/Music Alive Composer. In addition to his instrumental work with the Brubeck Brothers Quartet, Chris tours, records and sings with his acoustic funk-blues group, Triple Play. Chris' new Koch International Classics CD, Convergence, with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra features his Prague Concerto for Bass Trombone. 

The L.A Times wrote "Chris has become one of the most capable electric bassists, delivering imaginative solos."

The New York Post wrote of a Carnegie Hall performance, "The high point of the night came when Chris horned in on a beautifully reflective solo and switching instruments, blew one of the best trombone solos I've heard in years."

Drummer Daniel Brubeck is the rhythmic force of the BBQ and has toured the international music circuit for more than two decades. He has led his own group, The Dolphins, in addition to performing with the legendary Dave Brubeck Quartet. As a featured soloist with many of the world's top jazz artists, his original drumming style and use of odd-time signatures have earned him international acclaim. With The Dolphins, he released three CDs that have been played extensively on U.S. and Japanese radio stations. His recording credits include performances with Larry Coryell, Livingston Taylor, Michael Franks and Roy Buchanan. Dan and Chris were featured on the Dave Brubeck CD Live with the London Symphony Orchestra. Dan produced and played on Trio Brubeck a Music Masters CD with Dave & Chris Brubeck which received a Grammy Nomination. Dan has appeared on The Today Show, The Tonight Show, The Grammy Awards Show with an all-star jazz group including Dave Brubeck and Christian McBride, BBC specials and the nationally syndicated PBS series Jazz in America, as well as with Chris, Mike & Chuck on the Sierra Center Stage Concert Series broadcast on PBS.

JazzTimes Magazine wrote about Dan: "Dan will cause your mouth to drop open when you hear him. To call his drum solos exciting is to sell him short, but it is awesome soloing like this that characterizes the entire recording."

His original drumming style, distinctive polyrhythmic solos, and use of odd time signatures have earned him standing ovations worldwide, and the respect of the international jazz community.

Mike DeMicco, guitarist and composer for the Brubeck Brothers Quartet (BBQ), has toured extensively worldwide since 1980. He grew up in the arts colony of Woodstock, New York, immersed in blues, jazz and rock music. His musical diversity has since led him to work with celebrated artists in many genres. For ten years, he performed and recorded with the acclaimed electric jazz quartet, The Dolphins, featuring Dan Brubeck; he has also recorded with Warren Bernhardt, Peter Erskine, Michael Franks, and James & Livingston Taylor, among many others. Mike has performed twice on the internationally syndicated PBS series, Jazz In America; at the major European jazz festivals; and with Dave Brubeck, Jack DeJohnette, Larry Coryell and Nick Brignola, to name a few. He was also featured guitarist on W.C. Handy Blues Award-winner Rory Block's Tornado tour of the US and Europe. Mike's new CD, As The Sun Sets (Blue Forest Records), showcases eight original compositions and features Warren Bernhardt (piano), Jay Anderson (acoustic bass), Rob Leon (electric bass) and Peter O'Brien (drums). "DeMicco's guitar is the perfect blend of soul, polish and technique." JazzTimes.

Chuck Lamb, pianist, composer and percussionist, co-founded the group Dry Jack which was cited in the Rolling Stone History of Music as a premiere, cutting-edge jazz fusion group. He has garnered global acclaim including accolades for his creativity and expertise from a variety of publications including Billboard and Keyboard magazine, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times. He has played with many musical greats including the Woody Herman Orchestra, Bela Fleck, Dave Holland, Eddie Jefferson, Ginger Baker, Tom Harrell, and Ernestine Anderson and has produced numerous recordings with his musical partner, vocalist /composer Theano Lamb.

"Pianist Chuck Lamb sweeps together a stunningly comprehensive approach to the keyboard; he can play with elegance . or positively roar with the most leonine gestures. His imagination seems to know no bounds." (Erik Ericksson, Northeast Wisconsin Music Review)

As a member of the Brubeck Brothers Quartet for the last 5 years, Chuck has toured the world and most of the inner solar system.

"A very proficient pianist and an expert soloist ... his original compositions are varied and exuberant; his work is exemplary." (DownBeat Magazine)