Shadyside Brass are winners of the Pittsburgh Concert Society Major Artists Prize and enjoyed rehearsing and performing for several years in beautiful Heinz Chapel where the group served as artists in residence. Christmas with Shadyside Brass and Friends is a yearly tradition held every December.
Born and raised in the great state of Connecticut, David is a 1985 graduate of UConn – Go Huskies! – but has lived in Pittsburgh since 1991. His teachers have included Bill Babcock (Chicago Symphony), Jeffrey Curnow (Empire Brass Quintet and The Philadelphia Orchestra), Daniel Patrylak (Eastman Brass Quintet) and Richard Green (Eastern Brass Quintet). When not tooting his own horn David is skilled punster and can often be heard triggering absolute groans of disgust from the less pun-fluent of the quintet, which is all of them. David spent 3 years with the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra and has played a few concerts with the Edgewood Symphony. On his down time, David likes to arrange Beatles songs and the occasional Renaissance piece for the quintet.
After receiving a wonderful musical education in his hometown of Batavia, NY Joe was fortunate enough to study trumpet with Vincent DiMartino at the University of Kentucky, where het met lifelong friends whose talent and beautiful music inspire him to this day. Since 2010 he has been active in Pittsburgh as co-principal trumpet of the Edgewood Symphony, a founding member of Shadyside Brass and has played for scores of opera and musical theater performances.
A native of Pittsburgh, Doug grew up performing with the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony and the Westmoreland Youth Symphony before heading to Penn State for his undergraduate education. While at Penn State, Doug played with the Altoona Symphony, the Nittany Valley Symphony, the Centre Brass Quintet, and numerous university-sponsored chamber and orchestral ensembles. After school, Doug moved to Boston where he performed with the Boston Chamber Ensemble, New England Philharmonic, Brookline Symphony, the Boston Conservatory Brass Quintet, and the New England Philharmonic Woodwind Quintet. Doug has studied under Dennis Abelson and Lisa Bontrager. He is currently the owner of Kitchen Tune-Up of Greater Pittsburgh East, a kitchen remodeler aimed at providing beautiful kitchens at a fraction of a new kitchen price. In addition to Shadyside Brass, Doug plays with the Edgewood Symphony and pit orchestras for high school musicals throughout the Pittsburgh region.
Justin Miller has played trombone for over 30 years. He has studied with James Nova of the Pittsburgh Symphony and has performed with numerous western Pennsylvania ensembles, in the orchestra pit for many musicals, in side by side performances with the Pittsburgh Symphony, and with the Bill Dayton Orchestra based in Baltimore. Individuals he has performed with include Mike Vax, formerly of the Stan Kenton Orchestra, and Jay Gibble of the Capitol Bones. Currently, Justin is principal trombone, librarian, and member of the Board of Directors of the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra, principal trombone in the West Hills Symphonic Band, assistant director of the Lincoln High School Marching Blue Band in Ellwood City, PA, music director of Untitled Virtual Ensemble, and owner of the music publisher Late to the Game Music, which aims to bring light to hard-to-find music by underappreciated composers. Justin is originally from Ellwood City but now resides in Cranberry Township.
Matthew Tesch has played bass trombone for over 25 years. He has played in a number of big-band and chamber jazz groups in Boston and Pittsburgh, but also has subbed in community bands and orchestras (Allegheny Brass Band, Edgewood Symphony) and enjoyed playing in the pit for several musicals. He enjoys the small-group aspect of playing with the Shadyside Brass. His musical credits also include an orchestra conducting role for a production of the musical “The Thing About Men”, and two years in the Texas 4A All-State Band. As a software engineer, he has blended his love of music and coding by cofounding a musical notation app (StaffPad) and working with the team bringing realistic playback to MuseScore Studio. He currently works at HEBI Robotics, and spends his time building robots, writing software, and spending time with his wife and child.
