The Canadian Brass

"The Essential Canadian Brass "

The five virtuosi of The Canadian Brass have made the brass quintet an exciting vehicle for serious concert music on an international scale and have over fifty recordings in their discography. The Canadian Brass not only present works in the classical repertoire but also continue to take daring leaps into jazz, contemporary concert music and popular songs. Hal Leonard publishes most of this music, including their famous Goldberg Variations. The arrangements popularized by The Canadian Brass are the inspiration and musical staple of hundreds of thousands of music students, and hundreds of brass ensembles around the world.

" The enthralling sound of a brass choir ... programs that feature virtuosic musicianship, masterful interpretations and flashes of humour ... repertoire that encompasses Bach to blues - all these ingredients make the Canadian Brass the world's leading brass ensemble. These are the men who put brass music on the map: with their unbeatable blend of virtuosity, spontaneity and humour, they brighten the rosters of concert halls, international festivals and orchestra series throughout the world. Their numerous recordings, frequent television appearances and tireless efforts in the realm of music education have resulted in vast new audiences for the Art of the Canadian Brass. (Washington Post)

Millions of television viewers have seen the Canadian Brass in such shows as The Tonight Show, Today, and Entertainment Tonight. They have appeared as guest artists on Evening at Pops with John Williams and the Boston Pops, Beverly Sills’ Music Around the World, and numerous PBS specials. The Canadian Brass are managed by Richard Mills of SL Feldman and Associates. Linus Entertainment is distributed in Canada by Warner Music.

Maureen McGovern

"An American Rhapsody in Blue "

Maureen McGovern's over 30 year career spans recordings, concerts, composing, theater, film, televison and radio. She recently returned to Broadway, creating the role of "Marmee" in Little Women, The Musical, for which she received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. Maureen performed in the West Coast Premiere of William Finn's Elegies at the Canon Theatre and starred as "Countess Aurelia" in the historic revival of Jerry Herman's Dear World [an adaptation of The Madwoman of Chaillot] at The Sundance Institute Theatre. She appeared in the Boston World Premiere musical Letters From 'Nam originating the role of "Eleanor Bridges," followed by her dramatic debut role as "Eleanor of Acquitaine" in The Lion in Winter. On Broadway, Maureen made her debut as "Mabel" in The Pirates of Penzance, starred as "Luisa" in Nine with Raul Julia and as "Polly Peachum" in The 3 Penny Opera with Sting. Off-Broadway, she originated the role of "Mary" in Brownstone. She starred as "Mme. Emery" in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg at The Sundance Institute Theatre, as "Mary Turner" in Of Thee I Sing for the "Reprise" series at UCLA's Freud Playhouse and also at the Kennedy Center and BAM in tandem with Let 'Em Eat Cake! and as "Mrs. Anna" in the recent Broadway National Tour of The King and I. Maureen has starred in productions of The Sound of Music, South Pacific, Guys & Dolls [playing both "Sarah" and "Adelaide"] and in I Do, I Do. Maureen's children's musical, The Bengal Tiger's Ball, had its East Coast premiere in 1999; Maureen wrote the music, co-created and also starred. Her latest composition, "Born In The Heart," co-written with Jeffrey D. Harris and Michele Pace Hofbauer, was recorded by Ms. McGovern and the United Nations International School Concert Choir. 

Her films include Airplane, Airplane II: The Sequel, The Towering Inferno and The Cure for Boredom. She is also the voice of "Rachel" in the DreamWorks animated video Joseph: King of Dreams with Ben Affleck. Television roles include One Life to Live, The Tracey Ullman Show, Pacific Blue and Beyond Belief. A two-time Grammy nominee, her recording career began with the #1 chart topping Academy Award winning Gold Record, "The Morning After" from The Poseidon Adventure, followed by the Oscar winning Gold Record, "We May Never Love Like This Again" from The Towering Inferno. Maureen made history in 1975 as the first singer to record two Oscar nominated songs in the same year, "We May Never Love Like This Again" and "Wherever Love Takes Me" from the movie Gold. Other recording hits include, "Can You Read My Mind?" from Superman and "Different Worlds" from Angie. To quote The New York Times, "... a singer who moves comfortably from jazz to soaring movie themes and from classical pop standards to operetta... a coloratura jazz singer at ease in any medium." It is no wonder Maureen has been called "The Stradivarius Voice." She has recorded more than 25 albums including "The Music Never Ends: The Lyrics of Alan & Marilyn Bergman" and "Out Of This World: McGovern Sings Arlen" [both recently re-released on Fynsworth Alley Records with new bonus cuts], "Naughty Baby: McGovern Sings Gershwin," Grammy nominated "The Pleasure of His Company," "With A Song in My Heart: The Great Songs of Richard Rodgers" with Skitch Henderson and The New York Pops and, most recently, "Works of Heart," songs of hope featuring a 30th anniversary version of "The Morning After." 

Maureen devotes her energies to a number of charitable organizations. She is a National Board member of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and serves as the National Chairperson of the Polymyositis/ Dermatomyositis Division of MDA and the National Chairperson of the annual "Shamrocks Against Dystrophy" campaign. For the last twenty-five years, Maureen has performed on the "Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon," acting as co-host for six years. She is the recipient of the "Songs From The Heart" Award from NARAS and AMTA, "The Bodian Award" from the Post-Polio Institute and the CUNY "Lifetime Achievement Award" for her more than two decades of active service to causes serving people with disabilities. She recently received a Doctor of Music Honorary Degree from Youngstown State University in recognition of her musical career. Ms. McGovern is the Founder / President of The Maureen McGovern "Works of Heart" Foundation for Music and Healing and is an Artist Spokesperson for The American Music Therapy Association.

Michael Schneider

"An American Rhapsody in Blue "

Critics have hailed Michael Schneider as “a pianist with exceptional insight” and a “performer with great anache” in performances across the states and overseas to Poland and France. Recently championing the music of Franz Liszt, Michael was awarded the ‘Demonic Liszt’ Prize at the Competition Internationale held in Sante Fe, New Mexico and won six awards at the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, including first prize in the Concerto Division and first prize in the Longer Work Category (Dante Sonata). In 2005, he was a top prize winner in the 3rd International Franz Liszt Competition held in Wroçlaw, Poland.

Mr. Schneider has performed in such venues as the legendary château of George Sand in Nohant, France, performing an all-Chopin recital as a guest artist in the International Chopin Festival, and Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall as a prizewinner of the Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition, also winning the prize for the best performance of a work by an American composer. Recently he was a featured guest artist at the Music Festival of the Hamptons, directed by Lukas Foss. Appearances with orchestras include the Bydgoszcz and Wroçlaw philharmonics in Poland, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra (IL), the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (TX), the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra (OK), the Big Spring Symphony (TX), and the San Angelo Symphony (TX).

Mr. Schneider is a laureate of many international piano competitions, including the 10th Pacific Piano Competition in Vancouver, the 7th San Antonio International Piano Competition, the 4th International Paderewski Piano Competition held in Poland, the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition in New York, the Texas Steinway Society Career Development Award, and the Grace Welsh Prize for Piano in Chicago.

Mr. Schneider’s love for unusual works takes shape in many forms. In 2004, he brought the little-known Piano Concerto by Jules Massenet to Oklahoma as a guest artist of the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra, home of the summer OK Mozart Festival. As a devotee of the music of Ignaz Jan Paderewski, Mr. Schneider brings this music to a variety of venues. At the 8th Annual Paderewski Festival in California, his performance of the grueling Paderewski Sonata prompted three standing ovations and three encores. Recent projects include performances with violinist Iryna Krechkovsky of the Corigliano Violin Sonata and performing solo piano works written by Jonathan Sheffer, New York- based conductor and composer, and Cleveland-based composer Klaus George Roy.

The fall of 2004 marked the inauguration of the San Angelo Piano Festival (SAPF), a new festival in West Texas created and directed by Michael Schneider. Annual events include several guest artist recitals, impromptu musicales, a composition contest, and a young artist program that includes a master class and a showcase recital.  One of the missions of the festival is to help bridge the gap between classical music and youth by offering outreach programs to schools in the community. Michael firmly believes in the power of audience participation and involvement. He frequently introduces his programs with a historical perspective and many times shares his own personal and sometimes witty experiences with the music. The third San Angelo Piano Festival took place January 19-21, 2007 where Michael collaborated in a performance with renown violinist Jun Iwasaki. The 4th Festival will take place in January 2008.

Mr. Schneider was an audience favorite at Pianofest in the Hamptons, an eight-week festival that he attended for seven summers. In the Hamptons, he has played for renowned teachers Arie Vardi, Veda Kaplinsky, Paul Schenly, and Van Cliburn silver-medalist Antonio Pompa-Baldi. In 2004, Mr. Schneider was a Master Class Fellow in the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, where he performed for Piotr Anderszewski and Angela Hewitt. He has also performed in master classes for Maria Curcio, Claude Frank, and Peter Frankl. Mr. Schneider spent two years as adjunct Professor of Piano at Youngstown State University* in Ohio, and is now currently in the Doctorate of Musical Arts program at the University of Texas in Austin where he studies with Dr. Anton Nel.

The von Trapp Singers
"The Sound of Music From Salzburg"

The Sound of Music captured the hearts of millions when the film debuted in 1965. Now, forty years later, the von Trapp’s family legacy is born anew. Meet the von Trapp Children: Sofia, Melanie, Amanda, and Justin. They are the great-grandchildren of Captain von Trapp, father of the famous singing family whose story captivated the world in the musical The Sound of Music. The children have continued the tradition of the family’s exceptional musical gift and love of singing, sharing songs and heart-warming family stories of life before and after coming to America.

The von Trapp Children perform a variety of folk and classical songs from various European and American traditions, as well as timeless pieces from The Sound of Music. The children’s effervescent voices mesh the way only a family’s can, and musicians and audiences from all over the world recognize the children’s beautiful harmonic blend and pristine tone.

As a result, they are increasingly in demand as symphony and pops orchestra guest artists. The children have performed with such major orchestras as Boston Pops, Atlanta, Detroit, Cincinnati, Philidelphia and Baltimore. They are currently contracted to perform with the Toronto, Pacific Coast, Edmonton, Oklahoma, Kansas City Symphonies Symphonies, as well repeat performances with the Cincinnati Pops, Atlanta and Indianapolis Symphonies to name a few.

Although the kids started out playing small venues, sell out crowds have carried them into some of the world’s most prestigious theaters, including a date at the Sydney Opera House on a world tour that took them to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Korea and the Philippines. They have also performed around the globe for a variety of media, including appearances on Today (NBC), Fox and Friends (Fox News), Good Morning America (ABC), CBS Sunday Morning, The Grand Ole Opry (GAC), The 700 Club (CBN), Inside Edition, QVC Network and numerous top 20 market television morning and news shows overseas.

Print coverage has included features in Hello Magazine (London), Korea Tatler (Korea), Hachette Fujingaho (Japan), Parade, People, The New York Times, Parade, People, LIFE, Good Housekeeping, Time for Kids, Associated Press, Reuters and dozens of local newspapers around the world.

Donnie Ray Albert
"An Insider's Beethoven 5th"

In the 2003 season, dramatic baritone DONNIE RAY ALBERT returned to Tokyo as the Wanderer in Keith Warner's New National Theatre production of SIEGFRIED. He debuted in the title role of MACBETH at the Klangbogen Festival in Wien. Other highlights include FIDELIO Concert with the Cincinnati Symphony under the baton of Paavo Järvi; Minnesota Symphony's MAHLER 8th with James Conlon and the Cincinnati May Festival with Maestro Colon.

In past seasons, Mr. Albert has performed with the opera companies of Cincinnati, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Washington DC, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Austin, Minnesota, Utah, New Orleans, Baltimore, Columbus, Omaha, Calgary, Edmonton, Canadian, Montreal, Manitoba, Vancouver, Berlin, Giessen, Bordeaux, Köln, Bregenz, Milan, Mannheim and Hamburg.

As a concert artist, Mr. Albert has sung with the orchestras of Washington DC (National), Köln, Southwest Florida, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Jerusalem, Seattle, Minnesota, St. Paul, Los Angeles, Palm Beach, Greensboro, Grant Park Music Festival, and Madison, Vienna and Linz, Austria. He has served as a resident artist with the Center for Black Music Research at Chicago's Columbia College. Mr. Albert appeared at President Carter's Inauguration and in London's Royal Festival Hall.

The 2004 engagements include SALOME in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Dallas Opera's LA VIDA BREVE; FLYING DUTCHMAN with Austin Lyric Opera; Tonio in I PAGLIACI with Opera Pacific; and Count Di Luna in Florentine Opera's IL TROVATORE.

Born in Louisiana, Donnie Ray Albert earned a Bachelor of Music Degree at Louisiana State University and a Master of Music Degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Mr. Albert may be heard on RCA's Grammy Award and Grand Prix du Disque winning recording of Porgy and Bess; NOW's recording of The Horse I Ride Has Wings with David Garvey on piano; EMI's Frühlingsbegräbnis and Eine Florentinesche Tragodie by Zemlinsky conducted by James Conlon; Simon Sargon's A Clear Midnight on Gasparo label; and Harold Blumenfeld's Mythologies on ALBANY label; the recently recorded world premiere of Franz Liszt's St. Stanislaus on Telarc; Donnie Ray Albert In Recital with Jo Anne Ritacca on piano and Tearless, the song cycles of Robert Owens, with Mr. Owens at piano, on CINNABAR RECORDS label.