This concert features music composed by brass players Thomas Stevens, Edward Gregson, Anthony Plog, John Stevens, and Mason Moy, a JMU composition major. JMU faculty member Kevin Stees will be joined by pianist Amy Robertson and trombonist Kyle Remnant, as well as several members of the JMU Tuba-Euphonium Studio.

Kevin Stees, now in his 35th year as Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at James Madison University, leads an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, conductor and music educator. Stees has been a finalist in several solo competitions and was a prize winner in the Second International Brass Congress Tuba Solo Competition. He has presented solo and chamber music performances at numerous universities, conferences, music festivals and workshops throughout the United States.

In addition to performances on tuba, Stees is active as the conductor of the internationally-recognized James Madison University Brass Band, having led the ensemble in performances at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and the Brucknerhaus Concert Hall in Linz, Austria, as well as music venues throughout England, Wales and Austria. Stees is also the conductor of the award-winning Massanutten Brass Band.

Amy Robertson has been a featured soloist with the Prince William Symphony Orchestra and a finalist in the Hilton Head International Piano Competition. She has been piano accompanist of the Shenandoah Valley Choral Society since 1996, and served as an accompanist at the North American Brass Band Association annual conference from 2012-2018. In 2000, Robertson auditioned for and attended the American Institute of Music Studies program in Graz, Austria, where she studied German lied and accompanied vocalists in local concerts. Robertson served as the staff accompanist for the JMU School of Music in 1999. In addition to working with JMU students and faculty, she has worked with guest artists such as Mark Thiele, Sheona White, Steven Mead, Weston Sprott, David Thornton, Brett Baker, Abel Pereira, James Markey, and the Trans-Atlantic Horn Duo. Robertson holds a B.A. in piano accompanying and an M.M. in piano performance from JMU.