The Keystone Brass Quintet was founded in the fall of 1976
and presented its first public concert in the spring of 1977 on the campus of
York College. More than 350 performances and 48 years later, two of the five
founding members remain with the ensemble. The cohesive nature of the ensemble
playing and the richness of their sound is due in a very large part to the high
level of musicianship of the unchanging personnel.
The ensemble's extensive repertoire is as varied as the
audiences for which they have performed. Renaissance and Baroque music from the
15th and 16th centuries, romantic melodies, Broadway show tunes, big band
music, marches, opera, and contemporary literature all find their way into
programs presented by this talented group of musicians. Several members of the
group arrange and compose for the quintet.
Concerts have been given in dozens
of churches, on a score of college campuses, and at numerous schools, summer
concert series, nursing homes, and libraries.
Peter Johnston, Trumpet - Pete
is a graduate of Millersville University and is a retired music teacher who
taught in the Gettysburg Area School District for 32 years. After graduation,
Pete performed and traveled the East Coast with a 7 piece dance band. He then
traveled to Caracas, Venezuela, where he performed with the Orquesta Sinfonica
de Venezuela and the National Opera and Ballet orchestras. He returned home in
1980 to be married. Pete has performed with the Keystone Brass Quintet for over
35 years and the Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra for more than 20 years. Pete is a
freelance musician and has performed with orchestras in York, Harrisburg, and
Lancaster and the Shippensburg Festival Orchestra.
Doug Winemiller, Trumpet
- Doug is a charter member of the quintet. He is a graduate of Lebanon Valley College,
where he was first chair and soloist with the college symphonic band and jazz
band. He has studied with James Thurmond at Lebanon Valley College and Donald
Tison of the Baltimore Symphony. Doug has performed with the York Symphony and
as a freelance musician. He retired from teaching music and computer science in
the South Eastern School District.
Steve Burg, Horn - Steve
is a charter member of the group and held the position of Principal Horn with
the York Symphony Orchestra (YSO) from 1978 to 2010. He retired from the YSO in
May 2017, after 45 years of service. Steve has performed with the Harrisburg
Opera Orchestra, the Pine Street Presbyterian Festival Orchestra of Harrisburg,
the York Oratorio Society Orchestra, the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, the
Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra, the Spring Garden Band of York, and various other
groups in the Central Pennsylvania Area.
Mike Hartman, Trombone - Mike
is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University. While at Penn State, He
performed with various musical groups, including the Blue Band. Currently, Mike
is a member of the Spring Garden Band of York and is an active freelance
musician with various other groups in the area.
George DeMers, Tuba - George is a
graduate of The Pennsylvania State University where he performed regularly in
various ensembles and The Blue Band. George studied with Gerald Mickey, Mark
Lusk, Eric Henry, and Grant Moore. While at college, he was the principal tuba
with the Altoona Symphony. Currently, he performs with the Spring Garden Band,
the New Holland Band, the Egerlander German Band, and freelances with various
ensembles and musical groups. George has also performed with The York Symphony
Orchestra.
For more information on the KEYSTONE BRASS QUINTET contact Steve Burg:
