Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Stephen DiBonaventura in concert
Members of the United States Air Force Band, Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Gil Corella and Friends.
Paste this link onto your explorer bar for a very special one hour banjo concert.
http://kennedy-center.org/explorer/videos/?id=M4099&type=A
Tubist Senior Master Sergeant Gilbert C. Corella is the Special Events Manager for The United States Air Force Band, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington D.C. Originally from Miami, Fla., his career in the Air Force began in 1985 as a tubist with the Ceremonial Brass, and has also appeared as a soloist with the Concert Band and Chamber Orchestra. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.), a Master of Music degree in performance and conducting from George Mason University (Fairfax, Va.), and a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the Catholic University of America, as the school’s first-ever graduate in tuba performance. Prior to joining The United States Air Force Band, Sergeant Corella performed with Disneyland's All-American College Band in Anaheim, Calif. As an active freelance artist, he has performed as a jazz tubist throughout the Washington, D.C. area. He has represented The United States Air Force Band at numerous conventions, including the Fretted Instrument Guild of the Americas and Mid-America Banjo Enthusiasts' international conventions, and the International Tuba-Euphonium Association conventions. Sergeant Corella is currently the tuba-euphonium professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C, as well as the conductor of the Loudoun Symphonic Winds, based in Sterling, Va. In 2005, he founded the Serapis Foundation, a non-profit organization comprised of professional musicians, whose purpose centers upon educational outreach for economically challenged and diverse adolescents.
Tenor Banjoist Stephen DiBonaventura started playing on his 12th birthday, studying music with a number of teachers. As a young lad, he became involved with the Philadelphia string bands and marched in the annual Mummer’s day parade on New Year’s Day, weather permitting. In 1988, Mr. DiBonaventura was invited to perform at the White House as a special guest soloist with the United States Air Force Band. He has performed with several jazz bands and has been featured at Harrah’s Casino and Showboat Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., as well as a headliner at a number of banjo festivals throughout the United States and in Europe. When not performing, Mr. DiBonaventura leads a quiet and stress-free life as a tax lawyer, practicing his craft in Philadelphia, as a partner of Duane, Morris LLP, a national law firm.
Guitarist Ken Hall received his Masters Degree in jazz composition from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In 1991, he toured the former Soviet Union on a Soviet State Department-sponsored tour, and he has performed with jazz luminaries such as Slide Hampton, Max Roach, Archie Shepp, Dave Weckl, Cecil Bridgewater, and others. Mr. Hall can be heard on recordings by the Jeff Holmes Big Band, Unnatural Ax, and his own self-titled, self-produced CDs. A former instructor of jazz guitar at Amherst College, the University of Massachusetts, and Westfield State College, he is presently a faculty member at the National Guitar Workshop, Shenandoah Conservatory, and Northern Virginia Community College.
Drummer Mike Flaherty retired as an Army musician after 22 years. He began his career as a percussionist with the 2nd Armored Division Band in 1980, but spent most of his career as a drummer with the famed United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps performs at the White House and regularly entertains at military and State Department functions and events. Since his retirement, Mr. Flaherty performs regularly with the Peabody Ragtime Ensemble, and is a freelance musician in the Baltimore/Washington area. He has been featured with several bands in the area such as: the Eric Felton Big Band, New Columbia Jazz Orchestra, Kaleidoscope Big Band, and the New Breed Quintet. Additionally, he has performed with Ryan Burrage and His Rhythmakers, and Jacques Gouthe and His Creole Rice Jazz Band, at the 2006 French Quarter Jazz Festival in New Orleans. Recently, he performed with the famous New Orleans Jazz clarinetist, Louis Ford at the Takoma Park Jazz Festival.
Paste this link onto your explorer bar for a very special one hour banjo concert.
http://kennedy-center.org/explorer/videos/?id=M4099&type=A
Tubist Senior Master Sergeant Gilbert C. Corella is the Special Events Manager for The United States Air Force Band, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington D.C. Originally from Miami, Fla., his career in the Air Force began in 1985 as a tubist with the Ceremonial Brass, and has also appeared as a soloist with the Concert Band and Chamber Orchestra. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.), a Master of Music degree in performance and conducting from George Mason University (Fairfax, Va.), and a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the Catholic University of America, as the school’s first-ever graduate in tuba performance. Prior to joining The United States Air Force Band, Sergeant Corella performed with Disneyland's All-American College Band in Anaheim, Calif. As an active freelance artist, he has performed as a jazz tubist throughout the Washington, D.C. area. He has represented The United States Air Force Band at numerous conventions, including the Fretted Instrument Guild of the Americas and Mid-America Banjo Enthusiasts' international conventions, and the International Tuba-Euphonium Association conventions. Sergeant Corella is currently the tuba-euphonium professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C, as well as the conductor of the Loudoun Symphonic Winds, based in Sterling, Va. In 2005, he founded the Serapis Foundation, a non-profit organization comprised of professional musicians, whose purpose centers upon educational outreach for economically challenged and diverse adolescents.
Tenor Banjoist Stephen DiBonaventura started playing on his 12th birthday, studying music with a number of teachers. As a young lad, he became involved with the Philadelphia string bands and marched in the annual Mummer’s day parade on New Year’s Day, weather permitting. In 1988, Mr. DiBonaventura was invited to perform at the White House as a special guest soloist with the United States Air Force Band. He has performed with several jazz bands and has been featured at Harrah’s Casino and Showboat Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., as well as a headliner at a number of banjo festivals throughout the United States and in Europe. When not performing, Mr. DiBonaventura leads a quiet and stress-free life as a tax lawyer, practicing his craft in Philadelphia, as a partner of Duane, Morris LLP, a national law firm.
Guitarist Ken Hall received his Masters Degree in jazz composition from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In 1991, he toured the former Soviet Union on a Soviet State Department-sponsored tour, and he has performed with jazz luminaries such as Slide Hampton, Max Roach, Archie Shepp, Dave Weckl, Cecil Bridgewater, and others. Mr. Hall can be heard on recordings by the Jeff Holmes Big Band, Unnatural Ax, and his own self-titled, self-produced CDs. A former instructor of jazz guitar at Amherst College, the University of Massachusetts, and Westfield State College, he is presently a faculty member at the National Guitar Workshop, Shenandoah Conservatory, and Northern Virginia Community College.
Drummer Mike Flaherty retired as an Army musician after 22 years. He began his career as a percussionist with the 2nd Armored Division Band in 1980, but spent most of his career as a drummer with the famed United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps performs at the White House and regularly entertains at military and State Department functions and events. Since his retirement, Mr. Flaherty performs regularly with the Peabody Ragtime Ensemble, and is a freelance musician in the Baltimore/Washington area. He has been featured with several bands in the area such as: the Eric Felton Big Band, New Columbia Jazz Orchestra, Kaleidoscope Big Band, and the New Breed Quintet. Additionally, he has performed with Ryan Burrage and His Rhythmakers, and Jacques Gouthe and His Creole Rice Jazz Band, at the 2006 French Quarter Jazz Festival in New Orleans. Recently, he performed with the famous New Orleans Jazz clarinetist, Louis Ford at the Takoma Park Jazz Festival.
