Founded in 1998, the Saint Louis Brass Band features some of the area’s finest brass musicians, educators and students who come together to perform classics, marches, jazz and the very best contemporary brass band music. Acclaimed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as “one of the city’s newest treasures,” the STLBB has won awards at NABBA and the US Open Bass Band Championships. Generous financial support has come from the Missouri Arts Council, Regional Arts Commission, Ameren Illinois, the Garvey Foundation, Boeing and area music stores throughout the region.

Guest soloists with the Saint Louis Brass Band include Karin Bliznik (Principal Trumpet – St. Louis Symphony Orchestra), Gerry Pagano (Bass Trombone – St. Louis Symphony Orchestra), J.D. Shaw (Boston Brass co-founder and horn), Christine Brewer (Grammy award-winning soprano) and Demondrae Thurman (Professor of Euphonium, Indiana University).

Over the last 25 years, Demondrae Thurman has established a worldwide reputation through his varied experiences as a euphonium soloist, educator, chamber musician and conductor. He has given performances in Canada, Hungary, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, France, Spain, Taiwan, Macau, Norway, China, Italy, Austria, England, Wales and throughout the United States. Demondrae is a frequently invited guest at many of the world’s most noted festivals and conferences for Low Brass including the International Euphonium Tuba Conference, Jeju International Brass and Percussion Competition, the United States Army Band Tuba Euphonium Workshop and the Leonard Falcone International Solo Competition.

Demondrae has released four solo recordings with his latest album being titled Sound and Light. The Sotto Voce quartet has four studio recordings in addition to a live performance recording from the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the most prominent music educator’s conference in the United States.

The Saint Louis Academy Brass Band, now in its sixth season, is an extension of the Educational Outreach of the Saint Louis Brass Band. The development of this Program is an ongoing process that offers the joy of the brass banding world to the brass and percussion students of the St. Louis Metropolitan area.

Students on both sides of the Mississippi River have the opportunity to perform and study with the many outstanding musicians and educators in the Saint Louis Brass Band, as well as the thrill of working with world class clinicians and soloists. Bringing this exciting music, the amazing world of brass banding, and wonderful educational opportunities to these student musicians is a joy for all involved.