About the Musicians'
Galen McKinney
David Auman
David Elkin
Clayton Dewalt
David Egyud
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Galen McKinney
 Galen began his
studies with Robert Dolwick, principal trumpet of the Erie
Philharmonic, and studied with him for nearly 10 years. During
this time Galen was a member of the Erie Junior Philharmonic and
brass ensemble and also served as principal trumpet for both
groups throughout high school. In 1997 he also won the Eiji Oue
Concerto Competition.
He received the Hall of Flame award for the arts in music and
the D’Angelo Music Scholarship. Upon graduating from McDowell,
Galen attended Penn State University as a music performance
major, where he studied with John Daniel, Dan Yoder, Mark Lusk,
and Dr.Langston Fitzgerald. During this time he was a member of
the Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz I and II, Symphony
Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and PSU Brass Quintet. Galen
graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor of Music in Performance
degree.
After his bachelor’s degree, Galen then attended Mercyhurst
College in Erie Pennsylvania for a Music Education Certificate.
Galen served as the lead trumpet for the Mercyhurst jazz
ensemble for three years. His major teacher during this time was
Dr.Mathew Inkster. While at Mercyhurst, Galen founded the
Crossroads Jazz Orchestra with his brother Aaron McKinney. This
group has performed at the Erie Arts Festival, The Erie Blues
and Jazz Festival, Celebrate Erie, and the Grape Festival in
North East Pa.
In his last year at Mercyhurst, Galen began studies with
Dr.Stephen Hawk at Slippery Rock University. This is where Galen
and Dave Auman met to form Bridge City Brass. Galen performed as
lead trumpet with Slippery Rock Jazz and traveled to the
Montreux and North Sea jazz festivals in Europe during the
summer of 2006.
Galen is currently living in Pittsburgh with his wife Elizabeth,
where they attend Duquesne University as Graduate Students.
Galen is the Graduate Assistant in Jazz Studies where he studies
with Mike Tomaro and Sean Jones. Galen performs as lead trumpet
with the Duquesne Jazz Ensemble and has performed with many of
the groups around Pittsburgh, including Azucar, Lets be Frank, &
The Three Rivers Jazz Orchestra. He currently serves as a staff
instructor for the Duquesne Summer Jazz Camp. Galen has also
been on a recent recording with the Three Rivers Jazz Orchestra
for Mike Tomaro’s arranging book that will be released by Hal
Leonard.
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David Auman
 David Auman began
his musical career studying trumpet with his father, David Auman,
Sr., a founding member of the River City Brass Band. In high
school, David studied with Charles Lirette of the Pittsburgh
Symphony and continued studying with him at Duquesne University.
Auman graduated in 2006 from Slippery Rock University where he
studied with Dr. Stephen Hawk. While at Slippery Rock, Auman
played in the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Orchestra, Brass
Ensemble, Trumpet Ensemble, and Jazz Ensemble, with whom he
toured Europe twice, including performances at Montreaux and
North Sea jazz festivals.
In 2004, David took a “sabbatical” from college to play
professionally at Huis Ten Bosch, a Dutch-themed resort in
Nagasaki, Japan, modeled after a Dutch colony during Japan’s
Isolationist period. At Huis Ten Bosch, lovingly nicknamed “Japansterdam,”
Auman performed in the Brass Quintet, Big Band, and Latin Band.
After completing his contract there, he returned to America to
finish his Bachelor of Science in Music Education at Slippery
Rock University. It was at this time that Dave met Galen
McKinney and the Bridge City Brass was born!
David currently lives in Pittsburgh with his wife Suzanne. He
can be seen playing trumpet weekly as part of the praise band at
Christ Church at Grove farm in Sewickley (www.ccgf.org). Auman
is a founding member of the Bridge City Brass and the Crossroads
Jazz Orchestra. David is also a freelance trumpet player in the
Pittsburgh area and has performed with the Mike Tomaro Big Band,
Rodger Humphries Big Band, Allegheny Brass Band, Billy Mancini
Band, Cefalo’s Big Night Band, and others. During the day, Auman
is an Educational Sales Representative for Volkwein’s Music and
teaches brass at Waynesburg University.
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 David
Elkin
Elkin, B.M. Temple University, is studying with Bill Caballero
of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and has studied with Dan
Williams of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. Currently Elkin
is a M.M. student and graduate assistant at Duquesne University
where he teaches horn lessons and leads the horn ensemble.
Elkin has worked for the Haddonfield, McKeesport,
Williamsport, Curtis, Duquesne University, and Temple University
Orchestras. He has also worked as an assistant and player with
the Settlement School of Music and New School of Music of
Philadelphia in chamber music settings.
Beyond writing his graduate thesis, Elkin is taking
orchestral auditions at the national level, working with the
newly formed Bridge City Brass, developing and marketing
horn-related gadgets, and will be playing the premier of "O
Glorious Ones" a musical by Stephen Flaherty this Spring 2007. |
Clayton Dewalt
Clayton graduated from Slippery Rock
University with a B.A. in Music Performance and a B.S. in Music
Education. While at Slippery Rock, he studied trombone under Dan
Cloutier, Steve Hawk, Terry Steele, and the late Pat Myers, as
well as with Becky Cherian of the Pittsburgh Symphony.
Clayton’s performance/recording career started in his early
teens, when he began working with his father’s jazz-band, Catro.
He also started playing with the world-beat group Bollomahkissy,
joining them on a tour in South Africa and an appearance at the
Kennedy Center. Since then, Clayton has continued to play within
a wide range of musical styles, such as jazz, classical, rock,
Afro-Caribbean and R&B. In recent years, he has held positions
in the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony as well as the 2005 All
American College Band in Disneyland, Anaheim, CA. Currently one
of Pittsburgh’s busiest trombonists, Clayton has shared the
stage with internationally known recording artists Dave Samuels,
Rebecca Paris, Bob Florence, Randy Brecker, and The Temptations,
among others. He has performed with such big band legends as the
Gene Krupa Orchestra and the Jimmy Dorsey Band, and can be heard
on recordings by the Three Rivers Jazz Orchestra (Sea Breeze
Records), Azucar, Catro, and Gemini. In addition, Clayton can be
seen playing locally with the groups Let’s be Frank, Cityscape,
Joe Herndon’s Little Big Band, and The Raw Sugar Brass Band.
Aside from performing, Clayton maintains a private teaching
studio and has worked as a section coach for a handful of the
area’s jazz and marching bands. |
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Jim Stillwagon
Jim Stillwagon is the newest member of
Bridge City Brass. He began studying tuba at a very young age
under the tutelage of his father Jim Stillwagon Sr. Jim comes
from a very musical family where his parents both served as
music teachers in the Pittsburgh Public Schools and his father
Jim Sr. is a founding and current member of Pittsburgh’s own
River City Brass Band. Jim’s private teachers include Jim
Stillwagon Sr., David McCollum, and Matthew Shiner.
Jim is a 1994 graduate of West Mifflin High school where he
participated as Principal Tuba at many PMEA festivals at the
District, Region, and State levels in both the Band and
Orchestra. He also was chosen as the principal tuba player to
perform in the 1994 All Eastern Orchestra which encompassed 13
states. Jim served as the Principal Tuba with the Pittsburgh
Youth Symphony for 6 years, Three Rivers Young Persons Orchestra
for 4 years, and River City Youth Brass Band for 6 years. In
1994 Jim won the TRYPO concerto competition and performed the
Vaughn Williams Tuba Concerto with the orchestra. He also won
the Mt. Lebanon Keynotes Scholarship Competition against college
students from Eastman and Julliard.
Jim received a full music scholarship to West Virginia
University in 1994. He graduated in 1998 with a B.S. in Music
Education where he studied privately with David McCollum. During
his tenure at WVU Jim sat as Principal Tuba with the WVU Wind
Symphony and Symphony Orchestra. He was also the tuba section
leader in the WVU Marching Band and Pep Band. While at West
Virginia, Jim won the Young artist competition in consecutive
years. As a result, he performed the Vaughn Williams Tuba
Concerto in 1997 and The Edward Gregson Tuba Concerto in 1998
both with the West Virginia University Symphony Orchestra.
As a professional Jim has performed with the Johnstown Symphony,
Western Maryland Symphony, Wheeling Symphony, Byham Opera
Orchestra, Pittsburgh Pirate Bucco Band, Entertainers, Carnegie
Brass, Bridge City Brass and River City Brass Band. Jim played
with the River City Brass Band for 3 years and was asked to
perform the Canadian Brass version of Tuba Tiger Rag as a
soloist. Jim continues to work as a freelance musician in the
tri-state area as well as teach private lessons. Jim has been a
teacher in the Pine Richland School District for 8 years where
he teaches band to students at levels 4-12. Jim also served as
the orchestra director for Pine Richland’s High School Musical
for 5 years. His student orchestra has been nominated several
times and won the Gene Kelly Award for best all-student
orchestra. |
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