Welcome to the web site for the Celebration Brass Quintet of Minnesota

The Celebration Brass Quintet was founded in 2001 by members of the Minnetonka Symphony Orchestra and began its career as artists-in-residence at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Hopkins. Drawing from a library of over 300 arrangements, the quintet has developed a wide repertoire in a variety of musical genres, including jazz, dixieland, ragtime, classical, show tunes, and "golden oldies." The Celebration Brass has played at numerous venues across the Twin Cities area, including Music Association of Minnetonka concerts, weddings, churches, arts centers, retail stores and senior residences.

	Steve Lea - Trumpet * Steve Lea graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN. He currently performs with the Minnetonka Symphony, Minnetonka Band, Celebration Brass, Cannon Brass Choir, Silver Lake Brass and the Maple Grove Jazz Ensemble. Steve also arranges and directs instrumental music for Family of Christ Lutheran in Ham Lake, MN on a weekly basis. In real life he is a mild mannered Operational Loss Risk Analyst with USBancorp. He lives is Andover, MN with his wife Beth and daughter Kyri. * Founding Member
	Betty Mackay - Trumpet * Betty pursued her music studies at Augsburg College. She is a member of Brava! Brass Quintet and has played for over 30 years with the Da Capo Brass Quintet, whose performances include the Prairie Home Companion and Minnesota Public Radio's Live From Landmark concert series, and numerous recitals at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Betty is also a member of the Minnetonka Symphony Orchestra and also has performed with the Dakota Valley Symphony, the Dakota Valley Summer Pops Orchestra, the Kenwood Orchestra, Allegro Symphonia, and the Minneapolis Civic Orchestra. Betty performs regularly with theater groups across the Twin Cities area, including the Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company, the Lakeshore Players, the Moundsview Community Theater, the Cross Community Players, the Maquers Theater and the Morris Park Players.
	Oliver Lemke - French Horn Oliver majored in the French horn and graduated with honors from the Birmingham Conservatoire in Birmingham, England. He played in a variety of regional orchestras and concert bands in England, including the horn quartet 'Pause for Thought', and in the shows 'Guys and Dolls' and 'Wizard of Oz'. Since moving to the US in 2003, Oliver has been a regular member of the Minnetonka Symphony Orchestra. He joined the Celebration Brass in 2004.
	Kevin Duggins - Trombone Kevin graduated from Indiana University with a Master of Music degree in trombone performance. He plays in Brio Brass and the Minnetonka Concert Band and he has played with several other groups in the Twin Cities, including the Minnetonka Symphony, the Cities Orchestra, Universal Jazz, Moundsview Community Theater, and the Calhoun-Isles Community Band. Some of the other musical groups Kevin has performed with include the South Dakota Symphony, the Sioux City (Iowa) Symphony, Columbus (Indiana) Pro Musica, Cumberland County (Tennessee) Playhouse and The Carpenters.
	Bob Mecum - Tuba * Bob pursued performance music studies at Pepperdine University, Malibu CA, California State University at Los Angeles, and at California State University at Fullerton. He is currently is a freelance tubist and has played with Minneapolis area groups, such as the Minnetonka Symphony Orchestra, the John Philip Sousa Memorial Band, and Southern California groups, such as Hour of Power Television Orchestra and Glory of Christmas/Easter Pagents- Schueller Ministries. Bob plays Mirafone tubas exclusively.