MSU Photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez
Bridger Brass Quintet musicians, from left, Briana Gillet, Kimberly Dattoli, Marques Ceasar-Lopez, Erica Eggleton and Jimmy Kelsey took first place in the Montana Music Teachers National Association state level competition in November. They will advance to the divisional round in January, to be held in Cheney, Washington, at Eastern Washington University.
The quintet is comprised of both music majors and non-music majors, including Briana Gillet, trumpet, a junior business management and music major from Bozeman; Jimmy Kelsey, trumpet, a junior music technology major from Bridger; Erica Eggleton, french horn, a senior chemical engineering major from Omaha, Nebraska; Kimberly Dattoli, trombone, a junior at Montana Bible College majoring in biblical studies, from Elmhurst, Illinois; and Marques Ceasar-Lopez, tuba, a junior music technology major from Alamosa, Colorado. The group performs together regularly at university functions, in the community and at local schools as part of educational outreach presentations.
“One of my greatest joys as an instructor is the ability to witness each student find and exercise their own musical voice,” Stoneback said. “The members of Bridger Brass have worked so hard, dedicated themselves to this group and have certainly made great progress toward finding that voice. I couldn’t be happier for them right now, and I have no doubt that they are going to have great things to say with their musicianship in January.”
