Brass Transit was formed in 2008 and brought together 8 of the most talented and accomplished award-winning musicians. Their sole purpose was to pay tribute to one of the world’s greatest and most successful pop/rock groups of all time, CHICAGO.

Since then, the group has toured North America dazzling audiences with their flawless performances and spectacular attention to every detail of the CHICAGO songbook. Hit like: “Saturday in the Park,” “25 or 6 to 4,” “If You Leave Me Now,” “You’re The Inspiration” have left crowds in awe and on their feet more than once during a show, evoking comments like “Spine-Tingling,” “Brought me back to my youth,” and “Perfect in every detail.” Bass Transit goes far beyond just imitating the songs, they embody the music.

They recently produced their first CD taking top hits from the ‘70s and recording them with horns in the CHICAGO style. The result is a fresh approach to some of the greatest hits of that era. They have also just recently scored their show for full Symphony with luscious orchestral arrangements that are truly spellbinding.

Brass Transit will bring you back to the most memorable times of your life.

For 33 years Paul Shaffer served as David Letterman’s musical director and sidekick  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv8kfNRE5u4 .

Paul began his career in 1972 as musical director of the Toronto production of “Godspell.”  He played piano in “The Magic Show” on Broadway in 1974, then spent the next five years with the original “Saturday Night Live,” where he played keyboards, composed special musical material and, in 1980, became a featured performer.

In 1977, he took a brief break from the show to star in the CBS comedy series “A Year at the Top,” produced by Norman Lear and Don Kirshner.  After his return to “Saturday Night Live,” he collaborated with Gilda Radner on the songs for her Broadway show, in which he also appeared.  He served as musical director for the Blues Brothers – John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd – for their triple platinum album and national tour. His guest starring television appearances include “Ed”, “The Sopranos”, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, “Schitt’s Creek” and “How I Met Your Mother”. Paul starred with Bill Murray in and was musical director for the Netflix special “A Very Murray Christmas”, directed by Sofia Coppola, for which he received his fourth EMMY® nomination. He continues his erstwhile series of “mini-residencies” at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas , performing at the iconic Cleopatra’s Barge  https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/david-letterman-makes-surprise-appearance-at-paul-shaffers-vegas-show-1140778.  He recently performed with the Kalamazoo Symphony and the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra, and has upcoming appearances with the Pittsburgh, Cincinatti, and Winnipeg symphonies. His new series of prime time radio specials, “Paul Shaffer + 1” is airing on on SiriusXM, and will be premiering this fall on AXS TV. Guests include Joe Walsh, Donald Fagen, Graham Nash, Buddy Guy, and Smokey Robinson.

In addition to recording his own albums, Coast to Coast (1989) and The World’s Most Dangerous Party (1993), Shaffer has recorded with such diverse artists as Diana Ross, Yoko Ono, and Robert Plant’s Honeydrippers.  He composed the LATE SHOW theme song and, with Paul Jabara, wrote the Number One global ’80s dance hit “It’s Raining Men,” performed by the Weather Girls and re-recorded by Geri Halliwell for the “Bridget Jones’s Diary” soundtrack, topping the British pop charts in 2001.  In 2002, he received his first GRAMMY®, Best Country Instrumental, for the Earl Scruggs and Friends album, and co-produced an avant-garde jazz album for his mentor, Tsziji Munoz. His latest album, Paul Shaffer & The World’s Most Dangerous Band, features such diverse guest vocalists as Valerie Simpson, Darius Rucker, Jenny Lewis, Dion, Shaggy, and Bill Murray: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSuB4Su6wCM  ,    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTeT9TkC1r8 .

His feature film roles include Artie Fufkin in Rob Reiner’s “This Is Spinal Tap.”  He also appeared in the Mike Nichols-directed “Gilda Live,” the Bill Murray movie “Scrooged,” and with John Travolta in “Look Who’s Talking Too.”  He is heard as the voice of Hermes in Disney’s animated feature “Hercules” and the television series based on the film.  He produced the gold-selling soundtrack for and appeared in “Blues Brothers 2000”, and composed original songs for the movie “Strangers with Candy.” He composed the theme songs for both David Letterman’s new Netflix series and Bill Murray’s new Facebook series, and is currently producing the music for Sofia Coppola’s latest film “On The Rocks” starring Bill Murray.

Shaffer has served as musical director and producer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony since its inception in 1986.  He led the band for the “We Are the World” finale of Live Aid.  Shaffer hosted CBS’s 1994 New Year’s Eve special from New York’s Times Square and was musical director of the closing concert at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.  He appeared with the Blues Brothers at the 1996 Super Bowl halftime show and was musical director of the 1999 Concert of the Century at the White House, featuring Eric Clapton, B. B. King, Gloria Estefan, ‘N Sync and others, to aid music programs in public schools.  He was Paul McCartney’s musical director for  “Concert for New York” and appeared with Faith Hill on the “America: A Tribute to Heroes” telethon, both of which honored and raised money for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

“Paul Shaffer’s This Day in Rock,” is a daily interstitial feature nationally syndicated by Envision Radio  http://www.paulshaffersdayinrock.com .  Paul’s best-selling memoir, We’ll Be Here For The Rest of Our Lives, is published by Random House https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LfYdZNghCk  . His new television series, “Paul Shaffer Plus One”, debuted in September on AXS-TV https://deadline.com/2019/06/paul-shaffer-plus-one-music-interview-show-premiere-date-axs-tv-1202635635/  — the extended radio version airs on SiriusXM. And he appeared as “Skeleton” on the current season of the Masked Singer the #1 TV show in the country.

Shaffer holds two honorary doctorate degrees, was inducted into the National Black Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame, and awarded a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame.  In 2008, Paul received the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian honor.  He lives in the New York area with his wife and two children.

Fox TV extended career overview: https://www.fox5vegas.com/video/paul-shaffer-reflects-on-his-music-career/video_47067fef-f024-56df-bc4c-73cb1454ffc4.html

Craig A Meyer has traversed all four corners of the entertainment industry, making strong impressions in theatre, film, television and music.

On Broadway, Meyer created the role of Clinton Badger in MGM’s classic Meet Me In St Louis and toured nationally in Cats as Skimbleshanks, The Red Caboose in Starlight Express, and Mike Nulty in Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.

Atlanta performances include appearances at the Tony Award winning Alliance Theatre in the critically acclaimed Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris for which he also served as the choreographer. The production was honored with a Suzi Bass Award for Best Musical Production in 2008. Meyer was thrilled to win the Suzi Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical.  Meyer’s creative contribution to the original production of Brel…was recognized with a Suzi nomination for Outstanding Choreography.

Regionally, he has starred in Forever Plaid (Frankie), A Class Act (Lehman Engel), Crazy For You (Bobby Child), 42nd Street (Billy Lawlor), The All Night Strut and the West Coast Premiere of The Thing About Men (Man).

Television and film appearances include guest-starring roles on “Necessary Roughness”, “Will & Grace”, “Good Morning Miami”, “Family Law”, “General Hospital”, and “Fernwood 2nite” as well as working with Alan Menken on Disney’s Aladdin, and with Tim Rice and Elton John on The Lion King. Film credits include Leatherheads with George Clooney and Renee Zellweger, Joyful Noise with Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah and Identity Thief with Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy.

In music, Meyer has toured internationally and recorded with music legends Barry Manilow and Frankie Valli, and has headlined for Princess Cruises around the world.

Throughout Meyer’s busy career, he was repeatedly approached about his striking resemblance to Elton John and his uncanny ability to sound like the rock and roll legend. Meyer was eventually persuaded to expand his repertoire and began impersonating Sir Elton John.

Today, he is considered to be the best Elton John tribute artist in the market whose strong vocals, striking resemblance and amazing talent on the piano has audiences everywhere remembering when rock was young.

This spectacular musical journey celebrates the decades of chart topping hits by Sir Elton John, including: “Benny and the Jets”, “Philadelphia Freedom”, “Crocodile Rock,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and “Candle in the Wind.”

A celebration of the character, costumes and charisma of the famed pianist and singer, Meyer’s fully produced show has captivated audiences throughout the United States and abroad.

Conductor (abbreviated credits)

Evanescence Synthesis Live Blu-ray DVD Release
Lindsey Stirling – Summer Tour 2018 with Orchestra (North America)
Fornite United Recording, Los Angeles
Evanescence Synthesis Live Tour 2017-2018 (North America, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, Russia)
Pokémon Symphonic Evolutions Tour (North America, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, South America)
The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses Tour (North American, United Kingdom, South America)

Mary Poppins Live Kansas City Symphony
ReCore (Microsoft) Air Studios, London
League of Legends
Frozen Live
Lego Jurassic World Slovak Radio Hall, Slovakia
Star Trek Slovak Radio Hall, Slovakia
Pixar in Concert Various cities
Resident Evil 7 Capitol Studios, Los Angeles
Need for Speed Sony, Los Angeles
Voice from the Stone Air Studios, London
Aliens: Colonial Marines Ocean Way, Nashville
The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia Skywalker Sound, Marin County
Piranha 3-D Prague TV studio, Prague
Marvel’s: The Punisher: War Zone Bastyr Church, Seattle
Never Back Down Bastyr Church, Seattle

Gary Mauer was seen on Broadway as the Phantom in the Hal Prince production of The Phantom of the Opera, a role he previously performed on the National tour. Previously he starred in the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera, performing the romantic leading role of Raoul. In addition, Mr. Mauer performed in the Broadway production of Les Miserables in the role of Enjolras, the revolutionary leader, a role he also performed with the National Tour in the US and Singapore. In addition, he performed the leading role of Gaylord Ravenal in the National Tour of Show Boat, opposite his wife, Elizabeth Southard. Mr. Mauer was also a featured soloist in the world tour of “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber,” with Michael Crawford, bringing him to Japan, Australia, England, Scotland and culminating back in the US, where he performed for two weeks at the famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Regionally, his numerous credits include Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance, Anthony in Sweeney Todd, Tony in West Side Story, Whizzer in March of the  Falsettos and Danny in Baby.

A graduate of the University of Arizona, Mr. Mauer has performed with symphony orchestras all over the world including the Brazil Symphony Orchestra in Rio de Janeiro the Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony (with Marvin Hamlisch), Hong Kong Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, Utah Symphony and Opera, Buffalo Philharmonic, Phoenix Symphony, San Diego Symphony, among many others. Mr. Mauer has performed numerous times with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops and toured with Mr. Nero in Spain. Gary was the guest soloist in many concerts with the late Marvin Hamlisch. He is the tenor soloist in the popular BRAVO Broadway!

Heralded as “superb” by the San Francisco Classical Voice, violinist/violist Alex Granger enjoys a wide variety of performance opportunities from solo recital appearances to studio recordings, and performances with some of Los Angeles’ most exciting ensembles. An experienced performer of music by living composers, Alex has premiered over 50 works in the past 5 years as a soloist, concertmaster, and chamber musician, working directly with some of the world’s foremost composers.

Recent festival appearances include the Breckenridge Music Festival, the Eastern Sierra Summer Festival, the Carlsbad Music Festival, and a world premiere of Lucas Floyd’s Violin Concerto at the Hot Air Festival in San Francisco. Alex is a faculty member of Porterville Strings, a founding member of the Ubuntu String Quartet, and a graduate of the Biola Conservatory of Music and USC’s Thornton School of Music where he studied with Henry Gronnier, Bing Wang, and Midori Goto.

Alex joined the Long Beach Symphony viola section in 2019 and resides in Huntington Beach with his wife, Chiai, and their sweet little dog, Ella.

Composer and violist Jonah Sirota is a new breed of multi-talented musician. Equally at home writing concert music, scoring soundtracks for TV, film, and videogames, and performing on the concert stage and in recording sessions, Jonah creates and recreates vivid music for a wide variety of audiences.  His debut solo recording STRONG SAD, a 2018 National Sawdust Tracks release, features premiere recordings of new elegies for the viola by Nico Muhly, Paola Prestini, Arthur Joseph McCaffrey, Valgeir Sigurðsson, Robert Sirota, Kurt Knecht, and Jonah himself.  His orchestral work Grounded was recently performed by major youth orchestras in New York and Massachusetts, and his soundtrack to the Public Television documentary Return of the American Bison was nominated for a 2019 Heartland Emmy Award.

Jonah was the violist of the recently-disbanded Chiara String Quartet for all of its 18 years. With the Chiara Quartet, he toured internationally, recorded seven albums and played in numerous major venues worldwide. The Chiara Quartet performed much of the string quartet repertoire from memory (‘By Heart”), including the complete string quartets of Béla Bartók, a recording of which was released in 2016 on Azica Records. The group was honored with a Grammy nomination (2011, Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Jefferson Friedman’s 3rd String Quartet on the New Amsterdam label), the ASCAP/CMA Adventurous Programming Award, the Guarneri Quartet Award, top prizes at the Paolo Borciani Competition and the Astral Artistic Services Audition, and a Gold Medal at the Fischoff Competition. Their albums have been featured on N.P.R., and in “Best of the Year” lists from the Boston Globe, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. In the 2015-2016 season, the group was in residence at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, a venue to which the group returned for their farewell New York concert in May of 2018. As a concert violist, Jonah performs with pianist Molly Morkoski, with organist Kurt Knecht as the improv duo Mondegreen, and as a member of the revived California String Quartet.  He is sought after as a Hollywood session player and regularly plays with major orchestras, including the Long Beach Symphony, where he serves as Assistant Principal viola.

Jonah is also known as a pedagogue. He coaches chamber music at the Colburn School, and gives viola and composition masterclasses and residencies across the country. His “practice self-audit” has been used by many viola students to facilitate the self-evolution their own improvement and creativity in the practice room, while his Practice Tune-Up for professional and adult amateur violists has given many the chance to reconnect with their own inner passion on the instrument. Mr. Sirota has taught at the Juilliard School, at Harvard University, and at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music (where he helped build a world-class chamber music program), as well as at Greenwood Music Camp. He resides in Los Angeles, CA.

Photo credit: Walker Pickering

Internationally renowned harpist Ina Zdorovetchi has established a reputation as one of the leading musicians of her generation, noted for her compelling interpretations and unique tone. Hailed as “the harp whisperer” as well as “monster player”, she has appeared as soloist with the Boston Pops, West Deutsche Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony, Haifa Symphony, Portland Symphony (Maine), Brevard Music Center Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, National Philharmonic of Moldova, Seattle Chamber Orchestra and was featured in the American Harp Society National Conference Gala concert.

A sought-after recitalist and chamber musician, she has performed in Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Rockport Music Festival, World Harp Congress, has recorded for Sony, Naxos, Albany Records, BMOP/Sound, and was presented in live broadcasts on WGBH Radio Boston, Israel Broadcasting Authority, WDR Koln (Germany) and Moldova National TV. Additional highlights include giving the European premiere of John Williams’ Harp Concerto On Willows and Birches, World premieres of Thomas Oboe Lee’s Haro Concerto …bisbigliando… (dedicated to her), Osvaldo Golijov’s Ayre and performing a solo recital for an event hosted by John Kerry, 68th Secretary of State of the United States, in front of a crowd of the world’s preeminent leaders.

As the recipient of numerous awards, Ina Zdorovetchi is the top prize winner of the 17th International Harp Contest in Israel, second prize winner at Cite des Arts Harp Competition in Paris and has been honored with the Henry Cabot Award for Special Commitment of Talent by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Alien with Extraordinary Abilities in the Arts title by the United States government and Outstanding Music Faculty of the Year by the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

She holds several harp performance degrees from the New England Conservatory, Boston University, Boston Conservatory and Bucharest University of Music (Romania) and received her early training in her native Republic of Moldova, double-majoring in harp and piano performance at the Ciprian Porumbescu Music School.

Ms. Zdorovetchi resides in Boston, MA, playing as principal harpist with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Portland Symphony and Boston Lyric Opera and teaching as the Associate Professor of Harp at Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Founded in 1988 by former director Mark Barville, and led since September 2003 by Eliza Rubenstein. The LBCCO is now in its 31^st season with Mr. Matthew Martinez as the Interim Artistic Director. An important fixture of the Long Beach arts scene, the Chorale has performed many of the great works of Western classical music and has appeared at the legendary Carnegie Hall; Aquarium of the Pacific; Long Beach Museum of Art, Rancho Los Alamitos; and Carpenter Performing Arts Center, as well as having performed with the Long Beach Opera. The Chorale’s musical repertoire is globally inspired – embodying the middle ages to contemporary influences.

The LBCCO is Long Beach’s only all-volunteer community masterworks chorus; all LBCCO members are volunteers motivated by their love of singing. Our motto “Great Music, Up Close” reflects our commitment to presenting masterworks in a welcoming setting and at an accessible price. We pride ourselves on working within the Long Beach community to offer all music lovers the opportunity to experience live classical music.

Performances in our 19-20 season include:

Candlelight Carols, with organ – December 14 and 15, at Grace First Presbyterian Church
Fauré Requiem, with chamber orchestra – March 28 and 29, at Grace First Presbyterian Church
LBC at the AOP – June 7, at Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach

Contacts: Dean Hanley, President, 310.377.6840, [email protected] or Matthew Martinez, Interim Artistic Director, at [email protected]