Brian Bushong, trumpet, became a member of the Tower Brass Quintet in 1982 after receiving a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Bowling Green State University and pursuing graduate work in Florida. While completing his Master of Music degree at Florida State University, he was a member of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra and the Florida State Faculty Brass Quintet and a winner in the State of Florida Recital Competition of the MTNA. Bushong has taught trumpet at Valdosta State College in Georgia, the University of Findlay, and through the Creative Arts Program at Bowling Green State University. In addition to his regular position with the Adrian Symphony, he periodically performs with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, the Toledo Concert Band, as well as the Lima and Ann Arbor Symphonies. Bushong has a MBA and has served as the Director of Budget and Planning for the University of Toledo. Currently, he is the Finance Director for the City of Bowling Green, Ohio.
Larry Herman, trumpet, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Indiana University School of Music where he was nominated for both a Performer’s Certificate and Brass Fellowship. He has since held teaching positions at Indiana University, the Interlochen Arts Academy, Western Carolina University, the National Music Camp at Interlochen, and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Herman has been principal trumpet of the Owensboro, Asheville and Midland Symphony Orchestras, and he is a former member of the Disneyland Band, the Toledo Jazz Orchestra, and the Indianapolis Symphonic Winds. In addition to the Tower Brass, he performs regularly with the Canton Symphony, Akron Symphony, Sarasota Opera Orchestra, Cleveland Pops Orchestra and the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, and he has been Principal Trumpet of the Hollywood Festival Orchestra since its 2003 tour of Taiwan. Herman also has a master’s degree in business from Bowling Green State University and has held marketing and public relations directorships with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Indiana University Auditorium Series and the Oberlin Conservatory.
Daniel Saygers, trombone, has been an active performer since completing his Bachelor of Music Degree at Bowling Green State University. Proficient at a wide assortment of musical styles, Saygers is a member of the Toledo Jazz Orchestra and has performed with the Toledo and Lima Symphony Orchestras, and the Toledo Concert Band. He has performed with such noted jazz artists as Clark Terry, Marian McPartland, Betty Carter, Zoot Sims and Ray Charles. As an arts educator, Saygers has presented workshops and residencies on aesthetic education and has been affiliated with both Lincoln Center and the Wolftrap Institute for the Arts. When not performing as a trombonist, Saygers serves as a high school guidance counselor and is active as a choral conductor, composer and published author, and a teacher of mathematics. He is also the guitarist for Chorduroy Jacket, a 60’s and 70’s cover band.
David Saygers has been the Tower Brass Quintet’s tubist since 1981 when he received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. Saygers also has a master’s degree from Bowling Green State University. He has been Visiting Professor of Tuba at Tennessee Technological University and Professor of Tuba at Bowling Green State University, Heidelberg College and the University of Toledo. As a performer, he has played for the orchestras of Springfield and Toledo in Ohio, Flint and Dearborn in Michigan, and the Bryan Symphony in Tennessee, and he was invited to become principal tubist for the Filharmonica de Santiago in Chile. Also a gifted composer and arranger, Saygers’s works are frequently heard on Tower Brass concerts and recordings. He frequently appears as music director for Toledo-area theater productions, and he has been Artistic Director for the Toledo School for the Arts since its opening in 1999.
Bernice Schwartz, horn, is a native of New York and has been a member of the Tower Brass Quintet since its founding in 1979. She is a graduate of Ithaca College and holds a master’s degree in music from Bowling Green State University. She has also studied in London, as a scholarship recipient, with the late legendary hornist Alan Civil. Schwartz is currently a member of the Ann Arbor Symphony and performs frequently with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. She has served as a clinician/performer at regional horn workshops and at the International Brass Congress Symposium. In 1993, Schwartz was honored as “Educator of the Year” for the Springfield (OH) School District where she teaches instrumental music and serves as department chairperson. In addition to her public school duties, Schwartz served as interim Associate Professor of Horn at Bowling Green State University for 2000-01.
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