TOWER BRASS QUINTET
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, the Ballet Theatre of Toledo Orchestra, 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.
CHARLES SAENZ // trumpet
is the newest member of the Tower Brass, having joined the ensemble in June 2012. Mr. Saenz has developed a reputation as a versatile performer who is well versed in a variety of musical languages. He has performed with such ensembles as the Toledo Jazz Orchestra, the Toledo Symphony, the Sinfonia da Camera of Illinois, The Champaign-Urbana Symphony, the Illinois and Nebraska Brass Quintets, and the Omaha Big Band. He is active as an adjudicator/clinician and has presented master classes in Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, and New Mexico. Most recently, he presented recitals and master classes in Chengdu, China and Inner Mongolia and performed at the 2011 National Trumpet Conference of China. Other international performances include the Burgos Chamber Music Festival in Burgos, Spain and the Exploring Brass Ensembles workshop in Kalavrita, Greece. Mr. Saenz is the recipient of various awards including first prize in the 1994 International Trumpet Guild Solo Competition. He is professor of trumpet and coordinator of brass and percussion at Bowling Green State University. Prior to his BGSU appointment, he was on the faculty of the University of Nebraska Omaha where he served as coordinator of brass studies and instructor of trumpet. Saenz holds degrees from New Mexico State University and the University of Illinois.
DAN 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.
DAVID SAYGERS // tuba and arranger
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. While earning her Bachelor of Music degree from Ithaca College, she studied in London with legendary hornist Alan Civil. Ms. Schwartz holds a Master’s degree in music performance from Bowling Green State University. She has been a member of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra for 24 years and performs frequently with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. She has had the privilege of playing with many well-known artists including Tony Bennett, Jim Brickman, Dave Brubeck, Ray Charles, Rosemary Clooney, Sarah McLaughlin, Debbie Reynolds, Arturo Sandoval and Mannheim Steamroller. Additionally, Ms. Schwartz has performed for Broadway pit orchestras including Phantom of the Opera, The Producers, Spamalot, 42nd Street, Billy Elliott and Mary Poppins. She has served as a clinician/performer at regional horn workshops and at the International Brass Congress Symposium. An avid writer, Ms. Schwartz has been published in several professional journals and is a past member of the editorial board of the Ohio Music Education Association’s “Triad.” In 1993, she was honored as “Educator of the Year” for the Springfield (OH) School District where she taught instrumental music and served as department chairperson until her retirement in 2013. In 2015, she was invited to join the music education faculty at Bowling Green State University where she is happy to aid in the training of future music educators.