Brass Choirs
Elevating Music by Bringing Groups Together
Composed of members of the brass sections of the Senior Symphony and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Brass Choirs perform a wide range of brass ensemble literature.
At a Glance
- Rehearsals generally on Mondays in the late afternoon
- Students range from middle school to high school
- Director: Mr. Don Sipe
Upcoming Events
The Brass Choirs Staff
Don Sipe
Brass Studies Director
Don Sipe
MYSO’s Director of Brass Studies Don Sipe is the principal trumpet of the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, a member of the new music group Present Music and the large brass ensemble Isthmus Brass.
He performs across many genres, including classical, jazz, rock and Broadway. Sipe has performed with the Milwaukee, Syracuse, Omaha, Green Bay, and Elgin Symphony Orchestras, Chicago Sinfonietta, Chicagoland Pops, and the Brass Band of Battle Creek.
Chamber music credits include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass Ensemble, the Chicago Brass Quintet, Fulcrum Point New Music Ensemble, the UW-Milwaukee Faculty Brass Quintet, and the Summit Brass. His arrangements for brass quintet have been played by many brass quintets including Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet.
He performed on Peter Gabriel’s New Blood Orchestra Tour and has been heard in the pit with several Broadway national touring companies, including West Side Story, HAIR, Book of Mormon, The Sound of Music and Wicked.
Other performances include working with a wide range of luminaries including Leonard Bernstein, Michael Tilson Thomas, Doc Severisen, Ray Charles, Marvin Hamlisch, Bill Conti, Jerry Goldsmith, Jewel, Il Divo, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, the Moody Blues, Manheim Steamroller, Jerry Lewis, and Bob Newhart.
Recordings include several CDs with Present Music, but also projects with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Summit Brass, Sones de Mexico and new age artist Peter Buffett. Recent highlights include performing The Music of Prince with Symphony in concert and recording the Isthmus Brass’ latest CD We Need a Little Christmas, Summit Records (December 2018).
He has taught trumpet at Carroll University and Carthage College, and led masterclasses at the University of DePaul, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and the Eastman School of Music. Founder and president of Omicron Artist Management, Inc. he advises and manages the careers of other professional musicians, including the internationally-known conductor William Eddins.
Sipe earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, where he studied trumpet with Barbara Butler.