Music Director & Conductor Gordon Ward Invites You to the MCBB Season Opener

Welcome to the 27th season of Motor City Brass Band. I look forward to welcoming you to our performance of Horns & Howls on Sunday, October 16, at 3:00 pm in Dearborn's beautiful Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.

The feature of this year's Horns & Howls concert is Peter Graham's Windows of the World, a kaleidoscopic six-movement composition, reflecting world music styles from Latin American to Irish Folk, providing solo opportunities for several principal players.

We will build on the Windows of the World theme throughout the concert, with brass band musical selections representing iconic global locations. Tickets are available from MCBB musicians, at the box office or at MCBB.org

Brass band enthusiasts will also want to mark your calendars for Saturday, November 18 when the U.S. Open Championships come to Michigan for the first time. Come and support the MCBB and also enjoy the entertaining programs from several brass bands. This spectacular event is to be held at the Clarkston Performing Arts Center.

I hope to see you on Sunday and throughout the coming season!

Gordon Ward

Music Director & Conductor

Horns & Howls

Sunday, October 16 @ 3 pm

Ford Community & Performing Arts Center

Do you have your Horns & Howls tickets yet? Join MCBB on Sunday, October 16 at 3:00 pm in the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center (15801 Michigan Ave, Dearborn).

Tickets are available at the theater box office, from MCBB musicians, or by contacting us either via MCBB.org or our MCBB Hotline 248-788-6618. The box office opens at 1:00 pm on Sunday for ticket purchases at the door.

Seating is general admission and doors open at 2:30 pm. Audience members are welcome to dress in Halloween costumes; the band will be costumed in the 2nd half of the program. In addition to Windows of the World, this family-friendly concert will include musical favorites such as MacArthur Park and Hawaii Five-0.

MCBB profiles its musicians on social media in a feature called MEET THE BRASS. The latest two profiles are Patrick Echlin and Chris Witting.

Patrick Echlin plays the soprano cornet, commonly considered to be “the hottest seat in the band." Often used for ornamentation with a descant sparkle, the soprano cornet is pitched in E-flat can easily be heard above a whole section of 10 Bb players, somewhat like a piccolo in an orchestra.

Patrick grew up in Ypsilanti, MI, where he started playing trumpet at age 12. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Music Education at Western Michigan University and moved to Rio Rico, Arizona to start his career. He has taught band, choir, orchestra, and music theory over the last 14 years, earning his master’s degree in conducting from the American Band College of Sam Houston State University along the way.

One of the first things Patrick did after returning to Michigan in 2013 was to join Motor City Brass Band. Since then, he and his wife Allison had two children, with a third on the way. Patrick co-founded two Ypsilanti companies, 734 Brewing Company and Maniacal Mead Co. When he isn’t teaching, brewing, parenting, or practicing, he works as a real estate agent and investor.

The photos above are from the 2022 NABBA Championships, the Horns & Howls concert in 2021, and Patrick’s family’s recent summer trip to visit his grandmother in California.

Chris Witting was excited to join the horn section of Motor City in August 2019. Recently retired after 40+ years as a pharmacist, he now fills his time camping, golfing, bike riding with friends, Rick and Mary, and riding his jet ski. He combines his interests in model trains and gardening with a garden railroad.

Chris’ other hobbies include woodworking and teaching a wood shop class at Champ Life kids camp during the summer. He shares an interest in quilting with his wife, Angie, and both are members of the Quilt Guild of Metro Detroit.

When not practicing with Motor City, he shares his musical talent with the Troy Heritage Concert Band, the Belgian American Association band and the Macomb Area Concert Band. He enjoys playing with his six wonderful grandkids and in his quiet time you might find him reading or pursuing his favorite hobby, taking a nap.

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MCBB is supported in part by awards from the

MICHIGAN COUNCIL FOR ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS and the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

MCBB is also supported by Oakland County Cultural Institution COVID-19 Support grants

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