Fountain City Brass Band performs Holiday Pops in St. Joseph Dec. 11

The Fountain City Brass Band, the reigning North American and U.S. Open Brass Band champions, will perform a concert of holiday favorites at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11 at the Cathedral of St. Joseph, 519 N. 10^th Street. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $5 for students and free to Missouri Western faculty, staff and students, and all children under 12. Tickets can be purchased online at www.fcbb.net or at the Cathedral beginning at 2 p.m. the day of the show. The concert is presented in part by the Missouri Western Department of Music and School of Fine Arts.

The Fountain City Brass Band, founded in 2002, is a thirty-piece brass and percussion ensemble that is based in Kansas City and draws its membership from around the United States. The band is committed to a mission of cultural enrichment through the presentation of concerts that are both entertaining and educational.  Since their first competition in 2004 the Fountain City Brass Band has won eight U.S. Open Brass Band Championships and five North American Brass Band Championships. In November of 2009 the Fountain City Brass Band, became the first American band ever, and the first non-UK band in over fifty years, to win a major brass band competition on UK soil at the Scottish Open Brass Band Championships.

The Fountain City Brass Band was founded by Dr. Lee Harrelson, faculty of low brass studies and chair of the Department of Music at Missouri Western. Other band members from Missouri Western’s faculty include Steve Molloy, Dr. Jennifer Oliverio, Dr. Nathan Gay, and Dr. Joshua Knight.

Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.