Group Photo - September 2007

L-R Front Row: Alan Johnson, Paul Burnside, Jenny McAllister, Mark Ammons,

Back Row: Merritt Andrus, Dave Faires, Randy Mott, Brigham Larson, and John Huff.

Here are some pictures of one of the concerts we did in March, 2008 with the full band.

Bios

Paul Burnside - Saxophones. Paul is the band leader and has been playing professionally for 20 years. Paul graduated from BYU in 1993 and played in many ensembles and combos while in school and has continued to perform in Denver, Portland, and Salt Lake City over the past 15 years. In addition to playing and teaching the Saxophone, Paul sings Bass and has also participated in and directed various community and church choirs. Paul works as a Software Systems Engineer in Salt Lake City designing and executing automated load and performance tests for web applications. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family, being outside, and playing tennis, basketball, lacrosse, swimming, and biking. Paul lives in Highland, Utah with his wife Marci and their four children.

Dave Faires - Trumpet.  David was born in Utah but raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He currently teaches choir and band at Juan Diego High School and St. John the Baptist Middle School in Draper, UT. Prior to teaching at Juan Diego, Dave was the Band Director at Lone Peak High School where he led a very active band program consisting of several concert and jazz bands in addition to the competitive marching band and other musical activities. Dave is an accomplished trumpet teacher and player. Many of his students are selected annually for the all state bands in addition to participating in community ensembles, camps and solo festivals. As a performer, Dave has toured Europe, Canada and the United States several times with acclaimed jazz and classical groups such as "The Harry James (Jazz) Orchestra" and the renowned "Mormon Tabernacle Choir." Dave performs as an orchestra musician regularly on the weekly television broadcasts of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir that are distributed nationally. In 2002, Dave was honored to perform and record for a number of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic events including The Opening and Closing Ceremonies which were viewed by an estimated four billion people. One of the many highlights was recording the national anthems for the medal award ceremonies including his role as the only first trumpeter for the United States national anthem. Dave graduated from BYU in Music Education and currently lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his wife Jenny and three handsome sons.

Mark Ammons - Trombone. Dr. Mark Ammons is the Assistant Director of the School of Music and Jazz Division Coordinator at BYU. He received his Bachelor of Music degree at BYU in trombone performance, with a minor in French. He completed his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at the USC. He has also chaired the Music Department and was Acting Dean of the Fine Arts Division at Snow College, in Ephraim, UT. Mark oversees the jazz studies program at BYU, directing the Jazz Ensemble and jazz combos. Mark performs regularly with many groups and as a free lance jazz musician. He has done numerous recordings with local groups as well as multiple film scores and commercials. In addition to Mark's many talents, he is also a singer and occasionaly sings with the group as well. Mark lives in Orem, UT with his wife Mindy and their five children.

Alan Johnson - Guitar.  Alan has been playing professionally and teaching music beginning in the early 80’s. He was born and raised in Utah and has also lived in the Midwest. He has played in a variety of musical groups, playhouses and venues throughout the United States. Alan graduated from BYU and the Marriott School of Management. He works as a Project Manager in Salt Lake City and lives in Cedar Hills, Utah with his wife Susan and their five children.

Randy Mott - Drums. Randy is originally from Orem, UT and received his BA in Music Education from BYU and is currently pursuing his Masters Degree there as well. Randy directs the Pleasant Grove Junior High School Band and is an amazing Drummer. He has played in numerous combos and big bands and has excellent timing. He also teaches percussion and directs a steel drum ensemble at the Music School in American Fork. Randy lives in Pleasant Grove with his wife and children.

Brigham Larson - Piano. Brigham has been playing the piano professionally since he was 15.  Composing, performing, accompanying, and just fooling around on the piano were his first love until he met his wife, Karmel in 1999.  Now the piano (though he spends at least 8 hours a day sitting at one piano or another) has taken second to his wife and kids.   Brigham Lives on a "farm" in Mapleton, UT with his wife, grandfather, and 4 kids.

John Huff - Vocals. John is our lead male singer and loves to entertain. John has spent the last ten years singing with the highly acclaimed group Voice Male. They are always in demand and it is a pleasure to have John sing with us. You can hear John sing from any link on this page. It seems wherever he goes he is asked to sing the Chipmunk Christmas song and Rubber Duckie. John is a graduate of Utah State University and has a Masters degree from BYU. John works as a Software Product Manager in Salt Lake and lives in Honeyville, Utah with his wife Layne and three children.

Jenny McAllister - Vocals. Jenny is our lead female vocalist and a fantastic singer. She has amazing pitch and a great tone to her voice and she loves to sing. She sang in almost all of the choirs at Utah State University and is also an accomplished piano player. She resides in Lehi, Utah with her three children and husband Richard (who is also a Voice Male singer - there must be a connection here). You can hear her sing as the first female vocalist on Track 7 from this link.

Merritt Andrus - Bass. Merritt is our bass player and a Chemistry Professor at BYU. He played the bass in traveling groups with Young Ambassadors and loves to play when he is not teaching or being with his family.

Ron Saltmarsh - Guitar. You've heard Ron's work on promo spots for CMT, A&E, ESPN, Disney, NBC, ABC and Fox Television, as well as dozens of major television and radio stations. Most recently he has been the lead composer scoring music for the TNN prime-time series "Life & Times", A&E 's "Biography" series and Specials for the History Channel. "Entertainment Tonight," and "Good Morning America" anchor a long list of high-profile credits as well as numerous corporate clients. Ron has been nominated for multiple Emmy Awards and won prestigious Addy, Telly and Clio awards. Ron runs his studio: the Symphonix Media Group in Orem, UT. Ron lives in Highland with his wife and children. 

Other Musicians who sub or have played with us:

Shaun Barrowes - Vocals

Hayley Singley - Vocals

Dave Wilber - Bass

Dave Lemke - Bass

Bart Gibb - Bass

Mark Robinette - Bass

Dave Terran - Trumpet

Barry Hillam - Trumpet

Andrew Tolman - Drums

Brandon Cummings - Drums

Mitch Lee - Drums

Kristen Bromley - Guitar

Andrew Maxfield - Piano

Craig Kaelin - Piano

Lizzy Dabczynski - Trombone

Ryan Williams - Trombone

Dan Barrett - Trombone

Lou Campbell - Trombone

Brent Arnold - Trombone

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------