Symphony at the Shane performances feature the very best of the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Choir. Each performance showcases two diverse soloists and ensembles. You’ll be wowed by these fantastic musicians and proud to know they are your neighbors! Bobcat Brass will perform works by Francis Poulenc, American composer and trumpet pedagogue Anthony Plog, Danish composer Jan Koetsier and American composer Robert Muczynki. All pieces were written specifically for brass trio. These exciting contemporary works showcase the many different personalities of brass! Soprano Catherine Viscardi Savery alongside pianist Laurel Yost will present a variety of arias ranging from Handel to Broadway.

Symphony at the Shane would not be possible without help from our concert sponsors: Sal & Carol Lalani and Donald B. Gimbel. Tickets for the November 17th event are $15/adult, $10/student, senior and available by calling 585-9774 or online, bozemansymphony.org. Tickets for this event can be purchased in advance or at the door.


Bobcat Brass: The Bobcat Brass Trio, Sarah Stoneback (trumpet), Mike Nelson (horn), and Jeannie Little (trombone), are three of the principal brass musicians in the Bozeman Symphony. They are also the trumpet, horn and trombone professors at the Montana State University School of Music. This newly formed chamber ensemble presents a wide range of repertoire, from new music to the classics, works written specifically for the unique trio instrumentation, as well as works adapted from other settings. These consummate musicians bring to brass trio music a fantastic and innovative perspective in performance. But, equally important to the Bobcat Brass Trio are their outreach educational performances, where they emphasize music as a lifestyle. Catch a performance by this group, and you will hear exquisite and exciting works from Poulenc to Plog. With each presentation, the trio will entertain, educate and inspire. Enjoy! *Photo Credit: Adrian Sanchez Gonzales/MSU

Dr. Jeannie Little, Trombone - Low Brass Professor and Director of University Band at MSU, fell in love with the trombone as a child, after her band director played her a recording of Tommy Dorsey’s “Getting Sentimental Over You.” Dorsey’s golden tones lured her into the world of trombone and a lifetime of musical pursuits. Jeannie earned her bachelor’s degree from Florida State University, master’s degree from Northwestern University and doctorate from the Eastman School of Music, all in trombone performance. She has performed with symphony orchestras all over the country, a highlight of which was performing with the Chicago Symphony under Leonard Bernstein. Jeannie has also had great success as a soloist, chamber musician and conductor. Her teaching career spans all age groups, from beginning elementary students in the Los Angeles public schools to gifted international high school students at the Interlochen Arts Academy to university students at the University of Hawaii, James Madison University, Louisiana State University and now at MSU. Originally from Alabama, Jeannie brings her love and passion for music and the trombone to Montana’s students every day. She is very excited to be in Bozeman and hopes one day to fulfill her lifelong dream of being a cowgirl…or at least looking like one.

Mike Nelson, French Horn – From the moment Mike first watched Star Wars as a child, he knew he wanted to play that heavenly instrument that was all over the soundtrack. It turns out that instrument was the horn, and many years later, Mike is the Horn Professor at Montana State University, Hornist with the Bobcat Brass Trio, and Third Horn for the Billings Symphony Orchestra. Prior to this year, he was the Principal Horn of the Great Falls Symphony and the Chinook Winds Quintet, with whom he toured extensively and recorded a full episode for Montana PBS’s Emmy-awarded 11th and Grant with Eric Funk. Mike earned degrees from the University of Florida and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

In addition to modern horn, Mike is passionate about historical performance practice and performs across the country on instruments ranging from the Baroque period all the way to post-World War II France. These instruments include a Classical valveless natural horn that he built. Mike was honored to present at the 2015 International Horn Symposium about the natural horn and the evolving role of the horn in the wind quintet.

Originally from Florida, Mike is thrilled to live in Bozeman with all the mountains and open spaces. When not doing horn stuff, he loves the beach, cats, and cheering for his beloved UF Gators and LA Dodgers.

Sarah Stoneback, Trumpet – Sarah Stoneback teaches applied trumpet at Montana State University. As a Conn-Selmer Bach clinician, Stoneback has presented educational/inspirational seminars and assemblies as Stoneback Sisters (Triplet Trumpet Trio) and Brass (Trumpet Quartet & Brass Quintet) in schools throughout the United States and Europe. As part of these performing groups, she has participated in the presentation of more than 2,000 performances in the form of community concerts, solo engagements with numerous professional bands and orchestras and provided workshops, and residencies throughout the United States and Europe. Feature solo performances include Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and the Saint Louis Symphony Pops, Best of the West Festival, The Encore Band (on the mall-Washington, DC), the John Philip Sousa Band, Iowa All Military Veterans Band, South Dakota Symphony, Interlochen Wind Ensemble, Arizona State University Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Texas Christian University Wind Ensemble and the United States Air Force Band of the West.

Stoneback has toured with the German based brass ensemble, Eurobrass on their United States and Germany tours during the summers of 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2016. During the 2014 Eurobrass tour, Dr. Stoneback recorded with Eurobrass on its fourth CD recording, “Praise the Lord, All You Nations.”

As a member of Flatirons Brass, Stoneback has participated in numerous national competitions and world tours. In 2009 the group was recipient of the Bronze medal in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and competed again in 2010 and 2012. In 2011, Flatirons brass worked as artists in residence at the University of Renmin in Beijing, China. The group conducted workshops, provided individual instruction and performed recitals.

In May 2014, Stoneback graduated with her doctorate in music performance and pedagogy with an emphasis in trumpet from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She holds a master’s in music and trumpet performance, CU Boulder 2010, where she has studied with Professor Terry Sawchuk. Stoneback has a bachelor’s degree in trumpet performance from Arizona State University where she studied with Regent’s Professor David Hickman. She is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, class of 2000, where she studied with Stanley Friedman.  Stoneback promotes music and education as a lifestyle.

Catherine Viscardi Savery, Soprano - Hailed by the Connecticut Post as “an absolutely sparkling soprano,” Catherine Viscardi Savery has sung with opera companies including Portland Opera (OR), Ashlawn Opera (VA), DiCapo Opera (NY) and Intermountain Opera (MT). Favorite roles include Despina (Cosi Fan Tutte), Adele (Die Fledermaus), and Josephine (HMS Pinafore). On the concert stage, Ms. Savery has been featured as soloist with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony in Connecticut, conducted by Gustav Meier, the Bozeman Symphony and the Wyoming Symphony, both under the baton of Matthew Savery, as well as the Norwalk and Allentown Symphonies with Diane Wittry conducting, and the Glacier Symphony with John Zoltek. An advocate of the song recital, Ms. Savery has performed concerts in Merkin Hall and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York City, as well as the Center for Contemporary Arts in Virginia Beach, Artcore Wyoming, and the St. James Chamber Music Series and Cultural Corner Concert Series in Bozeman, and the Shane Lalani Center for the Performing Arts in Livingston. She holds music degrees from Vassar College (NY) and Mannes College of Music (NY).

Laurel Yost, Piano - Pianist Laurel Yost will accompany the two brass players, and also perform solo on piano. Yost, like Dr. Little, is a beloved member of the professional staff in the Music School at Montana State. The following quote is from a student that prefers to remain anonymous, “[Professor Yost is] among the most insightful musicians I’ve ever met. She hears everything. She sight-reads with a higher level of detail and stylistic subtlety than most graduate students will ever perform. She knows how to set goals that you can achieve... if you are willing to practice effectively (and diligently).” The professor and pianist performs as a soloist and with ensembles including: Camerata Trio, Beethoven Trio, Milhaud Trio, and Montana State University-Bozeman New Music Ensemble. Having studied at Colorado State University, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England, and Whitworth College in Spokane, Idaho, she is currently completing her Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Iowa.

Do not miss this season’s offering of Symphony at the Shane, presented by the Bozeman Symphony, at the Shane Lalani Center for the Arts – 415 East Lewis Street, Livingston, MT – on Friday, November 17th, at 7:30pm.