BUCKHANNON, West Virginia – West Virginia Wesleyan College will host the second annual BrassFest on Sunday, Jan. 21 bringing together a professional brass quintet with student performers from across North Central West Virginia to learn and perform together.

Old Bay Brass Quintet, based in Baltimore, Md., is a brass collective formed of musicians from all over the country who met while studying at the Peabody Conservatory. The members have performed with professional ensembles including the Maryland Choral Society, Detroit Chamber Winds, the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, Waco Symphony Orchestra and Pueblo Symphony in Colorado. Members include Jason Thomas Aylward, David Sayers, Clinton Soisson, Sarah Lewandowski and Harry Oehler who are all avid educators and performers outside of their work with Old Bay Brass. 

Old Bay Brass will perform at 1 p.m. in the Virginia Thomas Law Center for the Performing Arts. For the 7 p.m. concert, students from the BrassFest will join OBB. Both concerts are free and open to the public. 

“This is a Chamber-driven, arts education experience for Buckhannon and surrounding areas,” WVWC Director of Bands Dr. Robert Palmer said. “Students have the opportunity to work with members of the brass quintet and play alongside them during the 7 p.m. concert.”

For more information about the event, visit www.wvwc.edu/bands. 

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
West Virginia Wesleyan College (WVWC) is a private, four-year residential liberal arts and sciences college in Buckhannon, West Virginia. A tradition of excellence for more than 130 years, West Virginia Wesleyan is home to 14 Fulbright Scholars. The Princeton Review ranked Wesleyan as one of its 2024 Best Colleges in the Southeastern Region of the United States. U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-2024 Best College Rankings designated Wesleyan eighth in Best Value – Regional Universities (South). WVWC offers students more than 50 majors and 40 minors; graduate programs in athletic training, business administration, creative writing, nursing, and clinical mental health counseling; 20 NCAA Division II athletic programs; multiple performing arts groups; and more than 50 organizations. Founded in 1890, the College is closely affiliated with the United Methodist Church and abides by the Wesley doctrine that emphasizes service to others. For more information, visit wvwc.edu.