Staff Biographies

Colonel (Ret.) Tom Rotondi
Conductor

Colonel (Ret.) Thomas Rotondi, Jr. retired from the U.S. Army in 2011 following a distinguished 34-year military career culminating as the eighth Leader and Commander of The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in Washington, DC. Originally from Chicago Heights, IL, Rotondi holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Millikin University, Decatur, IL, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Golden Gate University, San Francisco, CA. While at Millikin University, Col. Rotondi was active in Phi Mu Alpha and was selected for Pi Kappa Lambda Honorary Music Fraternity. Col. Rotondi performed at numerous national events including the State Funeral for Pres. Gerald R. Ford and the first inauguration for Pres. Barack Obama. He has also conducted throughout Europe as well as Japan and China, being the first U.S. military band officer to conduct the Peoples Liberation Army Band in Beijing, China. Col. Rotondi was elected to membership into the American Bandmasters Assoc. in 2005, was awarded the Alumni Merit Award from Millikin University in 2007 and was inducted into the Bloom Township High School Hall of Fame in 2010. Besides having served on the Board of Directors for the Association of Concert Bands, he also serves as the Advisor to the Director for the Music At The Summit Adult Band Institute and continues to serve on the John Philip Sousa Foundation’s Col. George S. Howard Award Committee. Col. Rotondi currently resides in Kingsport, Tennessee, where he remains active as a freelance conductor, musical consultant and clinician.

Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Beth Steele
Executive Director / Conductor

The Executive Director of Music at the Summit is Ms. Beth Steele, who is an experienced musician and conductor. Beth created Music at the Summit and is the driving force behind it's continued growth and improvement. She received her Bachelor of Music (Trumpet) degree and Master of Music (Wind Conducting) degree from Northwestern University in 1988 and 1989 respectively. Ms. Steele has performed on trumpet in many ensembles including: the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; New Sousa Band; Virginia Symphony; and the British Imperial Military Band.

Beth served as a career US Army musician, where her duties included: Associate Director, US Army Band “Pershing’s Own”, Washington, DC; Conductor, Continental Army Band, Hampton, VA; Commandant, Army School of Music, Virginia Beach, VA; Conductor, US Army Field Band and Soldier’s Chorus, Washington, DC; and most recently as the Commander of the US Army Europe Band & Chorus in Heidelberg, Germany.

While in Europe, Beth developed enduring partnerships with European musicians and was awarded the German government’s highest peacetime award: The Silver Cross of Honor, the first for an American Director of Music. She also led the Band & Chorus in historic performances in Moscow’s Red Square, for Her Majesty the Queen in London, and in first-ever combined concerts with the National Serbian Defense orchestra.

Alaunde Copley-Woods
Flute

Alaunde Copley-Woods is principal flute of the Colorado Chamber Orchestra and Greeley Philharmonic. She has performed throughout the world from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Mirinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. Alaunde received a Master of Music Degree in flute performance from the Manhattan School of Music, and holds top prizes in the New York Flute Club, Kingsville International, and Sorantin International competitions. She has coached at the Manhattan School of Music Preparatory Division, University of Colorado, Bowdoin Music Festival, the 92nd Street Y School of Music, and teaches privately in Boulder, CO. Alaunde is piccoloist for the Denver Municipal Band, the oldest professional concert band in the US.

Dr. Janice Minor
Clarinet

Clarinetist, Janice L. Minor enjoys an active career as a solo recitalist, chamber musician, orchestral player, clinician, and music educator. She has performed and appeared in a wide variety of venues and festivals throughout the United States and Europe, including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Rococo Theater in Schwetzingen Germany, the Puccini Theater in Italy, the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Aspen Music Festival, the Lucca Music Festival in Lucca, Italy, and the Saarburger Serenaden Music Festival in Saarburg, Germany. As an orchestral player, she has performed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Pops, the Cincinnati Opera, and on soundtracks for The Discovery Channel and National Geographic.

Dedicated to her role as artist-teacher, Dr. Minor is a passionate educator who is frequently invited to present master classes and clinics throughout the country and abroad. She is a Buffet Group U.S.A. Artist performing on Buffet Crampon clarinets and music reviewer for The Clarinet: The official journal of the International Clarinet Association. Her CD “The Recital Clarinetist” with pianist, Paulo Steinberg was recently released by Summit Records. It is available on Amazon, iTunes and Summit Records website.

Ginger Turner
Trumpet

Ginger Turner recently retired from 27 year tenure performing with The United States Army Field Band. Her career has included playing principal trumpet, performing featured solos with the concert band, leading a brass quintet and presenting numerous master classes nationwide. She was the designer and coordinator of the widely-used instructional video, A Trumpeter’s Resource. Turner also developed the program “Building a Better Brass Section through the development of the Brass Quintet” which has been presented at major music conferences around the country. This program has created opportunities for students to excel while providing leadership training in one lesson plan, emphasizing individual responsibility in learning. A longstanding and active member of Monarch Brass, Turner has enjoyed playing and touring with the ensemble since 2008.

Passionate about education, Turner has been involved with the International Women’s Brass Conference since 2003. She currently serves as a board member, chair of the Susan Slaughter Solo Competition and the Ginger Turner Ensemble Competition, and annually produces the Holiday Brass Concert in Baltimore, Maryland. Currently she is teaching trumpet at Towson University.

Ms. Turner has studied with greats of the trumpet world such as Marie Speziale, Susan Slaughter and René Hernandez. She holds a Bachelors degree in Music Education and a Masters Degree in Trumpet Performance from Arizona State, studying with David Hickman.

Dr. Angela K. Winter
Horn

Dr. Angela K. Winter is an enthusiastic performer and educator currently serving as Assistant Professor Music, Horn and Director of Brass and Bands at Adams State University in Alamosa, CO. She has soloed, taught, and performed with a variety of ensembles throughout the United States, Mexico, Columbia and Europe.

Angela has also recorded extensively, with releases on Ravello Records, GIA Publications, Klavier, Crescent Phase Records, and Highland Sound Productions. Passionate about chamber music, she performs and clinics extensively with a variety of chamber ensembles including the Madera Wind Quintet and Session Brass.

Angela is originally from Memphis, TN, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Memphis. She holds an M.M. and D.M.A. in horn performance from the University of North Texas, and has taught at the University of Texas at Dallas and Texas Woman's University as well as in in the public middle and high school system.

In addition to her musical activities, Angela is an extreme dog lover and runner. She has four rescue dogs and has run more than 40 marathons and ultra-marathons.

Gregory Harper
Trombone

Bass Trombonist Gregory Harper has been a member of the Colorado Symphony since 1997. A native of Massachusetts, he began his musical training at age 10. He holds degrees from Rice University “Shepherd School of Music,” as well as University of Massachusetts – Amherst. Prior to joining the Colorado Symphony, he was the interim Bass Trombonist with L’Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia of La Coruna, Spain. Greg has also played with the Houston, Minnesota and Montreal Symphony and can be heard as guest Bass Trombonist on the 2014 Grammy Award winning record of Sibelius Symphony No. 1 and 4 with the Minnesota Orchestra under Maestro Osmo Vanska. As a guest clinician and lecturer, he was the featured guest artist at the 1998 International Trombone Association Workshop, the 2001 South Shore Low Brass Symposium held in Middleboro, Massachusetts, and the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. Greg has taught Trombone Pedagogy at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado and is currently Adjunct Professor of Trombone at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colorado. He is an artist/clinician for the Edwards Trombone Corporation.

Michael Brothers
Percussion

Mr. Michael Brothers is Director of Jazz and Percussion Studies and Instructor of Percussion at Southeastern Louisiana University. He teaches Applied Percussion to undergraduate and graduate percussion majors, and courses in Percussion Methods, Percussion Pedagogy, Jazz History, and Jazz Pedagogy. He is Director of the University Jazz Ensemble, the University Percussion Ensemble and the Spirit of the Southland Drumline.

A native of Oakland, California, his nearly forty-year career as a drummer and percussionist spans a wide range of musical experience including performances with big bands, symphony orchestras, recording sessions and Broadway, including over 6,600 performances of the record-breaking Music Box Company tour of the Broadway musical The Phantom of the Opera, the longest continually running Broadway tour in history.

Prior to his tenure at Phantom, he was the drummer or percussionist on several first national tours including City of Angels, Bye Bye Birdie (with Tommy Tune and Ann Reinking), Starlight Express, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber in Concert (with Sarah Brightman), Les Misérables and Me and My Girl.

His extensive credits include performances with some of the world’s legendary entertainers including Victor Borge, Peter Cetera, Dee Daniels, Christine Ebersole, Mitzi Gaynor, Marvin Hamlisch, Rupert Holmes, Robert Klein, Rachel Bay Jones, Gladys Knight, Liberace, Steve Lippia, The Marvalettes, Maureen McGovern, Anthony Newley, Patti Page, Chita Rivera, Dinah Shore, John Lloyd Young, and Mary Wells.

His first album Reunion with the Michael Brothers Quartet was released to critical acclaim and airplay on over 270 stations throughout the United States, Australia, Canada, France and The Netherlands including the syndicated radio programs Jazz After Hours and Jazz Happening Now on Public Radio International and Jazz with Greg Bridges on Jazz Network/WFMT Radio Network. Reunion reached #26 on the CMJ New Music Report Jazz Top 40 and #49 on the JazzWeek Top 50 and received 59th GRAMMY Awards® First Ballot consideration in several categories including Jazz Instrumental Album; Engineered Album, Non-Classical; Record Of The Year and Album Of The Year.

His second album Three Times Two with pianist Andy Nevala and bassists Jeff Carswell and Chris Kozak also received critical acclaim and airplay on over 400 stations throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the syndicated radio programs Jazz After Hours on Public Radio International and the WFMT Jazz Satellite Network. Three Times Two was the #1 Jazz CD on WZBT 91.1 FM Gettysburg, PA, spent 7 consecutive weeks in the top ten on KDNK 88.1 FM Carbondale, CO and received 61st GRAMMY Awards® First Ballot consideration in several categories including Jazz Instrumental Album; Improvised Jazz Solo; Instrumental Composition; Engineered Album, Non-Classical; Record Of The Year and Album Of The Year.

Other album credits include guitarist Phill Fest Café Fonfon, released in April 2021 and currently in the JazzWeek Top 60 for over 10 consecutive weeks; Kansas City jazz pianist Michael Pagán Is Waiting for You; Production Coordinator for Matt Lemmler’s New Orleans Jazz Revival Band UBUNTU and Executive Producer for Paul Yonemura Reunion Trios and Kindred Spirits.

Michael is the founder and CEO of Girod Records®, a New Orleans based record label, a Voting Member of The Recording Academy (GRAMMY® Awards) and Vic Firth artist. He is also an active member of AFM Local 802 (New York, NY), CBDNA, JEN, LAJE, LMEA, NAfME, PAS and holds degrees in Percussion Performance from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL (MM) and Loyola University New Orleans (BM).

Mark Koob
Tuba

Mark Koob is an accomplished tuba player who holds music degrees in education and performance from Boise State University and the University of Northern Colorado. He has performed with the Boise Philharmonic, Greeley Philharmonic, National Repertory Orchestra, Breckenridge Music Festival, Disney All American College Band, Exquisite Brass and the Alpine Orchestra. After playing tuba full time in Los Angeles Mr. Koob moved to the mountains of Colorado and has taught since 2010 at Summit Middle School. He is also pursuing a Doctorate of Arts in Music Education at the University of Northern Colorado. When he is not playing or teaching music you can find him ski-touring, bikepacking, paragliding, and climbing some of the tallest mountains in the world.

Margaret Banton
Saxophone

Margaret Banton has performed as a freelance and military musician and clinician in the Atlanta area for over 30 years, where she first served as saxophonist and vocalist with the Army Ground Forces Band, Ft. McPherson, Georgia. In 2013, Margaret retired from the Air National Guard Band of the South, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, where she performed as saxophonist and vocalist, and served as the band’s senior enlisted leader. Equally versatile in classical, jazz, and R&B genres, Margaret performs with several large and small ensembles in and around the Atlanta metro area, to include performing as saxophonist with the Atlanta Wind Symphony, principal saxophonist and jazz band leader with the Tara Winds, and saxophonist and vocalist with the Carollton Jazz Orchestra. She also performs with several tribute bands (Bob Seger and Neil Diamond) that tour throughout the U.S.

Margaret performed with the Minnesota Vikings Band for five years and was a recipient of a McDonalds All-American Jazz Ensemble scholarship. She pursued jazz studies at the University of Minnesota, has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Business/Industry from St. Catherine University and a Master of Science degree in Human Resource Management from Central Michigan University. Outside of music, Margaret has a full-time career as a Senior Human Capital Management Advisor with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). She is an avid swimmer and jazz and R&B music fanatic, and resides in Marietta, Georgia.

Shane Werts
Double Reeds

Shane Werts currently serves as Professor of Oboe at Colorado State University - Pueblo where he performs with the faculty woodwind quintet and teaches courses in applied oboe. He is a Doctoral Candidate at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with a minor in Music Theory. Prior teaching positions include Associate Instructor of Oboe and Indiana University and Band Director at public schools in the Colorado mountains.

Shane has performed with groups across the country including the Boulder Philharmonic, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, New World Symphony, and many more. He has also toured internationally performing chamber music at venues in Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary. Shane can be heard playing principal oboe under the Naxos label on 2018 Grammy Nominated album performing 20th Century Orchestra Music with the National Orchestral Institute Festival Orchestra.

Shane has earned degrees from Colorado State University - Fort Collins (Bachelor of Music Education) and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (Master of Music). Shane's professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, the International Double Reed Society, and the College Music Society.

Dr. Daniel Bolin
Guest Conductor

Dr. Daniel Bolin is Emeritus Professor of Music at the Jordan College of the Arts, Butler University. During his 48 year career in education he served as a high school band director, school administrator (including superintendent of one of the largest school districts in Indiana) and Chair of Butler’s School of Music from 1995 until 2001, and again from January 2009 until May 2014.

His bands have performed for the Indiana Music Educators State Conference, the American School Band Directors National Convention and was honored by several universities. In 1977 he was elected into the American School Band Directors Association and selected as the Outstanding Young Band Director for Indiana.

In 1981 he founded the Great Lakes Music Camp which served middle school and high school musicians throughout the Midwest for 23 years. He has also served on the staff of the Purdue University Band Camp, the Indiana University Music Clinic, the Ball State University Summer Music Camp and the Smith-Walbridge Band Camp.

He is a member of numerous music and education honor societies and is currently a member of the board of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association. He has guest conducted and hosted nearly all of America’s premiere military bands and is a recipient of the United States Army Civilian Public Service medal and in 2018 he was awarded the "Sagamore of the Wabash" by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb.