Bios
Michael Drapkin, Clarinet (bandleader)
is former leader of the New York klezmer band Mishulem’s Klezmer Band, and was a member of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, as Associate Principal and Bass Clarinet and the New York City Opera Touring Company and Lake George Opera Festival, as Principal Clarinet. As a graduate from the prestigious Eastman School of Music, he spent summers playing at Aspen and at Tanglewood as a Berkshire Music Center fellow, and continues to perform regularly with fine chamber music groups. Mr. Drapkin has performed with the New Jersey Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Portland Symphony, the Long Island Philharmonic, the Brooklyn Philharmonic and with conductors Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Michael Tilson Thomas, Neville Marriner, Leonard Slatkin, Lucas Foss, Christopher Keene, Klaus Tennstedt, Frederick Fennell, and many more celebrated orchestras and maestros. Mr. Drapkin is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on the bass clarinet primarily through his series of orchestral excerpt books, Symphonic Repertoire for the Bass Clarinet, Volumes One, Two, Three, and his Volumes Four and Five books. His books have been the gold standard for bass clarinet orchestral study worldwide for the last 25 years, and are now referenced as a source for most bass clarinet orchestra auditions.
Drapkin formed Yiddish Cowboys in Austin Texas where they played at the South by Southwest Music Festival, moved them to Denver, Colorado, and finally to Sarasota, Florida.
Judi Glover, Keyboard
Judi is a graduate of Rowan University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Piano Performance. As a performer, she travelled extensively while working on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Other performances include showroom work for various entertainers at Bally’s Grand Hotel & Casino and the Claridge Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. She has performed with Broadway touring shows of Wicked and The Little Mermaid, and Regional shows of Legally Blonde, State Fair, Guys & Dolls, Camelot, The Music Man and Sound of Music. Since relocating to Florida she has performed with the Punta Gorda Symphony, the Naples Jazz Orchestra, and Disney’s Grand Floridian Society Orchestra. Currently she performs as Principal Pianist in the Venice Symphony, a position held since 2018. Teaching experiences include St Philip Elementary School in Brigantine NJ, Blessed Sacrament Regional School in Margate NJ, and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She now maintains a private studio for piano students in her hometown of Riverview, FL, and also participates in the yearly Venice Summer Music Camps.
Joe Porter, Bass
Joe Porter hails from the city of St. Petersburg, Florida. It is there that he learned to play bass guitar and double bass while studying music at St. Petersburg Junior College. In 2000 he graduated from the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in jazz performance. Soon after graduating, Joe was asked to Join the Maynard Ferguson Big Bop Nouveau band for a world tour from 2001-2003. During his tenure he also had the chance to perform with singer Diane Schuur and Australian trumpeter James Morrison. Joe left the band in 2003 to continue a freelance career as a bass player. He spent time as a member of the Kenny Drew Jr trio, up to the untimely passing of the great pianist. Joe continues his work as a freelance musician and educator to this day around the State of Florida and elsewhere in the USA.
Nick Bruno, Drums
Nick Bruno is a fifth-generation professional musician. Bruno is in-demand as a drummer and percussionist all throughout the Tampa Bay region. Some performing highlights include: the Sarasota Orchestra, the Venice Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, numerous major productions at the Asolo Repertory Theatre, percussionist for Evanescense and Lindsey Stirling’s joint tour throughout Florida, performing in the Hometown Edition of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, performing in the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music on stage at the world famous Carnegie Hall, and serving as the drummer for YouTube sensation, Dovydas. Bruno is the percussion instructor at Riverview High School in Sarasota, FL. Additionally, he maintains an active private teaching studio. He is pleased to play his part in contributing to the future of music by aiding in the development of well-rounded drummers and percussionists. Bruno holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Percussion Performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, IN. He holds a Master of Music degree from the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL. He has studied percussion with John Tafoya, Kevin Bobo, and Robert McCormick, hand drumming with Michael Spiro, and drum set with Steve Houghton
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