No strings attached.
Our Story
The Old Crown Brass Band was founded in 2007 and has become one of Fort Wayne, Indiana’s premier performing ensembles. The band is a traditional British brass band and plays all styles of music. The 32-piece brass and percussion ensemble is made up of members of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, local music educators and freelance musicians. All members of the band are non-compensated and share a passion for brass band music. While conforming to the model of the traditional British brass band, the band programs all types of music including marches, jazz arrangements, show and movie scores, and orchestral transcriptions. The band also has formed a separate performing ensemble known as the “Black Swamp Ten.”
Pictured above is the original 2007 Old Crown Brass Band.
The band has received numerous honors including first place in the open section of the 2014 and 2015 North American Brass Band Association Championships. The Band moved up into the third section of the 2016 Championships and received third place honors. The band repeated the third place honors in 2017 and in 2018. In 2019, the band won first place in the third section. The Old Crown Brass Band was a featured ensemble at the 2010 and 2018 Indiana Music Educators Conference. The Old Crown Brass Band has served as host band for the North American Brass Band Association Championships since 2015.
Old Crown Brass Band has welcomed guest soloists: trumpeter Tim Zimmerman, trumpeter Rex Richardson, trombonist Adam Johnson and the Synergy Brass Quintet. In 2015 the band also enjoyed sharing a program during a joint concert with the award-winning Stavanger Brass Band from Norway.
The band has enjoyed having several conductors through the years, but is currently led by a team of two conductors who are also playing members of the ensemble. T.J. Faur (cornet) and Brian Warfield (tuba) are currently serving as co-conductors of the Old Crown Brass Band. Dr. Dan Tembras (Director of Bands, IPFW) previously directed the band as Guest Conductor during the 2015 NABBA contest. Old Crown Brass Band is a member of Arts United of Fort Wayne and the North American Brass Band Association.
The Old Crown Brass Band is honored to be a member of the North American Brass Band Association.
Our Conductors
Bryen Warfield
Bryen Warfield is currently the Assistant Band Director and Orchestra Director at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, IN where he co-directs the Homestead Spartan Alliance Band, directs the Symphonic Band Concert Band, Anonymous Blue and serves as the conductor of the Homestead Symphony Orchestra.
Bryen received his Bachelors Degree in Tuba Performance from the University of Louisville and Master of Music Degree in Wind Conducting from The Ohio State University, serving as a graduate teaching associate with The Ohio State University Marching Band.
Bryen has participated in conducting masterclasses and workshops around the country with many esteemed conducting teachers such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Hugh Wolff, Donald Thulean, Kevin Sedatole, Kevin Noe, John Lynch, and Robert Ambrose.
T.J. Faur
T.J. Faur received his BA in Music Education from Northeastern Illinois University in 1991 and his Masters in Music Education from Butler University in 1995. T.J. studied trumpet under Leon Rapier of the Louisville Symphony and Marvin Perry of the Indianapolis Symphony as well as completed conducting courses led by Harvey Bernstein and Stanley DeRusha while at Butler University. He taught in Batesville, IN for three years before moving to Fort Wayne where he taught college courses for one year at Indiana University-Purdue University. He then worked at Manchester University for six years as Director of Instrumental Studies and later as the Jazz Band Director. T.J. has spent fifteen years studying and working at the Interlochen Arts Camp. He has been the Fine Arts Director for twelve years and is presently the band director at Lakewood Park Christian School in Auburn, Indiana. This is T.J.’s eighth season as co-conductor of the Old Crown Brass Band.
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