Old Crown Metro Band
The Old Crown Metro Band made its first public appearance at the Holiday in Brass Concerts December 2025. “Metro” is short for “Metropolitan” and indicates an ensemble that combines the best of brass band contesting and a community band experience. Metro bands sometimes use trumpets in place of cornets and French horns in place of tenor horns when needed. The Old Crown Metro Band is a traditional British brass band that plays all styles of music. The 40-piece brass nad percussion ensemble is composed of local college, high school students and other enthusiastic area musicians. All members of the band are non-compensated and share a passion for brass band music. While conforming to he 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 Old Crown Executive Board has been discussing the creation of a Metro Band for some time. OCBB members, Una VanWynsberghe Smith and her husband Bryan Smigh, literally took the ball and ran with it. Una and Bryan put out the word to several of their friends at Purdue Fort Wayne, and we now have a large ensemble with almost perfect instrumentation. Conductor, T. J. Faur, has been overseeing the creation of the Metro Band, relying on his decades of experience with high school and college ensembles.
The purpose of the Old Crown Metro Band is to expose more people to the genre of British Brass Band music. We look forward to utilizing the Metro Band as a development ensemble in the Old Crown family. We extend our heartfelt congratulations and appreciation to Una, Bryan, and T. J. for their fantastic efforts in creating this magnificent ensemble!
Old Crown Brass Band is proud to announce the formation of a second ensemble: the Old Crown Metro Brass Band!
The Old Crown Metro Brass Band is designed for players of all backgrounds who are eager to continue their musical growth, perform at a high level, and contribute to the thriving brass band tradition in our community. Members will enjoy access to shared resources with the Old Crown Brass Band, including rehearsal space, music library, and joint performance opportunities.
Our mission is to provide brass and percussion musicians with the chance to perform challenging and rewarding repertoire in a supportive, collaborative environment that celebrates growth and excellence.
What is an English-style brass band?
British-style brass bands feature a standardized instrumentation of brass and percussion instruments only — including cornets, tenor horns, baritones, euphoniums, trombones, tubas, and percussion. These ensembles emphasize blend, precision, and expressive storytelling through music, performing a rich repertoire that spans classic transcriptions to contemporary original works.
The Old Crown Metro Brass Band will serve both as a performing ensemble and as a development opportunity for musicians who wish to immerse themselves in this tradition. Our goal is to foster musical excellence, strengthen the local arts community, and build a vibrant foundation for the future of brass banding in the Midwest.
We are now accepting applications for musicians in all sections!
Old Crown Metro Band Personnel:
*denotes Section Leader
Conductor T. J. Faur
Soprano Cornet Joe Gernhardt
Cornet Steve Gernhardt ●Ned Hollman ●Ronda Jones ● Jason Lozer ● Mason Meyers ● Nathaniel Pickett ● James Pierce ● Jared Ragsdale ● Carter Smith ●
*Una VanWynsberghe Smith ● Kamilah Writght
Flugelhorn Sam Jones
Tenor Horn Tyler Summers ● *Kaleb Waikel ● Eloise Wendorf
Euphonium *Spencer Mohre ● Rodney Grimes
Trombone Ian Braley ● Owen Follis ● Luke Hensley ● *Addison Koble ● Mark Sampson ● Luke Thompson ● Alex Tuszynski ● Tyler Windle
Baritone *Jonathan Coats ● Chloe Rorick
Tuba Eden Fuchs-Yablonsky ● Nathan Halliburton ● *Bryan Smith ● Braden Unruh ● Josh Vandre ● Nate Weaver
Percussion Allyn Beifus ● *Zach Brown ● Julio Jimenez ● Nate McClure ● Claire Peters
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