About Us
Vocalists
Current vocalists for Occasional Brass and Strings all hail from New England, and enjoy playing weddings and events in the Boston area and also in New York City. Get to know them here.
Aubrey Johnson - Vocals
Aubrey Johnson is a New York and Boston-based vocalist, composer, and educator who specializes in jazz, Brazilian, and creative contemporary music with and without words. She holds a Master of Music degree in jazz performance from the New England Conservatory and is set to release her debut album under saxophonist Greg Osby's new record label Inner Circle Music within the next year. In 2011, she joined the voice department at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, becoming their youngest current voice teacher. In 2012, she joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory as the director of the school's vocal jazz ensemble. Aubrey has performed and/or recorded with jazz greats Bobby McFerrin, Lyle Mays, Steve Rodby, Mark Walker, Paul McCandless, Fred Hersch, and Jimmy Cobb.
aubrey@occasionalbrass.com
Jennie Backstrom - Vocals
Jennie Backstrom takes the same approach to music as she does to life, love, and spiritual practice: express yourself radically and honestly. With a voice often compared to Joni Mitchell, Backstrom's claim to fame is her ability to quiet a rowdy barroom when she steps up to the mic and expels a voice which - grounded in an operatic background - climbs to the ceiling and down without flaw or effort. The Worcester-based singer/songwriter recently released her debut album. In Emotions Sit, Jennie supplements her arsenal of songs like the soulful and sultry "To My Next Lover" with mandolin crowd-favorite "Rain". Not knowing what comes next is a thrill for Backstrom, whose whimsical, free-spirited nature often finds her jumping on a stage, jamming with a street musician, or collaborating with excited, hungry musicians like herself.
jennie@occasionalbrass.com
John Stevens - Vocals
John Stevens IV was the sixth-place finalist on the third season of the television series American Idol. His favorite singer is Frank Sinatra, to whom his vocal style has been compared. He has also earned the nickname "Teen Martin" because of his Dean Martin impersonation and ability to croon at such a young age. Stevens was signed to Maverick Records and released his debut album Red in 2005. It was produced by Steve Tyrell and executive produced by David Foster. It features covers of The Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere" and Maroon 5's "This Love," both arranged and performed in a relaxed jazz/lounge style. John currently sings with the Boston-based Beantown Swing Orchestra,[2] focusing on the classic big band arrangements that were originally performed by Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin.
john@occasionalbrass.com
Kathleen Doran - Trumpet(s), Flugelhorn, Vocals
Kathleen (Leenie) Doran grew up in Westport, MA and in high school was a scholarship student at Interlochen Arts Academy. While at Oberlin College she spent her summers in Lenox, MA participating in the Tanglewood Summer Youth Orchestra. She later attended the University of Missouri (Kansas City) and studied with Bobby Watson, performing in his big band. In summer of 2009 she won "best brass" award at the American Brass Quintet Seminar at Boston University. She then attended the Berkelee College of Music as a World Scholarship Tour Student, studying trumpet with Tiger Akoshi and Darren Barrett and playing in Phil Wilson's Rainbow Band. A member of the trumpet section of the Beantown Swing Orchestra, Leenie is also the lead vocalist.
leenie@occasionalbrass.com
Lianne Goodwin - Piano, Vocals
Lianne Goodwin is a talented pianist, conductor, and vocalist. She is currently Chorus and Drama Director at Salem (MA) High School, and has been Music Director at Marblehead Little Theatre for productions of Violet, Les Miserables, Godspell, Next To Normal, Spring Awakening, Hairspray, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Oklahoma!, and Once On This Island. Lianne received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of New Hampshire and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from The University of Missouri-Columbia. As a singer, Lianne performs with Tanglewood Festival Chorus, which performs regularly with the Boston Pops and Boston Symphony Orchestras. She is also a member of Capella Nova Mundi, a chamber ensemble based in Southern NH.
lianne@occasionalbrass.com
Monique Weiss Byrnes - Piano, Organ, Vocals
Monique Weiss Byrnes is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she studied organ with Haskell Thompson while earning a Master's degree in Teaching with a Choral Emphasis, after earning her Bachelor's degree in Organ Performance. She has performed the music of Bach, Buxtehude, Brahms, Franck, Hindemith, Mendelssohn, Messiaen, Mozart, Vierne, Vivaldi and Widor on organs throughout the United States. She spent two years studying music in Bayreuth, Germany; Vienna, Austria; and London, England, and played organs in Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Monique also studied jazz piano with Harvey Diamond and Charles Banacos and jazz voice with Lisa Thorson, Bob Stoloff and Sheila Jordan. She has been a jazz and classical pianist/singer in the Boston area since 1988.
monique@occasionalbrass.com
Renee Legendre - Vocals
Renee Legendre began formal training at the age of 12. During her teenage years, the influence of her father’s music (Jim Porcella) led her to study and begin performing jazz vocals. Renee continued vocal technique and pedagogy (classical and jazz) at Westfield State College before moving to NYC to further develop as a performer and continue her studies in private studios. While in NYC she performed in several Cabaret shows and mastered her craft as a musical theater performer. When she returned home, she completed a BA degree in Education from Bay Path College. Locally, Renee has performed with piano players, jazz trios, and in the two-part vocal show Just the Two of Us, with her father Jim Porcella. In addition, she is the current choir director at St. Bernadette's Parish in Northboro, MA.
renee@occasionalbrass.com
Sarah Mitchell - Soprano
Sarah Mitchell, soprano, has been an active performer throughout the greater Boston area for the past seven years. Most recently, Sarah performed with the award winning choir the Tallis Scholars in a Carnegie Hall masterclass Venetian Voices. Opera and baroque singing experiences include The International Rameau Ensemble in London, The Fairy Queen and Le Carnaval Masquerade at the Madison Early Music Festival, Amherst Early Music Festival, and the Baroque Festival at Queens College, lead performances with the Harvard Early Music Society and Lowell House Opera in Cambridge, and performing in Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria as the Boston Early Music Festival soprano young artist in 2015. Sarah has also music directed several shows, including 42nd Street, Peter Pan, In the Heights, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Little Mermaid.
sarah@occasionalbrass.com
Stephanie Scarcella - Vocals
Hailed by The Boston Globe as a "radiant mezzo," Stephanie Scarcella originates from Wyoming, but has gladly made New England her home since 2006. Stephanie has become a sought-after classical vocalist in New England. She has sung with Boston Lyric Opera, Odyssey Opera, Opera Company of Middlebury (VT), Arcadia Players, Longwood Opera, Opera on Tap, in addition to presenting solo vocal recitals and performing as a soloist in concert settings. Stephanie received her BM in Vocal Performance, and MM in Opera from The Boston Conservatory. She was a New Orleans District Winner for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2011, and a Semi-Finalist (Young Artist (2013) and Graduate (2011) Levels) for the Classical Singer Magazine Competition in 2010.
stephanie@occasionalbrass.com
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