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Mike
Magers
"Why should the devil have all the good music?"
is one of Mike's favorite lines. It's a sentiment that he backs up through
his own musical activities. In addition to playing trumpet in the DCJB,
Mike has been a member of the orchestra at the First Baptist Church of
Dallas for over 25 years. He is also active in the Heritage Brass, which
recreates the music of the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and World
War II. Other outlets for Mike's talents have included the Mesquite Symphony
Orchestra, the Bravura Wind Ensemble, and numerous musicals and weddings
in the Dallas area. He is a graduate of Baylor University's Hankamer School
of Business and works as a Certified Public Accountant.
Rob
Jonas
Rob joined the DCJB in late 2004 as lead trumpet player,
a role he has played with many different groups since taking up the instrument
at age 11. In addition to the DCJB, Rob currently plays lead for the Richland
College Thursday Night Jazz Band as well as Swingtime 2000, a 16-piece
big band he co-founded over 10 years ago and also manages. For six years
he played second trumpet with the Garland Summer Musicals orchestra, and
has also been part of a brass quintet called Classical Brass, Etc. Rob
was active in band at North Garland High School, and later played in concert
and jazz bands at Richland College. After transferring to the University
of Texas at Arlington, Rob had a four year stint as lead trumpet with
the UTA Jazz Orchestra, led by Bill Snodgrass. He works as a Patient Account
Rep for Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas and is active at McKinney's Parkway
Baptist Church, where he volunteers as the sound engineer, serves on a
children's activities committee, and plays his horn from time to time.
Art
Drescher
A native of San Antonio, Art earned a bachelor's degree
in Horticulture from Texas A&M University in College Station and a master's
degree in Park & Leisure Service Management from the University of North
Texas in Denton. He played in the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band at A&M, and
has also played in the Brass Ensemble and Hand Bell Choir at the First
Christian Church of Richardson. Along with the DCJB, he is currently active
in the Dallas Froshinn Kapella. He has been president of both the Texas
Association of Shrine Drum & Bugle Corps and the Association of Shrine
Drum & Bugle Corps of North America. Art owns and operates Volkmann Gardens,
a retail garden center and African Violet mail order company.
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Bob
Penick
Bob began playing trumpet in junior high in Columbus,
MS. At Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, he earned a music
education degree, minored in trumpet performance, and earned a BA in math.
He did graduate math work at the University of North Texas in Denton,
and in 1966 was hired by Texas Instruments in Dallas. He retired from
TI in 1997. Bob's playing lapsed after college, but resumed in 1987 when
he joined the Texas Instruments Jazz Band, a big band made up of TI employees.
He has also played with the Richland College Jazz Band, the Pecos River
Brass, the Survivors' Dixieland Band, the Richardson Community Band, and
The Rounders, a western swing band. As a free-lancer he has played with
Paul Salos and with the Christian big band Joshua. He joined the DCJB
in December, 2002. Bob's membership in multiple bands has afforded him
the opportunity of performing with the likes of Randy Brecker, Peter Erskine,
Kevin Mahagony, Marvin Stamm, Clark Terry and Mike Vax, as well as local
favorites Galen Jeter and the late Tommy Loy. In July, 2002, he played
with the TI Jazz Band at Switzerland's Montreux Jazz Festival.
Skip
Parker
Skip co-founded the DCJB (along with trombonist Tom Fletcher)
in 1994. As the band's first director (until 1998) and general manager
(until 2003), he has been a guiding force behind the group's growth and
development. Skip earned bachelor's and master's degrees in music from
Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches, Texas), where he played
with the Swingin' Axes Jazz Band. He then spent eight years as a public
school band director in Nacogdoches, Miami and Sabine, Texas. During Skip's
tenure at Sabine, his band was named State Honor Band runner-up by the
Texas Music Educator's Association. Over the years, Skip has played trumpet
for a number of Dallas-area ensembles, including the Bravura Wind Ensemble,
Town North Community Band, Plano Community Band, the Early Brass brass
ensemble, Richland Jazz Ensemble, and the Dallas Dance Band, as well as
the orchestra at Orchard Hills Baptist Church. His current musical activities,
in addition to the DCJB, include the Christian Brass Quintet and the Frohsinn
Kapelle, a German music band. Skip attends Celebration Bible Church in
Garland, Texas, and has been an agent with State Farm Insurance since
1981.
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