Meet the members of the Gabrieli Brass Quintet

Tom McGee (Trumpet and Flugelhorn): A native of the Cleveland, Ohio, area, Tom attended Baldwin-Wallace University as a music theory major. While there he studied with James Darling of the Cleveland Orchestra, and Charles Berginc. After moving to New York and taking a hiatus from playing, he got back into it with lessons with Jim Donato. Over the last 30+ years he’s played with most of the volunteer orchestras and some of the professional groups in the New York metro area, including as principal trumpet of the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, and board president member of The Broadway Bach Ensemble.

Tom has also been a regular member of the pit orchestras of Trilogy: An Opera Company, and the Amore Opera. Prior to joining the GBQ, he was a member of the South Mountain Brass in Maplewood, NJ. By day, he works in the IT department at Seton Hall University.

Dan Sugarman (Trumpet and Flugelhorn): Dan began playing the trumpet when he was eight years old. Since making Millburn, NJ his home in 1993 he has played with a variety of groups over the years including cover bands, orchestras, community bands and brass quintets. Before joining the Gabrieli Brass Quintet in 2021, Dan was a member of the Somerset and South Mountain Brass Quintets. He currently plays with the West Orange Community Band and was a member of the Westfield Community Band until 2019. He has also played with the Metropolitan Orchestra of New Jersey, The Broadway Bach Ensemble, and the Imperial Brass.

He has been a member of several “basement bands” — including Los Traficantes del Amor, the Lost Souls, and the Logistical Nightmares — performing popular music in local venues and at Maplewoodstock. He is also one of the horn players on Still Thinking of Midnight, part of an album — “The Desk Drawer Tapes” — released in 2021 by The Cucumbers.

Leah Van Doornik (Horn): Leah discovered the horn during her freshman year of high school and was immediately hooked by the beautiful tone and the challenge of playing the instrument. She graduated from Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa with a degree in Music Education. She has performed with local large and small ensembles in the various places she’s lived such as the Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra and the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Concert Band.  In addition to the Gabrieli Brass Quintet, Leah also plays with the Livingston Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles as her availability permits.  Leah is a private horn instructor, elementary music teacher, and a proud mom for four children.

John Vitkovsky (Trombone): John began his study of the trombone at the age of eight. Sixty years later, he continues to enjoy sharing his love for his instrument and for good music. John received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as his supervisors certificate from Montclair State University. He was a music teacher in the Nutley, NJ School District for thirty-nine years; the last sixteen of which as Supervisor of Music. John has played trombone in the Bergen Philharmonic for 37 years. Since his retirement from teaching, John also plays with the Society of Musical Arts Orchestra, the South Orange Symphony Orchestra, the August Symphony, the North Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Rockland Symphony Orchestra, and most recently the Gabrieli Brass Quintet.

Adam Smith (Tuba): Adam started playing trumpet at age nine and after coming to his senses, learned trombone and tuba in high school.  He studied music at Drew University before getting degrees in chemistry from William Paterson University and Montclair State University. In addition to the Gabrieli Brass Quintet, Adam has played in numerous musicals and church bands, the Brass Factory Brass Band, Jacksonville Chapel Band, Bloomingdale Cornet Band, Polished Brass Quintet, Ramsey Wind Symphony, Livingston Symphony Orchestra, Hackettstown Community Band, and others.  In addition to his professional music activities, Adam is a high school chemistry teacher.