STILETTO BRASS QUINTET

Stiletto Brass was formed in 2010, and is comprised of five

different women brass players. These players careers range widely
from orchestral, wind band, and brass chamber music. This group has
played with Doc Severinson as well as the Heartland Festival
Orchestra. They have played at the International Womens Brass
Conference, the International Trumpet Guild Conference, the National
Trumpet Competition, and the Great American Brass Band Festival.

They have played concerts in New York, New Hampshire, Illinois,

Tennessee, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and Oregon. Amy
Gilreath and Cathy Leach play trumpet, Misty Tolle plays French horn,
Nicole Abissi plays trombone, and Velvet Brown plays tuba.
The groups iconic signature is the bright red stiletto heels that
they wear whenever they do performances. Just like their look is out of
the ordinary, their programs are also very different than other brass
quintets. The group strives to include and program music that is
composed by people of this time period, as well as music all the way
back to the Baroque period. Audiences never know what to expect
when attending a Stiletto Brass concert; concerts are often serious,
fun, emotionally intense, and heart-warming.
Amy Gilreath is one of the trumpet players in the Stiletto Brass.
She attended Eastern Kentucky University in order to receive her
Bachelors degree, and then she attended the University of Illinois in
order to receive her Masters and Doctorate degrees. Gilreath is the
Principal Trumpet with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Peoria
Symphony Orchestra, the Illinois Chamber Orchestra, the Sugar Creek
Symphony, and Song Orchestra. She also plays as an extra sub with
the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. She serves as the brass faculty
for the Orvieto Musica Chamber Music Festival in Orvieto, Italy. She
joined faculty at the School of Music at Illinois State University in 1990.

She plays in the Monarch Brass as well, which is another all-women

brass group.
Cathy Leach is the other trumpet player in the Stiletto Brass. She
played Principal Trumpet with the Knoxville Symphony and the
Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestras for thirty-one years. She
retired in 2013 in order to work on her solo career, teaching, chamber
work, and publishing her own music. She is the Professor of Trumpet at
the University of Tennessee as well as on the Board of Directors for the
International Trumpet Guild. She is the president and cofounder of her
own chapter of the International Trumpet Guild, called the Smokey
Mountain Trumpet Guild.
Misty Tolle is the French horn player in the Stiletto Brass. She has
performed with major Broadway Orchestras (such as Phantom of the
Opera, Wicked, and Les Miserables), the Orchestra of St. Lukes, Albany
Symphony, with Il Divo at the Emmys, many popular ensembles at
Radio City Music, and many more. She also records a lot of music.
Misty Tolle currently teaches at Centre College, Interlochen Arts Camp,
and the University of Kentucky.
Nicole Abissi is the trombone player in the Stiletto Brass. She
received her Bachelor of Music at Julliard. She has played second
trombone for the Alabama Symphony, acting Principal Trombonist for
the Colorado Symphony, and acting Principal Trombonist for the Macon
Symphony. She also performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra,

National Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, Qatar

Philharmonic Orchestra, and Huntsville Symphony Orchestra.
Velvet Brown is the tuba player in the Stiletto Brass. She has
taught at Bowling Green University, Ball State University, Boston
University, and now teaches at Pennsylvania State University. She was
the secretary of the International Tuba and Euphonium Association, as
well as founding member of the International Womens Brass
Conference. She is a founding as well as a current member of the
Monarch Brass Quintet and Ensemble, the Junction Tuba Quartet, and
the Pennsylvania Brassworks. She also has a career as an international
soloist, chamber ensemble performer, recording artist, conductor, and
orchestral player.

Discography
Stiletto Brass

Stiletto Brass Quintet

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/stilettobrassquintet

Amy Gilreath

Forbes plays Koetsier

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?
pid=7241873&style=music

Enescu: Impressions from Childhood; Chamber Symphony,

Quartet No. 2 http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?
pid=7847139&style=music

Cathy Leach

The Galliard Brass Ensemble https://www.discogs.com/Galliard-

Brass-Ensemble-Carols-For-Brass-Volume-2/release/3335027
Greater Vision- the King Came Down
https://www.discogs.com/Greater-Vision-The-King-Came-

Down/release/8279251
Electro-Acoustic Music by Kenneth Jacobs
https://www.discogs.com/Kenneth-Jacobs-Electro-Acoustic-MusicBy-Kenneth-Jacobs/release/2174752

Velvet Brown

Coolest Love http://www.allmusic.com/album/coolest-love-

mw0000496202
Perspectives: Sound and Rhythm
http://www.allmusic.com/album/perspectives-sound-and-rhythm-

mw0001504908
Velvet Brown, Tuba http://www.allmusic.com/album/velvet-brown-

tuba-mw0001849183
Simply Velvet http://www.potenzamusic.com/simply-velvet119723.cfm

Other Resources (besides CDs)

http://www.stilettobrass.com/#!home/c21a5

https://www.facebook.com/Stiletto-Brass-Quintet181425271909167/