TCJazzFest: Ralph Hepola Quartet

Tubaist Ralph Hepola is heard on 51 recordings and 55 video productions. He won a position in The United States Army Band of Washington, D.C. while still a teenager, then earned a music degree at Northwestern University where he studied with Arnold Jacobs of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Ralph then won an audition for Switzerland’s Basel Symphony Orchestra followed by freelancing in New York City and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Recently, Ralph’s music video “Original Thought” has won screenings and awards at eight film festivals in the U.S. and Europe. Ralph was a 2024 Made in New York Jazz Competition Runner-Up; the first low brass player to ever advance that far in this esteemed competition founded in 2013. Ralph was a John Stites Jazz Awards Winner, which funded a May 2024 tour of Illinois & Michigan with a four-piece group. Also see RalphHepola.com

Born in Hong Kong, pianist Peter Shu was classically trained as a prodigy starting at age four. He emigrated to the U.S. and earned a music degree at North Central University in Minneapolis. He was promptly hired by his alma mater where he taught and served as Director of Jazz Ensembles for twenty-four years. Peter’s musical palette spans many genres due to the wild musical journey he’s traveled. He has toured nationally as a performer, producer, and clinician. His background includes choral and orchestral conducting, arranging, producing, sound and electrical engineering. Peter holds a Masters degree in Music Education from Boston University. Also see PeterShuMusic.com

Drummer David Stanoch began performing professionally at age twelve; launching an eclectic career performing with artists in jazz, rock, R&B, Broadway, motion pictures and television. He is currently musical director for Emmy Award Winner Shaun Johnson’s Big Band Experience. David served on the faculty of McNally Smith College of Music for twenty-seven years and has guest-taught at the Berklee College of Music. David studied with many of drumming’s greatest masters and now serves on the Percussive Arts Society Drumset Committee, the Modern Drummer, Remo, and Vic Firth Educational Teams. The Yamaha Corporation of America presented him with the Legacy in Education Award in 2018. David has authored two award-winning books: “Mastering the Tables of Time” and “The 2-in-1 Drummer”. Learn more at DavidStanochSchoolOfDrumming.com

Bassist, Jim Bierma is from Des Moines and is in the Iowa Jazz Hall of Fame. He played at the Hotel Savery for 16 years with the Irene Myles Trio. He moved to the Twin Cities in 1994 with his wife Nancy. He has played in the Nancy Bierma Duo and Trio since 1976. He was fortunate enough to accompany Debbie Duncan off and on for 12 years. He has performed church music for two decades with bands led by Phil Kadidlo and Dave Graf. Besides Nancy, some musicians he has played with include Chreese and Geoff Jones, Nathan Norman, Larry McDonough, Mark Yannie, Ian Duerr, Charmin Michelle, Lynn Deichart, and Paul Harper. He also writes original music with his wife Nancy. 

The Twin Cities Jazz Fest is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission of bringing communities together to enjoy and appreciate the art form of jazz and inspire new generations of youth. What started as a small one­-day event in downtown Minneapolis 27 years ago has grown into one of the largest free civic jazz festivals in the upper Midwest.

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