The concert is dedicated to the memory of founding Brass Band of Minot member Wally Ost (June 29, 1938-May 17, 2025). Ost played tuba with the band until moving to South Dakota in 2011 and gifted several of his own compositions to the ensemble. The band will perform two of them, “Dreamer” and “The Magic That Is Christmas,” with assistance from vocalist Megan Klebe. Klebe previously performed with the band while attending Minot State University.

Guest artist Dr. Joan Haaland Paddock, a Minot native, will appear with the ensemble. Paddock holds a doctorate in trumpet performance from Indiana University and is a retired professor of music at Linfield University in Oregon. She is a clinician for Conn-Selmer Music Corp and performs with several groups in Oregon, including the Britt Festival Orchestra. Paddock is also known for her appearances at Norsk Høstfest playing the lur, a Norwegian wooden trumpet. With the Brass Band of Minot, she will perform William Himes’ “Concertino for Flugelhorn.”

Paddock will also perform a duet with Nathan Wilson. Wilson began performing with the Brass Band of Minot in seventh grade under the encouragement of teacher and mentor Gary Stenehjem. He later earned a degree in music performance from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Wilson now lives in Ladera Ranch, California, and continues performing trumpet and organ at churches and events.

Special guests, First Lutheran Church Celebration Ringers, will perform an intermission Christmas bell-music segment featuring an arrangement of “Carol of the Bells.” The Celebration Ringers regularly perform at First Lutheran Church and will present a Winter Solstice concert on Dec. 21 at 3 p.m.

Submitted Photo Guest artist Dr. Joan Haaland Paddock will perform with the Brass Band of Minot on Sunday, Nov. 23.

The program will also include holiday selections such as Leroy Anderson’s “Christmas Festival,” works by brass-band composer William Gordon, and Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.”

The band is directed by Wayne Schempp and features brass and percussion players from Minot and other communities in northwest North Dakota. The ensemble uses a British-style brass band setup, which includes cornets instead of trumpets and instruments not typically used elsewhere, such as the flugelhorn and altonium, creating a mellower and more flexible tone. The Brass Band of Minot is the only British-style brass band in North Dakota.

The nonprofit group is supported in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the North Dakota Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional concerts are scheduled for Feb. 15 and March 29, 2026.