Mike Tomaro
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In celebration and support of the Williamsport City Jazz Orchestra (WCJO) Jazz Fest, the Lycoming College annual spring Williamsport Community Concert Association (WCCA) endowed concert will feature internationally respected saxophonist, composer, arranger, and educator specializing in jazz and commercial music, Mike Tomaro. A free concert is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m., at the McIver Rehearsal Hall in the Trachte Music Center on the Lycoming College campus.
At the WCCA endowed concert, Tomaro will play sax with the WCJO Trio, which includes Steve Adams on piano, Tim Breon on bass, and Bobby Leidhecker on drums. The performance is made possible by the WCCA Endowed Fund and is the fourth public offering resulting from the merger of Lycoming College and the WCCA in 2022. The relationship ensures that the legacy of the WCCA will endure, and that the music department at the College, as well as the local community, will continue to be augmented and further enriched.
At the WCCA endowed concert, Tomaro will play sax with the WCJO Trio, which includes Steve Adams on piano, Tim Breon on bass, and Bobby Leidhecker on drums.
Rounding off a full slate of weekend jazz concerts in Williamsport, Tomaro will join the Lycoming College Jazz Band for an exciting afternoon of music on Sunday, March 1, at 4 p.m., in the Shangraw Performance Hall in Mary Lindsay Welch Honors Hall. The concert is free of charge and open to the public. The College’s jazz band performs on campus and in the community throughout every semester under the leadership of William Ciabattari, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the music department.
Tomaro is recently retired as director of jazz studies at Duquesne University’s Mary Pappert School of Music, a position he held since 1997. Earlier in his career, he spent 17 years with the Army Blues Jazz Ensemble of the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” serving as enlisted musical director, performing for U.S. presidents and world leaders, and contributing extensively as a composer, arranger, and featured soloist. Tomaro has recorded extensively, including his recent release “4 Seasons;” has collaborated with leading jazz artists and ensembles; and is a longtime lead alto, composer, and arranger for the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra. A Yamaha Performing Artist and Vandoren Diamond Artist, he is also a co‑author of the textbook “Instrumental Jazz Arranging” and a 2023 inductee into the Pittsburgh Jazz Legends Hall of Fame.
Music at Lycoming College
The Lycoming College music program offers an enriching curriculum that is bolstered by numerous performance and professional opportunities, and a flexible course structure that allows students to design their own path to match their career goals and interests. More information on music for majors and non-majors is available at https://www.lycoming.edu/music/.