Eric Fennell is firmly established as one of today’s leading international vocalists over a twenty-year career as an operatic lyric tenor and concert artist. Mr. Fennell will be the guest vocalist with award-winning Atlantic Brass Band at the Gettysburg Brass Band Festival on Saturday, June 7 at 5:00 p.m. His debut came in James Robinson’s production of La Bohème as Rodolfo at Glimmerglass Opera in New York.  This led to roles during the next six seasons for New York City Opera, including Alfredo in La Traviata and Narraboth in Salomé. In 2009, he made his European debut singing Verdi’s Requiem for the Latvian National Symphony. Eric’s many concert appearances include tenor solos in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony for the National Chorale at Avery Fisher Hall, Tokyo City Orchestra, Cairo Symphony, and Buffalo Philharmonic Symphony.

A native of Pennsylvania, Eric’s first passion was ice hockey.  He played for the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers through high school, and captained his team at Gettysburg College while earning a B.A. in Music.  He continued his education at Boston University, earning an M.M. in Performance and a Professional Studies diploma as a member of the Opera Institute at B.U.  Since 2010, Mr. Fennell has been a resident of Berlin, Germany. Mr. Fennell will perform  di Capua’s “O sole mio,” “Torna surriento” by Ernesto de Curtis and Puccini’s “Nessun dorma” from his opera, Turandot.                     

Three-time National Champion Atlantic Brass Band is a premier volunteer performing ensemble in the greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey area as well as are artists-in-residence at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ.  Comprised of professional musicians, professors, educators, and community members, the band is committed to bringing the arts to the community through entertainment, educational collaborations, and fundraising efforts for local schools and charities. The band’s repertoire spans hymns, marches, orchestral transcriptions, pop music, and traditional brass band literature. The ABB has performed internationally with a tour of Italy, two tours of England, and an appearance at both NATO JFC Brunssum and the World Brass Band Championship in Kerkrade, Netherlands.

Salvatore Scarpa is Music Director & Conductor of Atlantic Brass Band. Sal is a retired member of the Rowan University faculty, where he was Director of Orchestras, and taught conducting, music theory, and music history.  For many years he was also a member of the conducting staff of Philadelphia Ballet, Music Director & Conductor of Bel Canto Lyric Opera Company, a regular guest conductor for the Orvieto Festival of Strings (Italy), and a long-serving church musician. He is a graduate of Rowan University and the Eastman School of Music.       

Eric relates that “I’m very excited about performing at the Gettysburg Brass Band Festival.  Not only is it my debut at the festival, but it also provides an opportunity to collaborate with the renowned Atlantic Brass Band, as I enjoy collaborating with organizations outside the opera house. It is also a homecoming for me since I am a 1995 graduate of Gettysburg College!  I consider myself very fortunate that the College encouraged me to pursue a career in music and I am still in close contact with many of my professors.”                                         

The Gettysburg Brass Band Festival is in its 28^th year and attracts some 4000 listeners annually to main stage performances at the United Lutheran Seminary and venues around the borough. Brass bands are the main feature of the festival that includes the poignant Taps Tribute on Saturday evening.

Justin Danforth is a player who has followed a similar path to Blankenburg.
Undersized and overlooked by all the major junior programs coming out of his hometown of Oshawa, Ontario, he attended Sacred Heart University, then played in the ECHL, American Hockey League, Finland’s Liiga and finally the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia before signing with the Blue Jackets and making his NHL debut a season ago at age 28.
Sacred Heart has been a Division I hockey school since 1998-99, but the school located in Fairfield, Conn., has struggled to find success. The team has never made the NCAA tournament and has just seven winning seasons in D-I, and the year before Danforth arrived, the Pioneers won exactly two games.
To hear longtime head coach C.J. Marottolo tell it, Danforth was brought in to help turn around the program when he arrived in 2013-14.
“Scott McDougall, my assistant head coach, he found Justin,” Marottolo said. “I remember him saying, ‘He’s going to help change the culture of the program in how he works, how he attacks the game.’ What I remember most about Justin is every day, he wanted to get better, and he brought that work ethic on the ice, he brought that work ethic in the classroom. He just wanted to improve every day, and I think he’s probably still doing that today.”
Marottolo said those words Sunday evening at Madison Square Garden, as the entire Pioneers program made the 60-mile trip down to New York City to watch Danforth and the Blue Jackets take on the New York Rangers.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, Danforth was unable to play after suffering an injury in the game the night before against Pittsburgh. As the Blue Jackets announced yesterday, it turned out to be a torn labrum in his shoulder that will require surgery and a six-month rehab process, essentially ending his season.
It’s a huge setback for Danforth, who had settled in as the Jackets’ Swiss Army knife, capable of playing anywhere in the CBJ forward lineup and posting two goals in the team’s first six games.
“To put it bluntly, it sucks,” Larsen said of the injury. “Last year (at this time), he’s on his way to the minors, right? This year, can’t live without him.”
That Danforth has reached the point of being indispensable to the Blue Jackets is a testament to his work ethic, will and dedication — not to mention the four years of development that he received at Sacred Heart. When Danforth debuted with Columbus a season ago, he became the first Pioneer to play at in the NHL, and he continues to carry the Sacred Heart banner wherever he goes.
“I think it’s awesome,” Danforth said of bearing the standard for his college team. “Obviously I’m very grateful that it worked out the way it worked out. I think it helps the program bring guys in. There’s a lot of good hockey players at Sacred Heart. There are guys that are going to be playing pro hockey after they are done there. I think it helps pave the way for them and show that there’s a path. And also for NHL teams not to write off Sacred Heart.”
For Marottolo, the future is bright at Sacred Heart. The school has built a $70 million rink, the Martire Family Arena, that is set to open for varsity play in January, and the Pioneers have won three of their first four conference games this season. It also helps that the program’s most prominent alumnus is always a phone call or text away.
“That’s great that he has that Pioneer pride,” the coach said of Danforth. “He’s an inspiration to all of our players. He’s given our school a sense of pride from the administration on down to our team. It gives them the example that, hey, if you work hard and do it the right way and stay with it, maybe you’ll get that chance.
“There’s no question someone on our current team could be the next Justin Danforth, and that’s what we’re pushing for.”