Orchestra of Annie

This is my 12th show with Theatre in the Grove. I started with Fiddler on the Roof and kept right on playing.
I love this group and the joy and enthusiasm everyone has to produce each and every show. I hope to continue playing in the orchestra pit for years to come.

Brandon has performed in over 50 shows, including two previous productions of Annie. The first was with Tacoma Musical Playhouse in 2000 (back when the orchestra books for Annie were still handwritten) and more recently, with the Sherwood Foundation for the Arts in 2019, which helped spark his daughters’ interest in musical theatre. Other favorites as a musician include Chicago (TITG), The Full Monty (TITG), Big Fish (TITG), A Chorus Line (TMP), and The Scarlet Pimpernel (TMP), while favorites as orchestra director include Annie Get Your Gun (TITG), Oklahoma! (TITG), and The Addams Family (SFA). Outside of the theatre, Brandon plays trumpet regularly with the Oregon Symphonic Band and the Al Kader Shrine Concert Band, and has performed previously with the Federal Way Symphonic Band, Tacoma Concert Band, Rainier Symphony, Beaverton Symphony Orchestra, and Tilikum Chamber Orchestra, and was a founding member of the Commencement Bay Brass Quintet.

Cheryl is delighted to be playing in the pit at Theater in the Grove. Growing up in Forest Grove she remembers looking into the pit and dreaming of the day she could play in a musical. A flutist for more than 30 years, she has now played in over 20 musicals in community theater and high school productions including Theater in the Grove’s Legally Blonde and last summer’s youth production of Little Mermaid. A believer in life-long learning, she is currently studying saxophone, clarinet and flute. Cheryl is a member of the Portland Wind Symphony, a frequent sub for the Tualatin Valley Symphony, the Oregon Sinfonietta and is currently subbing for the Jewish Community Orchestra. She also enjoys playing in small ensembles. She is currently a Board member of the Greater Portland Flute Society and the Portland Wind Symphony. When not practicing she enjoys hiking, kayaking, biking, going to the jazz clubs and exploring the food scene in Portland.

Corey can be found playing violin, viola, mandolin, and mandola all over the greater Portland metropolitan area; with local orchestras, chamber music events, with rock bands, tango accompaniment, busking, and more. But musical theatre always comes first. Annie is his 4th production at Theatre in the Grove (Legally Blonde 2019, South Pacific 2019, Big Fish 2023), and his 26th production since 2015.

David has been performing on all clarinets and saxophones in pit orchestras at TITG for over 30 years now. Some of his favorite shows include Chicago, Big Fish, and Fiddler on the Roof. He is excited to once again have the opportunity to share a show with his wife Christina, as she is in the cast for “Annie.”

Having over thirty seven years with his hands at the acoustic, electric, and classical guitars, Eric plays a broad cross-section of musical genres. A Canadian recording artist, he toured North America for two years and recorded multiple albums. His passion is live performance but also has spent time singing, arranging, sound designing, mixing, and producing. These days he mostly plays musical theater in the greater Portland region. Favorite shows he has performed locally include Fun Home, West Side Story, Hair, Dreamgirls, Fiddler on the Roof, Next to Normal, Last Five Years, Hairspray, Little Shop of Horrors, Folk City, Chess, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Shrek the Musical.

Evelyn is very excited to play in the pit for her fourth show with Theatre in the Grove! Other shows in which she has played the keyboard include “Big Fish”, “Scrooge!”, and “The Little Mermaid”. As a senior in high school, she is so glad that she has gotten all of these opportunities to use her piano skills. Evelyn hopes you enjoy this production of “Annie”!

Playing drums for over 30 years (from cruise lines, to bar bands, to live musicals) has given him diverse and vast experiences that allow him to adapt the drums into nearly any situation. He provides the needed backbone to elevate and ground any song. Growing up and residing in Forest Grove gives him an understanding of just how essential the Theatre in the Grove is and how honored he is to be a part of it.

Julian has been a musician and actor in 3 total musicals at forest grove high school and theater in the grove. After having finished Theater in the Grove’s production of The Little Mermaid as an actor he has fallen in love with theater and theatre in the grove and is hoping to be involved in more theatrical/musical productions and being more involved in theatre in the grove in the future.