Meet the musicians and production team behind the Siberian Solstice holiday concert experience.
Dave Coonrod
Bass
A veteran Northwest Ohio bassist, performer, songwriter and teacher, Dave is also a founding member of Siberian Solstice.
Garnet McGladdery
Guitar / Vocals
A guitarist and vocalist with decades of rock, touring, studio and production experience in Ohio and beyond.
David Breaston
Percussion
A lifelong drummer with symphonic, jazz and marching experience who performs regionally and teaches percussion students.
Kevin Peters
Guitar
A guitarist known for expressive two-handed tapping, shaped by decades of study and a strong virtuoso-rock influence.
Isaac Cox
Keyboard
A pianist trained in performance and collaborative piano, active as a vocal coach, accompanist and musical-theatre musician.
Jamie Blank
Narrator
A longtime radio, television and voice professional whose production background brings a theatrical presence to the narration.
Mary Jackson
Vocals
A multi-instrumentalist and vocalist with extensive touring, live-performance and Nashville recording experience across many genres.
Rebecca Mansel
Vocals
A vocalist with church, choir and musical-theatre roots who returned to the Northwest Ohio stage in recent years.
Jennifer Plante
Vocals
A Siberian Solstice vocalist since 2018 whose musical background also includes piano, saxophones, clarinet and dance.
Savannah Quinn
Keyboard
Savannah Quinn is a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist with lifelong experience in violin, piano, guitar, and choir, and a Bachelor of Science in Music Production from Full Sail University, where she graduated valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA.
Cynthia Cruz
Vocals
Biography coming soon...
Micah Nicol
Vocals
A Berklee-trained musician and lifelong performer, Micah Nicol is a guitarist, singer, pianist, and multi-instrumentalist whose talents span bluegrass, musical theater, dance, acting, magic, and more.
Crew Personnel
Todd HeilmanLighting & Audio
Doug EisVideo & Audio
Cody CoppesVideo
Dave is a veteran of the Northwest Ohio music scene in performing, recording, writing, and teaching guitar and bass guitar. You have seen Dave on stage playing the bass guitar and singing in numerous bands over the years.
Dave has numerous collaborations in song-writing and recording with his primary focus being performing and teaching. He is a graduate of Defiance College where he also taught for 20 years. He is a founding member of "Siberian Solstice” and sings in the St. Paul Lutheran church choir. He and his wife, Fran, live in Defiance.
Having been associated with many fine musicians in the past has been a privilege he respects. But the current project with "Siberian Solstice" has turned out to be one of his most exciting musical experiences yet. Thanks to "Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s" musical influence and universal appeal, and with the talent and dedication of the members of "Siberian Solstice" in respecting the style of TSO’s vision, this project has been enduring and fulfilling for everyone involved; especially the audience.
Garnet was born in Detroit, MI and at a young age you would find him listening to Ted Nugent’s first band the Amboy Dukes who would rehearse just down the street from where he grew up. He was inspired and wanted to be like Ted so he begged his Mom to help him get his first Gibson and he was on his way.
The family moved to Defiance, OH when Garnet was a freshman in high school. He played with some local musicians and finally landed in a band from Ayersville, OH called The Other Half. Garnet was one of the driving forces in the band from 1969 – 2000. The Other Half toured as a horn band with Garnet on lead guitar from 1971 – 1974. The band regrouped in 1976 and cut the “Smut” album in 1979 which achieved national success. Garnet and Smirth won numerous awards for Smut and The Punk Polka which was used in TV syndication. They also got a lot of FM airplay which peaked the interest of some music business people in Los Angeles. So Garnet and The Other Half moved to L.A. in 1985.
They played every venue. The Whiskey, Roxy, Madame Wongs, The FM Station etc. Performed for all the record companies but it just didn’t pan out. So some of the members returned to Ohio and Garnet stayed on with the rest of the band where he became the lead singer of a heavy rock version of The Other Half. During this time Garnet also spends 11 years in production work alongside some of the top R&R sound engineers in the world. He also trained in corporate video, lighting edit and design.
In 1996 Garnet and Jim Horetski with 2 former members of Crazy Horse start an Eagles clone band. Garnet covers the Joe Walsh stuff and the piano work in this project. The band to this day is still one of the top Eagle attractions in the country. Garnet leaves The Long Run in the year 2000 and comes back home to Defiance, OH.
He joins up with local favorite Wally and the Beavs as the bass player. He plays for 2 years with them and then joins forces with Pete Schlegel and the Trusouth Band as the bass player, band director and production coordinator. In this project Garnet was able to put most of his talents to use. In 2004 he directed and co-edited the hit video “It Takes A Whole Lotta Liquor To Like Her”. The video played in the top ten on GAC, CMT and VH1 Country for 3-6 months. He then tours as the band director and bass player for Daryle Singletary, Jeff Carson and Pete Schlegel from 2006 – 2009 touring fairs and venues throughout the U.S.
Garnet leaves the band in 2009 and spends the next 3 years recording regional Rap artists at his private studio.
Garnet has now joined up with Siberian Solstice and is looking forward to performing the Trans- Siberian Orchestra music as a lead guitar player and lead vocalist.
A full biography for David Breaston was not present in the supplied original members.htm file. This space is ready for his full bio whenever you have it.
Hailing from Bryan, Ohio, Kevin delivers expressive and fluid lines with his unique two-handed tapping approach to the guitar. Kevin has been studying guitar since 1988. About a decade later he put his focus almost exclusively to the two-handed technique. Among his guitar influences are Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine, Paul Gilbert, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Jennifer Batten, and many more.
Currently Kevin is working on composing original instrumental guitar music.
Among Kevin's other hobbies are dabbling in 3D modeling/animation and photography.
Isaac Cox is a pianist hailing from Adrian, Michigan. Having recently finished his Master’s degree in Piano Performance and Collaborative Piano at the University of Toledo, he now works at Adrian College as a vocal coach and collaborative pianist, as well as serving as music director for the First Presbyterian Church of Adrian. Isaac has a long history of performing in the SE Michigan and NW Ohio area, and is particularly passionate about musical theater. Most recently, he was involved in the Croswell Opera House’s productions of “Violet”, “Sister Act”, and “Anything Goes!”, and is now music directing Adrian College’s fall production of “Ruthless! The Musical”. Siberian Solstice is a unique and exciting opportunity for him, and he is excited to bring you the incredible music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Originally from Toledo and growing up in Wauseon Ohio, early in his media career Jamie was a member of a television production crew that traveled with the Ohio State Buckeyes before ESPN went on the air. He was the first TV director and Station manager at WHS-TV5. He has been an on air radio personality at 4 different radio stations in Ohio and Michigan.His voice has been used in many national radio and TV commercials while working for a Dayton area advertising agency. Today he is still and independent producer of documentaries, business training videos, and still volunteers as a director/producer at his communities public access TV station. He married a music teacher 36 years ago,of whom he met on a blind date during the "Blizzard of 78" while being snowed in for a week at a Michigan radio station. His wife Susi and he have two grown children that are in the music industry today. He still enjoys being a scripture reader-lector at his church, a calling he first felt at the age of 16 years old. Something you might not know about Jamie is that he has been a Certified Scuba instructor since 1992 and traveled to many exoitc diving locations. ( It's Ironic the only place we can shut him up for an hour is underwater! )
Mary has had a love of music for as long as she can remember. As a preschooler you could find her listening to the choir at church or standing in front of a mirror singing. Often she would try to mimic the adult singers. She started to play piano at age 3 and performed a pipe organ solo to the congregation at age 6.
At the age of seven, after getting to strum her pastors’ banjo, she begged her grandfather to get her a banjo. So her grandpa took her to the local music store and they talked her into a guitar instead. As a youngster she could often be found playing guitar around a roaring campfire at Happy Hollow Campground on Coldwater Lake.
Over the growing-up years she continued as a solo and group performer. She took on leadership rolls, directing & accompanying children’s and youth groups. At The Defiance College and Bowling Green State University she furthered her musical experience. She again took this opportunity to lead a swing choir and an award-winning jazz band. Mary has played many instruments including: guitar, piano, organ, bass guitar, string bass, trumpet, soprano saxophone and accordion.
As an adult she continued to play many different musical genres including Classical, German, Rock, Country, Jazz, Scat, Pop and Folk. Mary has toured with national acts including Pete Schlegel, Daryle Singletary, Jeff Carson, and Brooks Atwood. She has played across the country at many fairs, rodeos, and music venues.
In addition, Mary has had the opportunity to record in Nashville as a backup singer and has appeared in several music videos that played nationally. It has been her pleasure to open for national acts such as Charlie Daniels, David Lee Murphy, Rebecca Lynn Howard, and Buddy Jewell. Mary looks forward to making beautiful music with all the people around her at each new endeavor.
At an early age Tina Mae’s mother influenced her to play guitar and sing. She has performed many shows with her sister Sandy throughout Northwest Ohio and recorded an album with two of her sisters at Indian Ridge Studios. (The Schwind Sisters). Tina has performed with a variety of country bands and also has recorded originals at Big Sky Recording in Ann Arbor Michigan, as well as recording background vocals for local musicians. Most recently, she formed “Lincoln Street Therapy” with her younger brother, and they can be found playing at various local venues and festivals. Their group focuses on bringing musicians together to share their talents in the spirit of comradery and healing. She also performs solo shows and considers her music as an extension of her nursing career. She joins Siberian Solstice this year to share her craft in a unique capacity as a supporting vocalist.
Rebecca Mansel is a native of Ney Ohio and grew up in a large farming family that loved singing and making music at home and church. Mom taught us all to harmonize around the kitchen table during long boring stints of shelling peas and husking corn from her massive garden. Family birthdays still include the birthday song sung in four-part harmony. Although I have been a passionate singer since an early age, I found my love of theater in high school but took a lengthy hiatus from performing to obtain a BA in psychology at Miami University, get married, move to Australia, and start a family. Twenty-five years later theater called again, and I auditioned for the Fort Defiance Players and have since been blessed to work with an array of amazing local talent for the last eight years.
Hailing from Minot, North Dakota, Savannah Quinn has been a musician for most of her life. Finding that she loved singing from a very young age, she used to put concerts on in her bedroom for her stuffed animals. She finally got her hands on an instrument at the age of 9, starting with violin, adding piano in shortly after. She played violin in the school orchestras until the end of her sophomore year of high school. Savannah also picked up guitar in middle school, and is mostly self taught. She was in choir in middle and high school, singing in concert choir and the a cappella group, Change of Pace. After high school, she played keys and sang for various events around Minot before moving to Ohio.
Savannah has a Bachelor of Science in Music Production from Full Sail University. She graduated with a 4.0 and as Valedictorian.
Cynthia's full bio will go here.
Micah Nicol grew up with a mandolin in one hand and a banjo in the other playing bluegrass and classic country music with his father. Micah has had stints as a semi-professional actor, competitive ballet, tap, jazz and ballroom dancer, and was awarded Best Performer and Best Male Soloist a record six times as part of Singsation, a show choir from Wapakoneta, Ohio. He received his Music Production & Engineering degree from Berklee College of Music as a pianist and spends most of his musical life as a guitarist and singer for The Ruta Beggars and Bookmatch. Micah has a deep love for musical theater and content creation and lives parallel lives as a magician, uni-cyclist, and clown.
