Bradley Saunders is the driving force behind Element 5 Brass. A trumpet player with a wide musical foundation, he began on violin, piano, and percussion before settling on the trumpet, and served as an electrical engineer in the United States Navy. His years in Juneau, Alaska, proved formative, where he taught at the Juneau Community Charter School and composed music, including A Juneau Fanfare for the Juneau Volunteer Marching Band. Back in Redding, Bradley is Principal Trumpet of the Shasta Symphony and leads Element 5 Brass as a founding member and its music director. Colleagues call him a community architect for brass, for the way he connects players and grows the local ensemble scene. He also teaches piano and brass at Goddard Music, where he mentors the next generation of North State musicians.

K.C. Lab's musical roots run deep. He built his foundation in Baker, Montana, earning first chair in the Regional Honor Band and a place in the International Music Camp honors program. After twenty-two years in the United States Navy, he returned to the trumpet with renewed passion and seasoned musicianship. Today he is Associate Principal Trumpet of the Shasta Symphony and a founding member of Element 5 Brass, and he stays busy across the region with the Red Bluff Community Band, the Red Bluff Swing Band, and the Shasta College Symphonic Band.

Wayne Doerning's warm, expressive horn is a defining voice in the Element 5 Brass sound. A fixture of the Northern California music scene for decades and a founding member of the quintet, he performs with the Shasta Symphony and numerous regional groups. Wayne recently retired after a distinguished thirty-three-year career at the Far Northern Regional Center, where he served as Associate Director of Client Services. Away from the horn, you might find him restoring vintage pinball machines, mountain biking the North State's trails, or performing close-up magic. The same patience and integrity that guided his career now shape his playing, where he anchors the ensemble's essential middle voice.

Joe Murray brings remarkable range and a collaborative spirit to Element 5 Brass. A Northern California trombonist, vocalist, composer, and educator, he has performed with ensembles including the Sacramento Choral Society and the Oakland Symphony Chorus, and shared the stage with artists such as Andrea Bocelli, Wayne Bergeron, and Frank Ticheli. Joe explored many styles before taking up the trombone at fifteen, then earned a bachelor's degree in music theory and composition from California State University, Sacramento, performing in the university's top ensembles. Now based in Shingletown, he stays active across the North State as a performer, educator, and writer, bringing an analytical ear and an expressive voice to the low brass.

John Albright lays the deep harmonic foundation for Element 5 Brass. A founding member, he has been playing since his family moved to Northern California in 1962, more than sixty years with the tuba. He is a familiar presence in regional orchestras and community bands, known for his technical precision. John recently retired as Scientific Operations Manager for the Shasta Mosquito and Vector Control District, where he was honored for his contributions to public health, and he brings that same care and steadiness to the ensemble's resonant low end.