About Brass Bell

Meet Our Staff

Tristann Rieck

I started my career for my dad’s music Store Brass Bell at the tender age of three, when I starred in a Brass Bell TV ad for Brass Bell. At fourteen, my Dad gave me my first real job (I am not sure cleaning the bathrooms when I was 7 years old really counts). I came to the store eagerly, and Dad took me to a door in the back of the store. He said ”Your job will be to file this’” and grandly opened the door on a closet awash in piles of unorganized invoices. I actually enjoyed that job quite a bit. My natural shyness and love of organizing things led to me working as the administrative backbone of the company. After a little too much calculus while pursuing a degree to teach math and on the recommendation of our accountant, I pursued a degree in business administration with an emphasis on finance.

My instrument of choice, the french horn, did not come naturally to me. In fact I know I was quite bad, but I just couldn't tell my dad that I wanted to quit. My passion for playing horn and working hard to get better was sparked when the cute trumpet player behind me commented to his buddy after I filled in for our missing principal horn player that it was the best he had ever heard that solo. So thank you Bryan for being sick that day.

Continued...

Ben Ludwig

Ben is a multidisciplinary artist, working in Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin in music and theatre arts since 2014. Music is his longest artistic endeavor, having dabbled with piano since the age of 4, viola and orchestral instruments since 9, studying voice since 16, and practicing digital production since 20. Outside of music, he is best known performing locally as his drag personality alter-ego, Miss Birdee.

Ben has worked with Brass Bell since graduating high school in 2014, starting out checking contracts in the office, and has worked his way up through the years. He approaches sales as product education, and prides himself on having an encyclopedic body of knowledge across every department at the store.

Isaac Ganger

Hailing from the Milwaukee area, Isaac is a recent graduate of audio engineering at the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology. His musical journey began with picking up the Cello in 2013, and later became a member of the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra for 4 years in high school. Isaac is now on a quest to learn as many instruments as possible, and loves finding new ways to record them. Having always wanted to work at a music store, he's thrilled to be a part of the Brass Bell Music team!

John Rose

A Milwaukee native, John''s previous work experience includes music retail and music publishing (Hal Leonard). He is also a private lesson instructor and successful professional trumpet player. Educated at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Applied Trumpet, 1985) he has performed with many of the big bands, theatrical groups, orchestras and chamber groups in Southeast Wisconsin. He has performed with such outstanding national acts as The Temptations, Diane Schuur, Joel Grey, Frankie Valli, has performed with include The Waukesha Symphony, The Wilson Center Orchestra and The AllStar SuperBand.

Iryonna Hale

Iryonna is a student at Nicolet High School, where she is a part of several choirs as well as the Tri-M program. She has been a vocalist for six years and a pianist for three. Outside of music, she enjoys reading, listening to music, learning Spanish, and dying her hair.

Fatima Gomez

Musician, poet, software developer, and social worker, Fatima has worn many hats in their life. Born and raised in Milwaukee, she has been playing classical and mariachi violin since she was 7, and continues to play in local orchestras and ensembles today.

Fatima has been working at Brass Bell since October 2024, but Brass Bell has been their one-stop-shop for all their musical needs since they were a child. She's very glad to join this team of instrument experts and local musicians to continue supporting Milwaukee's vibrant musical ecosystem.

Jazz Jack Cavanaugh

Jack Cavanaugh is a jazz pianist from the Milwaukee area. He studied classical piano for many years before discovering a love for jazz at Homestead High School in Mequon and has since focused primarily on jazz piano performance and composition. Studying jazz under the likes of Milwaukee's own Mark Davis, Vanderbilt University's Bruce Dudley, and Grammy-award winning Brian Lynch, Jack has become a true jazz cat!

Oftentimes you can find Jack tuning the ukuleles, demoing a keyboard for a customer, or sitting behind the education desk helping coordinate lessons. In his free time Jack enjoys running, honing his disc golf and ultimate frisbee skills, and playing monopoly with his family.

Meghan Reardon

Meghan is originally from Madison WI, but is currently attending Whitefish Bay Highschool. Her main instrument is bass and has played since 2019, vocals since April of 2021 as well. She is part of the print department but also assists with whatever is needed. Meghan loves to make jewelry, listen to music, and watch sci-fi shows and movies.

Noah Liermann

Originally hailing from the Northeastern Wisconsin area, Noah works as the Outreach and Events Coordinator at Brass Bell. He holds a B.M. in vocal performance and pedagogy from Silver Lake College, as well as a M.M. in vocal performance from UW-Milwaukee. Noah can be seen in local choral ensembles including the St. John the Evangelist Cathedral Choir and the Milwaukee Symphony Choirs. Having been participatory in music since a young age, Noah also plays saxophone, piano, and guitar, as well as actively loves listening to and singing opera and art songs.

Josh Hoover

A recent transplant from North Texas, Josh brings a strong administrative background to Brass Bell and helps oversee our lessons department as an Education Coordinator. Music has been a driving force in Josh's life since high school where he played alto sax and was heavily involved in the marching, symphonic, and jazz bands. Since then he's been fortunate enough to tour and record as a drummer with numerous high profile bands from the Dallas/Fort Worth area including Calhoun, Taylor Young Band, Back in Black (AC/DC tribute), and many more. He taught drum lessons for 6 years at one of the first ever 'Rock Schools' and has also spent time working in the comic and video game industries. In addition to drums, Josh has been producing electronic music on the side for over 20 years, and can regularly be found twisting knobs on YouTube. He is excited to serve the customers of Brass Bell and is looking forward to meeting some new people to make music with!

Nicole McCarty

Nicole works as the receiving specialist and private voice and piano instructor at Brass Bell. She holds a B.M. in music education and a M.M. in Vocal Performance. Prior to receiving her Master’s degree, she taught elementary music for 6 years, choir directed for 7 years and music directed for 6 years; she now has taught private voice and piano for 8 years. Nicole enjoys performing on stage in operas, musicals, and plays alike. Recently, she was seen performing on stage with Milwaukee area companies such as The Constructivists, Black Arts of MKE, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, and Sunstone Studios. She is also the female vocalist in Montage, a funk band that performs in the Milwaukee area.

Amanda Malloy

Amanda is a 2003 graduate of band instrument repair at MSC-ST Red Wing, Minnesota, a NAPBIRT member, and a certified Straubinger flute technician. She started repairing band instruments at Brass Bell in 2003 and specializes in brass and woodwind repairs with an emphasis on flute, trumpet, and trombone. She is also a trumpet player, vocalist, and brass and woodwind instrumentalist.

Nick Miller

Graduate of Band Instrument Repair and Guitar Construction/Repair at MSC-SE (Red Wing) and Graduate of Amplifier Construct at Roberto Venn Luthiery in Phoenix, AZ. Nick is a NAPBIRT member who specializes in woodwind repairs, builds guitar effects units, and plays guitar, brass, and woodwind instruments.

Dora Peregrine

Dora has been an orchestra instrument technician at Brass Bell since 2016 and, since then, has had the opportunity to do a number of other exciting things for the store additionally such as mural painting and video making. Her main instrument is the cello but she also enjoys playing guitar, bass, and other string instruments as well as singing. She is currently a student at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee studying studio art, German, and creative writing. In her free time, Dora loves biking, making art and music, eating breakfast foods, writing, and finding new and exciting things to do to her hair.

Eli Drews

Eli Drews grew up immersed in the performing arts of the Milwaukee area, having attended public arts schools and surrounded by a family of actors and singers. He has served as the principal horn of the UW-Milwaukee Community Orchestra, American Legion Band of Milwaukee, of the UW-Milwaukee Symphony Band. He’s also performed with the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, UW-Milwaukee Wind Ensemble, as well as in pit orchestras for several musicals in the area. He has composed works for ensembles ranging from band and orchestra to chamber groups and solo works, with compositions performed or recorded by Present Music’s Tatine String Quartet, the Cosmo Reed Quintet, and by MYSO’s Chamber Orchestra. He has studied horn with Richard Tremarello and Gregory Flint and composition with Ron Foster, Dr. Phillip Sink, and Dr. William Heinrichs. He is currently pursuing a B.F.A in Composition and a B.F.A. in Horn Performance at UW-Milwaukee. Mr. Drews is also a repair technician here at Brass Bell, cleaning and fixing brass instruments.