Meet the Members
Ari Micich
, trumpet
Trumpeter Ari Micich has held positions with the KwaZulu Natal Philharmonic in Durban, South Africa and the Berkeley Symphony. He has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, SF Ballet, and has appeared with the New World Symphony at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, under conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. While performing with the KwaZulu Natal Philharmonic, he performed for Nelson Mandela's ninety-fifth birthday celebration in Paris.
Ari is also a composer, drawing from his background in jazz for solo trumpet and chamber works.
Joseph Brown
, trumpet
Joseph Brown has been a member of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra as second trumpet since 2016. He performs frequently with the San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Opera and has worked with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta, San Diego, Sarasota, and Tucson Symphonies. He has played guest principal trumpet with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and Hawaii Symphony Orchestra.
In his free time, Joe enjoys skiing, running, hiking, home brewing, and spending time with his wife, Erika and their cat, Bailey.
Erika Miras
, french horn
Erika Miras has held positions in Sarasota Opera, Florida Grand Opera and Palm Beach Symphony. She has performed with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, Opera San Jose, Dallas Opera, Breckenridge Music Festival, Fresno Philharmonic, Modesto Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, and Santa Cruz Symphony, among others. An enthusiastic chamber musician, she performed as a contributing artist at the International Horn Symposium in 2015, and was a 2014 Coleman Chamber Competition finalist.
Erika lives in El Cerrito with her husband Joe, dog Dale and cat Bailey.
Esther Armendariz
, trombone
Esther Armendariz is principal trombonist with the Santa Cruz Symphony and the Stockton Symphony, and is 2nd trombone of Symphony San Jose and the Marin Symphony. In 2016, she played a one-year position as associate principal/2nd trombone with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. Esther has performed with the SF Symphony, SF Ballet, SF Opera, the Colorado Symphony, Jalisco Philharmonic, Monterey Symphony, Modesto Symphony Orchestra and others.
When she’s not working, Esther enjoys playing pool, swing dancing and going for motorcycle rides with her boyfriend and 8-pound mutt, Dasha.
Will Baker
, bass trombone
Will Baker is principal bass trombonist of the Monterey Symphony and he has performed stints with the San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony, San Diego Symphony and the Malaysian Philharmonic. Before moving to Northern California, he was a member in Orchestra Iowa and the Des Moines Symphony. Will commissioned and premiered Robert Tindle’s “At Sixty Miles an Hour” as a soloist with Southeast Iowa Symphony in 2016 and the UCLA Wind Ensemble in 2018.
When Will is not working, he enjoys “lifting heavy things” and spending time with his family.