Leon Jordan
Lead Trumpet and band leader
Leon Jordan, lead trumpet and founder of the Continentals Dance Band, began studying and playing the trumpet in the ninth grade. During his first two years at NC State University he continued trumpet studies at UNC Chapel Hill. At the end of his second year at State, Leon went to New York City to study under Dr. Charles Colin who for many years was one of the best known trumpet teachers in the United States. At the beginning of the Korean War, Leon joined the U.S. Navy as a trumpet player and completed studies at the Navy School of Music in Washington, D.C. After nearly four years in the Navy he returned to college studies, first earning a B.S., then a M.S. and finally a Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering. From September, 1974 to May, 1983 he developed a unique engineering program for students wanting a career in the field of music instrument manufacture. Since 1983 Leon has devoted his time to giving trumpet lessons to hundreds of young students and working with the band.
Vic Jordan
Trumpet
Jeff Weidhaas
Trumpet
Inspired by his father, an avid fan of big band and jazz, Jeff played trumpet throughout high school and then in college at Va. Tech where he was a member of the Marching Virginians. After a long hiatus from playing, Jeff joined the Carolina Gold Drum and Bugle Corps when, as a member during the 2005 and 2006 seasons, they finished in 8th and 10th place respectively in the DCA World Championships. He began playing with the Continentals last year.
Bill Kapella
Lead Alto Sax
Bill Kapella, lead alto, has played saxophone and clarinet for over 55 years. He ran his own 18 piece dance band while at Purdue University. He has played for shows featuring Ray Price, Boots Randolph, Jimmy Dean, Sonny and Cher, Liberace, and the Temptations, and has performed with the Holiday on Ice Show, Ringling Brothers Circus and the Shrine Circus. He has also performed with the Charleston, WV and North Carolina Symphonies, The Charleston Light Opera Guild, and the Raleigh Little Theater.
For the last 25 years, he has played in the Raleigh area with the Casablanca Orchestra, the Raleigh Jazz Orchestra, the Starlight Dance band, the Jazz Alliance, the Heart of Carolina Swing Band and Joe Harper's Esquires.
Keith Longmire
Alto Sax, Clarinet
Keith Longmire, alto saxophone/clarinet has been a member of the Continentals Orchestra since 1988. He is a retired band director from Durham Public Schools, having taught the last 15 years at Carrington Middle School. He has also taught in Columbus County and Granville County Schools. Mr. Longmire at this time is teaching courses at Riverside High School, plays with three bands and pick-up orchestras, and repairs, buys and sells woodwind instruments.
Larry James
Lead Tenor Sax
Dick Beach
Tenor Sax
Dick Beach, Tenor Sax, minored in music at Wake Forest College, and, while attending college, began playing in dance bands. After graduation, Dick was, for eight years, a band director at three high schools in Johnston County. Dick has played with many bands in and around Raleigh and in North Carolina and led his own big band, the Southerners, from the mid-60s to the mid-80s. Dick has been a member of the Continentals since its beginning and was at one time the manager of the band. He conducted the band for “The Bob Hope Show” and two performances with “Martha Reeves and the Vandellas” during this period. Dick served in the North Carolina National Guard Band for 42 years, rising to the rank of 1st Sergeant, during which time he played first chair French Horn, was drum major for the band and played saxophone in the dance band unit, serving as the Enlisted Band Leader and Director of the 16-piece band.
Randy Guptill
Lead Trombone
Randy Guptill, lead trombone, grew up in New Bern, North Carolina and started playing trombone in sixth grade. He is an alumnus of ECU (BME) and UNC-G (MME) and is in his thirty-second year of service as a music educator, having worked with every level of band from elementary school to adult including four years at Duke University as a Visiting Instructor and Conductor of the Wind Symphony. He is presently Visiting Instructor of Euphonium at East Carolina University.
John Graham
Trombone
John Graham has played trombone for over 50 years. While in high school, he played with the Johnstown, Pa. Symphony Orchestra and local, regional and national high school bands. He played trombone with the Gettysburg, Pa. Symphony Orchestra, and, after moving to Washington, DC, played trombone with both the Jewish Community Center Orchestra of Greater Washington, D.C., and the Washington Savoyards of Washington, D.C. for 25 years. For many of those years he also played trombone with the Montgomery County College Orchestra. During his residence in the D.C. area John also played with numerous local theater orchestras. John now plays with the Durham Symphony Orchestra as well as the Continentals. John has studied under Bob Kraft, formerly bass trombonist with the National Symphony Orchestra and Michael Kris, trombonist with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra.
Jack Biggers
Piano
Jack Biggers, pianist, studied music at the University of Illinois, majoring in music, with a piano major and organ minor and graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Music in Applied Music. He then taught music in the public school system in Danville, IL for seven years. Jack returned to the University of Illinois to enter the Graduate School of Music, graduating in 1961. He did doctoral work at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Md. from 1968 to 1971. Jack served on the faculty of St. Augustine's College from 1964 until 1992. He joined the Continentals after retiring from St. Augustine's College.
Tom Bray
Bass
Tom Bray began playing bass with the Continentals in 1977. Prior to that he played with the N.C. State University Orchestra. A devoted fan of big band music since his childhood in the 30's and 40's, playing with the Continentals satisfies a life-long desire to share this wonderful music with everyone.
Chip Riedeburg
Drummer
Chip Riedeburg, drummer, has been driving big bands for 40 years. He started playing drums in the 4th grade, took lessons at Henry Adler's drum shop in New York City for several years and became a “first call” percussionist in Westchester County. Since moving to the south, he has been a full time member of the Jekyll Island Dance Band from the mid 70's until he and his family left for Atlanta in 1981. There he enjoyed working with several area bands, then moved to North Carolina in 1985 were he started and led the “Starlight Dance Band” in Goldsboro. He continued to be active in music upon moving to Raleigh with his involvement with his own jazz combo, show work and on call for big band work. Chip has been The Continental's full time drummer since 2002.
Ellen Ciompi
Singer
Ellen Ciompi, singer, is a native New Yorker but has lived in Durham since 1982. Her entire professional career has alternated between music and medicine. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in music and worked for G. Schirmer Music Publishers. After the birth of her two daughters, Ellen went back to school for her RN degree, and has been a surgical nurse for 20 years, although she's never stopped singing. Ellen attended the prestigious Cabaret Conference at Yale University in 2006 and has worked with internationally-renowned pianist Glenn Mehrbach since 2002.