Rythm and Brass

"Beyond Category" was a term the great Duke Ellington used as the highest form of praise for those artists who transcended normal boundaries. Since their inaugural season in 1993, rhyth3 & Brass has lived up to the ideal of a musical presentation that is not bound by time, geography or culture. With the unique ability to incorporate influences as divergent as Josquin Des Prez, Pink Floyd, John Coltrane, Johann Sebastian Bach, and, of course, Duke Ellington, rhythm & Brasssearches for the commonality in these influences and fearlessly weaves them all into a single concert experience.
While maintaining an active touring schedule, rhythm & Brass has also performed at numerous special events including a 1994 New York concert debut at Carnegie Recital Hall with celebrated jazz trumpeter Randy Brecker. Commissions have been premiered at Chicago's Mid-West International Band and Orchestra Clinic and the national convention of the Music Educator's National Conference. R&B has also been featured at the New York Brass Conference, the International Trumpet Guild Conference, the Raphael Mendez Brass Institute, Kentucky's Great American Brass Band Festival, the National Trumpet Competition and the National Association of Music Merchants Convention in Los Angeles. Internationally, rhyth3 & Brass has toured extensively in Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Virgin Islands, and Japan. Read more...

Leroy Osmon Composer

Although born May 27, 1948 in Washington, Indiana, Leroy Osmon grew up and lived for 44 years in Texas. His early education was in the Texas Public School System, studying clarinet and alto saxophone in a school band. With no formal musical training in composition he entered Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas to study composition with Paul Holmes and orchestration with Charles Wiley. After completing his degree Osmon taught band in East Texas. He went on to complete his Master of Music at Sam Houston State University in composition (studying with Fisher Tull), conducting (Gary Sousa) and musicology (James Marks). While working on his DMA at the University of Houston, Osmon studied composition with Michael Horvit and conducting with Eddie Green. Although Leroy Osmon continued to teach band in the Texas Public School System (retiring after 30 years) and teach an occasional class at the University of Houston, he now composes full time (with over 100 works - 30 published) and teaches part time at the Bach School of Music and the University of Yucatan in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.

New Brass Music
Concerto No. 2 for Tuba, Winds and Percussion, by Leroy Osmon is now in print with RBC Publications of San Antonio, Texas. This work was commissioned by and is dedicated to, Dave Kirk of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. It is scored for orchestra winds and percussion. The first performance was by Dave Kirk in May of 2006.

Other works for tuba by Leroy Osmon:
The Kesten Suite for Flute and Tuba ­ RBC.
Elegy for Tuba and Small Orchestra ­ RBC.
Frescos de Bonampak (Octet No. 2) for Tuba Ensemble ­ RBC.
Concert Etudes for Solo Tuba, Vol. I ­ SMC.
Concert Etudes for Solo Tuba, Vol. II ­ SMC.
Additional brass works: A Rocky Headland Amid Wild Winds ­ RBC.
Brass Choir 4.4.4.2. Introduction and Allegro for Brass Quintet ­ RBC.
Prelude: A Dream I Had ­ SMC. Brass Sextet.
Sonatina for Trumpet and Viola ­ RBC.
Concerto for Turmpet, Winds and Percussion ­ RBC [in preperation]

Midnight Brass Quintet

Comprised of students from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland, the Midnight Brass Quintet has enjoyed a number of successes both within and outside Peabody. From masterclass performances with musicians such as the Atlantic Brass Quintet, Graham Ashton and the Oklahoma Brass Quintet, to performances on the Thursday Noon and Elderhostel Recital Series, MBQ began and remains as active contributers to the Peabody community. In addition to recital and masterclass performances within Peabody, MBQ is also active as a commercial chamber ensemble throughout the greater Baltimore area. MBQ was recently hired to perform for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's unveiling of the 2006- 07 concert season at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, as well as invited to perform a solo recital on the Art of Healing Concert Series at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute. MBQ has also begun giving outreach concerts within the community through Peabody's Creative Access and has performed for organizations such as the Baltimore School for the Blind and My Sister's House. This past summer, MBQ spent 10 days as fellowship participants at the Summer Brass Institute in Menlo, California, where they performed with and were coached by members of the Bay Brass. MBQ is currently coached weekly by Phil Munds of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Boban Markovic Orkestar (Serbia)

Boban Marković (Бобан Марковић) is a Serbian trumpet player and brass ensemble leader from Vladicin Han, frequently recognized as the greatest trumpet player to emerge from the Balkans. He and his brass band have received world acclaim and won numerous awards.
Boban Marković Orchestra has been the leading Balkan Brass Band in Serbia over the last 17 years. They are from Vladicin Han, Southern Serbia, which is obviously heard in their music. They have won several of the most important prizes ("Golden Trumpet", "First Trumpet" and "The Best Orchestra") at the "Brass bands meeting and competition" in Guča, the Guča trumpet festival, called "Dragačevski Sabor", which has been held every August in Central Serbia, since 1961. Every year "Sabor" gathers 20 of the best bands from all parts of Serbia, as well as some 300,000 people in the audience. Winning there means more jobs for the bands, but also is so prestigious, that no one misses the festival and all the bands play for free.
Boban Marković Orkestar won the "Best Orchestra" prize at 40th "Sabor" in Guca, August 2000. They won the "Best concert 2000." prize for their concert with Lajko Felix. In Guča, at “Dragačevski Sabor 2001” Boban Marković won “The First Trumpet”, what is officially the best prize there and the most wanted among the musicians. It was the first time ever that any musician there got all five marks “10” from all of the jury members. Since winning, he has decided to stop competing.
Guča: A documentary featuring Boban Marković

Washington Symphonic Brass (USA)

The Washington Symphonic Brass is comprised of some of the finest professional musicians in the Washington/Baltimore area. While the members are in constant demand for orchestral, solo, and chamber music performances, they have assembled to play some of the great literature written for large brass ensemble. Conductor Milt Stevens and Trumpeter Phil Snedecor formed this group of players out of their love of and excitement about this fine literature. Individually, the members of the WSB have performed with many of the nation's best orchestras, such as The National Symphony, The Baltimore Symphony, and The Philadelphia Orchestra, among other illustrious institutions. The WSB performs throughout the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan area, appearing at some of the great performance spaces on the east coast. Specializing in compositions written for large brass ensemble and percussion (four trumpets, four horns, four trombones, euphonium, tuba, timpani, and percussion instruments) with organs, choruses, and other instruments optional, the varied repertoire of the Washington Symphonic Brass covers five centuries.

Washington Symphonic Brass 15th Anniversary Celebration
with Leonard Slatkin, Guest Conductor
Sunday, October 14, 2007 at 7:30 pmTerrace TheaterJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing ArtsWashington, DCandMonday, October 15, 2007 at 7:30 pmMaryland Hall for the Creative ArtsAnnapolis, MD. More here...

Josef Lídl musical instruments

Josef Lídl musical instruments were first produced more than one hundred years ago. Josef Lidl opened his workshop in 1892, first as a trading company and repair shop for musical instruments. This repair shop grew gradually to become the first musical instruments factory in Moravia.Czech countries have a rich tradition of producing musical instruments, dating back to the first half of the 17th century. Josef Lídl's workshop combined the experience of several well-known regions, such as Luby by Cheb or Kraslice. Soon, however, the firm began training its own specialists, who began to spread its high reputation.The assortment expanded gradually to include the production of string instruments: dulcimas, concertinas and pianos. An entire generation of Brno's violin makers were trained in Lídl's workshop. These included Jan and Frantisek Podesva, Josef Bucek, Josef Kreuzer, Antonin Galla and Frantisek Zyka. Josef Lídl's workshop became a name known all over the world for the production of corni and French horns. The first French horn was produced in 1924. It was a sporadic assortment in our counties at that time. Many French horns from Lídl's workshop became well known around the world.
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The Trillium Brass Quintet (Canada)

Formed in 1996, The Trillium Brass Quintet (Toronto, Canada) is a versatile and tightly knit ensemble. From renaissance vocal works to Charles Ives and the premières of new music, Trillium performs not only the traditional repertoire, but also explores the wide diversity of music available to the modern brass quintet.TBQ has performed throughout southern Ontario including recital appearances at The Kitchener-Waterloo Music Society, the Toronto International Chamber Music Festival, and University of Toronto's New Music Week. We were also the first musicians to play our national anthem inside the Ontario Legislature.

TBQ's versatility and wide repertoire allows us to present music to suit any occasion or venue - from official receptions, convocations, and corporate gatherings to sacred and secular festive events. Some of our hired engagements have included receptions for the Lieutenant Governor, and somewhat less formal but very festive appearances at Massey College for their Christmas Gaudy. Amongst the number of churches at which we have played, our appearances at St. James' Cathedral include annual celebrations of the New Year's Bishop's Levee, which feature jubilant brass and organ music, and hymn settings custom made for that grand acoustic.