Brandt Brass Ensemble (Russia)

Brandt Brass Ensemble – is a unique Russian musical group that performs as a ten-brass since August, 2003. Ensemble was founded in Saratov (Russia) – a city of great cultural traditions. It is named after V. G. Brandt – an outstanding german trumpeter, who had founded the trumpet classes and symphonic orchestra at the Saratov State Conservatory since the days of its foundation.
Brandt Brass Ensemble gave their first concert “The Brass Fantasy” on the 20th of December, 2003. It had a great response in Saratov’s musical community.
Brandt Brass Ensemble took part in Brass Festival (Lichtenberg, Germany) in June, 2004, organized by Rekkenze Brass and Haus Marteau. Israel composer Boris Pigovat wrote the Jewish Rhapsody “Dedicated to M. Chagall” exclusively for Brandt Brass Ensemble. The first night of this masterpiece was on the final concert of the festival in Bad Steben.
Brandt Brass Ensemble represented Russia on the ITG Conference, June, 2005 in Bangkok (Thailand). Their programme was called “Dreaming under the birch-tree”.
Ensemble is actively working with the composers from many countries. Michael Kheifetz (Saratov, Russia) commissioned “Drunken Song” to Brandt Brass Ensemble, first night was given at the ITG Conference in Bangkok 2005, there they gave another first night of “Tchastushka” by Alexander Gilev (Moscow, Russia).
There are several publications about Brandt Brass Ensemble in the international and Russian mass media. In American ITG Journal: September 2004, October 2005; in English The Brass Herald August 2005, February 2006. In Russia mass media: cultural digest “Footlights” February 2004, November 2005; in information-analitycal edition “The Time” № 13 October 2005; in newspaper Komsomolskaya Truth from the 14th March, 2006.

Gomalan brass quintet (Italy)

Gomalan Brass Quintet - Soul Bossa Nova live in Rome
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Play well while working towards the best possible results: this is the aspiration that brought together, almost by chance, five musicians from different towns in Italy, who in the past have played, and currently still play, as principal musicians in some of the most prestigious orchestras in Europe - to name but some, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Radio Orchestra, the Frankfurt Opera, La Scala in Milan, the Santa Cecilia Academy, the Maggio Musicale Forentino, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Teatro Regio in Turin, the Italian Swiss Radio Orchestra in Lugano, and the National Symphony Orchestra of the RAI national radio and TV -, working with some of the world’s greatest living conductors, such as Metha, Muti, Maazel, Pretre, Sinopoli, Giulini, Chung…
The Gomalan Brass Quintet, as we know it today, was formed in 1999; motivated by a desire to express their maximum artistic potential, the group performs a repertoire that goes from Renaissance to contemporary music, yet by no means snubs genres at times considered less refined.
Just two years after starting out, in November 2001, the group won one of the world’s most prestigious awards: the first prize at the "Town of Passau" International Contest in Germany, receiving enthusiastic praise from renowned international brass celebrities such as Roger Bobo, David Ohanian, Steaven Mead, Dale Clevenger and Froydis Ree Wekre, all of whom consider the Gomalan Brass one of the most captivating and exciting groups on the international circuit.
A regular presence at the most important concert halls and main Italian musical festivals, (Festival di Stresa, The Sounds of the Dolomites, Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, the theatres of Bolzano, Parma, Bologna, Turin, Milan, ...), the Gomalan Brass has also performed in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Germany, Greece and Switzerland, and has given Master Classes at the Tanglewood Institute of Music, at Toronto University of Music, at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and at the University of Music in Glasgow.
Numerous radios have broadcast concerts and pieces by the Gomalan Brass Quintet, to name but a few: Bayerisches Rundfunk, Radio Vaticana, Radio Canada and Radio Rai Tre (for whom the group has performed several world premières).
The Quintet has made two CDs, (with a third currently under production), produced by Summit Records, today one of the world’s most prestigious labels for brasses

Opus 5 (Switzerland)

Opus 5 Brass Quintet, which was founded by Bertrand Galley in May 2007, has a colourful repertory of chamber music that ranges from the Renaissance up through the contemporary period, and even includes jazz.
The rich and extensive span of Opus 5 Brass Quintet’s timbre has inspired musicians either to compose or to arrange musical numbers especially for their performance. These compositions let the musical ensemble explore fully the deep, warm registers ofthe trombone and of the tuba as well as the crystalline brilliance of the piccolo trumpet.
Mindful of the pedagogical needs of school children, Opus 5 Brass Quintet has specially designed programmes meant to encourage exposure to the fine world of classical music for youth audiences. Well-known actors and musicians take part in these educational performances. Of late, the group has performed such time-honoured work as Francis Poulenc’s Histoire de Babar le petit elephant, Sergey Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, and Camille Saint-Saën’s Carnaval des Animaux.

Quatuor1084 (France)

The quatuor 1084°C merged together in 1998 at the Paris Conservatoire where they were awarded unanimouly the first price of chamber music in June 2000. Stemming from four personnalities of high calibre this music group originally classic could rapidly extend their repertory . Playing con brio and enthusiastically a self-made arrangement of the String Quatuor n°1 of Tchaikovski or the music of the film Rabbi Jacob, no anachronism frightens them: they are able to make a”coming back to the future”of nearly four centuries in only one hour and a half.
The result of a regular work and of a constant dialogue their catalogue is made in the image of their character: varied programmes for varying occasions and places. Since beginning 2006 the association” Brass à la carte” promotes 1084° particularly by reviving their first show “ZOOM on the screen”. Organized by the “Musical Youth of France “ the made a two-year-tour in the whole country.

Per Sonare

Per Sonare is a fantastic Brass ensemble from Austria. Just before Christmas they mixed and mastered there Christmas CD ''Weihnachten bei uns'' It's a pleasure to listen to great Christmas music. Go to the website and buy that CD!

Presidio Brass (USA)

Hailing from “ America’s Finest City”, San Diego, CA, Presidio Brass is a dynamic force in American brass chamber music. With a unique and exciting repertoire written specifically for the ensemble, the Presidio Brass is committed to providing engaging musical programs as well as developing close ties to their audience. Presidio has concertized nationally, presenting formal recitals as well as educational outreach programs throughout the United States. Members
of the ensemble have been seen with major symphony orchestras, including the London Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic; can be heard on soundtracks ranging from video games to major motion pictures; and have been educated at several of America’s finest institutions, including the Juilliard School, Boston Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music
and USC. Presidio Brass was formed primarily to promote musical education and appreciation in the next generation.

Trombone Giants

Again..a little bit of jazz from the trombone giants Joseph Alessi, Scott Hartmann, Christian Lindberg, Branimir Slokar and Michel Becquet.

The Ottone Brass Quintet (Belgium)

The Ottone Brass Quintet was officially held over the baptismal font on 1 October 2004. In Ottone, Italian for brass, the group found its proper name. The quintet was immediately noticed by the Belgian national classical radio station, Klara and gave its first concert on 17th of October 2004 in deBijloke concert hall in Ghent. The concert was broadcasted during the programme ‘Visioenen’ produced by Peter Van Bouwel.Ottone unites five musicians whose aim is to help to revive the art of the brass quintet. The quintet consists of Alain De Rudder and Steven Verhaert, trumpet, Eliz Erkalp horn, Jan Smets trombone and Mark Reynolds on the tuba. As well as being soloists of deFilharmonie (Antwerp) and the Orchestra of La Monnaie (Brussels), each of the members bring with them a wealth of experience of playing in both national and international chamber music ensembles and have a wide knowledge of repertoire ranging from early to contemporary music.

Guiseppe Verdi (1813-1901) Prelude to Act I from ‘La Traviata’
Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) Suite of ‘Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk’

Italian Brass Quintet (Italy)

This group is formed by some members of the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, joined by firendship and musicality. The high level and the virtuosism of its members enable them to deliver performances of great quality. It has a wide repertory, consisting of original pieces and of arrangements of all times.
The quintet has already performed in many Festivals, as it was invitet at: Antey-St-André (Val d'Aosta), Santa Fiora in Musica (Toscana), Ouverture Toscana 2001 (Siena), Minori (Salerno), Ancona Musica, Urbino Festival, Estate Musicale Imprunetina, Teatro Ponchielli di Cremona, Gargano Festival, La Spezia Società dei concerti, Syracuse University, Brass Festival in Nus, Brass festival in Brescia, Art is Life in Rome, Napoli nova Festival ,Madonie Festival, and others.
The members of the Italian Brass Quintet are quite active as teachers in courses and master classes in Italy, Europe and other countries. They are the coaches of the World Youth Orchestra, Accademia Mimesis Maggio Arte, Accademia Santa Fiora in Musica.

Berlioz Historical Brass

Berlioz Historical Brass dedicates itself to the exploration and presentation of early 19th century brass instruments. The inspiration for the ensemble stems from a Boston Symphony Orchestra performance of Hector Berlioz's Messe solennelle. Maestro Seiji Ozawa set a precedent by including a period instrument in the orchestra--the serpent played by Douglas Yeo--thus demonstrating that the modern symphony and chamber music settings could provide a venue to inform audiences of these unique brass instruments. The ensemble now includes the presentation of twelve instruments--keyed bugle, natural horn, trombone, buccin, serpent, serpent Forveille, serpent a pavillon, Russian bassoon, cimbasso, bass horn, ophimonocleide, and ophicleide--all used during Berlioz's time and most appear in his Grande traite d'instrumentation .

Berlioz Historical Brass players, in what has become an informal collective of musicians, perform in modern and period orchestras and serve as editors, columnists, and authors of historical brass resarch. The ensemble also serves to encourage and assist in the production of recordings and the publication of early 19th century editions of sacred and harmonie music for historical brass.

Norlan Bewley (The Low Brass Ensemble)

Norlan Bewley, Low Brass Artist (trombone, euphonium, and tuba family of instruments), is a new breed of brass player specializing in performance on all of the low brass instruments. For the past twenty years he has had extensive experience teaching, performing on, and composing for low brass, developing an unparalled perspective, insight, and approach toward these instruments. Through years of private teaching and performance, he has developed direct and effective methods of instruction that address the most basic and difficult areas of low brass playing in a manner clear to all, from beginners to professionals. In his private teaching alone, for the past 10 years Norlan has given more than 700 individual low brass students over 23,000 private lessons. A champion of the instruments, he is dedicated to the improvement, advancement, and increase of opportunities for every aspect of low brass education and performance.

The LOW BRASS ENSEMBLE

Low Brass Ensemble Music is a new type of listening and performance opportunity. The musical sound is a cross between the Trombone Choir and the Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble, which are both popular groups. They each exclude the other half of the low brass section however, so the goal of the Low Brass Ensemble is to allow all of the low brass instruments to participate in one group.

The instrumentation for the Low Brass Ensemble is trombone 1, trombone 2, euphonium, and tuba. The music is all 4-part writing, so the Low Brass Ensemble can be used for chamber music as a quartet, or with multiple players on each part as a large ensemble, even using the entire low brass section if desired. From an educator's perspective, it can be an easier ensemble to assemble than an all trombone or all tuba/euphonium group, plus it involves all of the low brass section.

Giovanni Hoffer (Italy)

Giovanni Hoffer was born in Lecco (Italy)in 1972.In 1991 he took his French horn diploma at Milan’s Conservatoire “G.Verdi” under the guidance of Master Michele Berrino.He began his career playing with the main italian orchestras, including the Scala Philharmonica, the “G.Verdi” Symphonic Milan, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra, the R.A.I. Orchestra in Milan, the Italian Swiss Confederation Orchestra. He also played in many international tours (Japan, Australia, South America), working with world famous directors like Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, George Pretre, Eliahu Inbal and many more.At the beginning of 2006, after the encounter with Lele Veronesi, he started the Hofferquattro project. Here, with the faith and dedication of Lele Veronesi (drums), Maurizio de Gasperi (piano rhodes) and Andrea Taravelli (electric bass) experimented the French horn’s potentials, tackling some standard jazz and mainly some compositions by Giovanni Hoffer himself."The French horn is still chained to classical music and looked upon with suspicion in the jazz scene.I have no idea where this journey will lead me, I like sailing towards the horizon.I don’t define my music, I let it go by itself, when it wants and in the way that suits it best."