UNL Brass Quintet to perform original 20th century compositions

UNL Brass Quintet
UNL Brass Quintet

The University of Nebraska Brass Quintet will perform a selection of original compositions from the 20th Century including the opus 65 Quintet by Jan Koetsier, the Suite Francais by Eugene Bozza, Andre Previn's Four Outings for Brass and one of the first original compositions for the New York Brass Quintet by Collier Jones. The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, September 30 in Kimball Recital Hall. The cost of the event is $5 for general admission and $3 for seniors and students.

The quintet is comprised of Scott Quackenbush and K. Craig Bircher, trumpets; Alan Mattingly, horn; Scott Anderson, trombone; and Craig Fuller, tuba.

“This is one of the most melodic programs we have put together in the past few years,” Anderson said. “Many composers write for brass and exploit the dynamic aspect of the instrumentation and forget that the brass quintet can be a wonderful vehicle for melodic and expressive playing. That's not to say that there are no loud or aggressive moments in the program but it is primarily devoted to this idea of melodic playing.

“This is the second performance of Margo Romig's Prayerdance and we are finding new things in the piece every time we play it. The audience will be surprised to hear Andre Previn's treatment of the brass quintet. He explores the rich heritage of American vernacular music in his quintet. The quintet by Jan Koetsier is simply one of the finest pieces in the repertoire.”

The program will also include Prayerdance by Omaha Composer Margo Romig.

BIO: The University of Nebraska Brass Quintet is comprised of the faculty from the University of Nebraska. The quintet is comprised of Scott Quackenbush and K. Craig Bircher, trumpets; Alan Mattingly, horn; Scott Anderson, trombone; and Craig Fuller, tuba. The quintet is dedicated to the performance of original repertoire works and new music for brass quintet. Recent concerts have featured works by Eric Ewazen, Jan Bach, Witold Lutoslawski, Juraj Filas, Rayner Brown, Anthony Plog, Desire Dondeyne, Ingolf Dahl and Michael Kamen, Andre Previn, William Schuman, Eugene Bozza, Henri Sauguet and Arthur Harris. The quintet has been active in commissioning new works with a Concerto Grosso by Juraj Filas and a new quintet by Bruce Broughton to be premiered in Spring 2014. The quintet has performed on the Omaha Chamber Music Society Series, the Meadowlark Festival, The International Brass Chamber Music Festival and have toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe.

More details at: http://go.unl.edu/6fdu