The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music education: An impressive and long overdue brass festival -– “Celebrate Brass!” — will be held at the UW-Madison School of Music. It opens next Wednesday, Oct. 8, and runs through next Monday, Oct. 13.

By Jacob Stockinger

A good friend in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, who also happens to be an avid brass fan, recently wrote to The Ear:

“A young violinist I know heard a brass quintet perform last spring at the UW-Madison School of Music, and afterwards she said to me: ‘I had no idea this music is so beautiful.’

“She’s not alone. Most people don’t know. They associate brass with marching bands, or with obnoxious loud horns. And occasionally they notice a high trumpet solo in an orchestra concert (and don’t actually see the trumpeter as she or he is seated so far in back).

“But there’s much, much more. Think of the beauty of strings, with its complex interweavings of melodies and lushness of sound, but applied to trumpets, trombones, “French” horns and the tuba.

And then there are the works that are dramatic and insistent, such as “Quidditch,” written by John Williams (below) for the Harry Potter movie.

That is what the UW is offering during its weeklong Brass Festival — “Celebrate Brass”  — the first in 32 years at the School of Music and organized by John Aley (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot), professor and principal trumpet with the Madison Symphony Orchestra as well as a member of the Wisconsin Brass Quintet.

This event will even bookend John’s tenure here at the School of Music, as he helped organize the first brass festival 32 years ago.

The main concert, called “Brass Alchemy,” on next Saturday, Oct. 11, will present a varied program of lyrical music that is just as much a part of the classical repertory as anything else.

“And the visiting performers are tops in their fields.

One is Oystein Baadsvik (below) an iconoclastic virtuoso tubist from Norway. Two are UW-Madison women alumna horn players. Another is a top composer and trumpeter.

“The two brass quintets – including the Western Brass Quintet (below top) from Michigan and Wisconsin Brass Quintet (below bottom in a photo by Megan Aley) at the UW-Madison School of Music — are frequent commissioners of new works, essential if one is to continue the growth and development of classical music. (The Western Brass Quintet will feature a new work by American composer Pierre Jalbert whose “Howl” Clarinet Quintet scored such a success in its world premiere by the Pro Arte Quartet last Friday night. Below is a link to The Ear’s rave review of the Jalbert work.)

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2014/10/02/classical-music-the-ear-gets-to-hear-a-masterpiece-in-the-making-pierre-jalbert-howl-clarinet-quintet-it-sure-sounds-like-it-will-become-a-chamber-music-staple-of-new-mu/

“The School of Music is ticketing this main concert only — a departure from the recent past but long overdue, one that will be followed during the year for selected other concerts. Money raised will be put toward the many needs of the UW-Madison School of Music, which is another topic in itself.

“All the rest of the week’s events — master classes, colloquia and several other concerts — are FREE and open to the public.

“Tickets for the general public are $25 for the one concert listed below, but all students get in FREE. For information, visit http://www.music.wisc.edu/about-us/tickets/

“One hopes that these performances and educational festivals this year can be continued into the future, as they offer so much more than a stand-alone guest artist.

“One can also hope that listeners will discover an angle that is particularly interesting to them –whether it’s a solo tuba work called “Fnugg” (seriously) or the grace of a choral work performed by soaring brass.

“Here are a few links that illustrate the program for that night’s concert:”

“Quidditch” by John Williams:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdVRaCibYLU

“Of Kingdoms and Glory” by Anthony Di Lorenzo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4eeOPPon28

“O Magnum Mysterium” (choral music arranged for brass) by Morten Lauridsen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8y5GYboGdc

“Elegy” by Pulitzer Prize-winner Kevin Puts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oliao3JixtY

http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Bells-Works-Brass-Ensemble/dp/B004DKDNYS

The Ear is also providing some other links that seem relevant and informative.

Here is one to the official UW-Madison School of Music press release with the full schedule and list of programs and performers:

http://www.music.wisc.edu/brass-festival/

And here is one to Wisconsin Public Radio’s recent session of “The Midday” with host Norman Gilliland and guest UW-Madison trumpeter John Aley. It has lots of good commentary and great samples of brass music:

http://www.wpr.org/shows/john-aley

And here is a link to a Tiny Desk Concert, given by the Canadian Brass, playing Johann Sebastian Bach in a studio for NPR or National Public Radio: