Annapolis Brass Quintet
Encyclopedia
The Annapolis Brass Quintet was a brass quintet
founded by trumpet
player David Cran and trombone
player Robert Posten in 1971 as America's first full-time performing brass ensemble. During the course of its 22-year career through 1993, it played concerts in all fifty states and throughout Europe
, the Orient
, the Middle East
, Central America
and Canada
. The ensemble earned an international reputation for its dedication to excellence in the presentation of brass chamber music
.
The original members of the quintet were trumpeters Cran and Haldon "Butch" Johnson, trombonists Posten and John Driver, and horn
player Rick Rightnour. Through 1993, 14 different musicians played as regular members, including future social scientist Arthur C. Brooks
. At that time, the Quintet
disbanded, and played again only for a single concert in December 2000 in Annapolis, Maryland
to honor the late jazz guitar legend Charlie Byrd
. The final roster in 1993 and at the reunion concert were Cran, Posten, trumpeter Robert Suggs, trombonist Wayne Wells, and horn player Sharon Tiebert, the only female member in the Quintet's history.
The Quintet is notable for its founding of the International Brass Quintet Festival in Baltimore, Maryland, which became recognized as a major forum for brass chamber music. A major highlight of the 1989 festival was the combined appearance of both the East Berlin
and West Berlin
Brass Quintets with the ABQ two months before the Berlin Wall
toppled, a historic collaboration both musically and politically. The festival presented over 200 free public concerts and conducted workshops and seminars for students and professional brass players.
In 1985, the ABQ first performed with the Charlie Byrd
Trio as Byrd and Brass. This unique and critically acclaimed blending of Latin, jazz and classical styles, with one of the world's premier jazz guitarists and his trio, led to a long collaboration including over 50 concerts throughout the United States
, Christmas
concerts in Annapolis, and two recordings, Byrd and Brass and Christmas with Byrd and Brass.
The Quintet made a strong commitment to expanding the repertoire for the medium and has a list of over seventy-five world premieres to its credit. Among the composers who have written works for the ensemble are Douglas Allanbrook
, Michael Brown, Bruce Clausen, George Heussenstamm, Warren Kellerhouse, Jiri Laburda, Robert Hall Lewis, Allen Molineux, Lawrence Moss
, Jiri Pauer
, Karl Pilss, Walter Ross, Jerzy Sapieyevski, Elam Sprekle, Robert Starer
, George Walker
and Robert Washburn. Of special interest are four compositions for quintet and orchestra composed for the ABQ and performed with the Baltimore Symphony, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Wichita Symphony and the Dublin Radio Orchestra.
United States Senator Barbara A. Mikulski congratulated the Annapolis Brass Quintet for the national record on the floor of the United States Senate
on April 27, 1993, on the occasion of their final concert on April 25, and in recognition of the "contributions that the Annapolis Brass Quintet has made to brass chamber music. During its 22-year history, it has entertained people around the world and has positively influenced the development of its genre. Its members have achieved a truly high standard of artistic excellence and, together, represent what is best in American music."
Brass quintet
A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instruments. The most common instrumentation is two trumpets or cornets, one horn, one trombone or euphonium/baritone horn, and one tuba or bass trombone....
founded by trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
player David Cran and trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
player Robert Posten in 1971 as America's first full-time performing brass ensemble. During the course of its 22-year career through 1993, it played concerts in all fifty states and throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the Orient
Orient
The Orient means "the East." It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Far East, in relation to Europe. In English it is a metonym that means various parts of Asia.- Derivation :...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The ensemble earned an international reputation for its dedication to excellence in the presentation of brass chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
.
The original members of the quintet were trumpeters Cran and Haldon "Butch" Johnson, trombonists Posten and John Driver, and horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
player Rick Rightnour. Through 1993, 14 different musicians played as regular members, including future social scientist Arthur C. Brooks
Arthur C. Brooks
Arthur C. Brooks is an American social scientist and musician. He is the president of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. Brooks is best known for his work on the junctions between culture, economics, and politics...
. At that time, the Quintet
Quintet
A quintet is a group containing five members.It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single unit....
disbanded, and played again only for a single concert in December 2000 in Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
to honor the late jazz guitar legend Charlie Byrd
Charlie Byrd
Charlie Lee Byrd was a famous and versatile American guitarist born in Suffolk, Virginia. His earliest and strongest musical influence was Django Reinhardt, the famous gypsy guitarist. Byrd became the American guitarist who best understood and played Brazilian music, especially the Bossa Nova genre...
. The final roster in 1993 and at the reunion concert were Cran, Posten, trumpeter Robert Suggs, trombonist Wayne Wells, and horn player Sharon Tiebert, the only female member in the Quintet's history.
The Quintet is notable for its founding of the International Brass Quintet Festival in Baltimore, Maryland, which became recognized as a major forum for brass chamber music. A major highlight of the 1989 festival was the combined appearance of both the East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
and West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
Brass Quintets with the ABQ two months before the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
toppled, a historic collaboration both musically and politically. The festival presented over 200 free public concerts and conducted workshops and seminars for students and professional brass players.
In 1985, the ABQ first performed with the Charlie Byrd
Charlie Byrd
Charlie Lee Byrd was a famous and versatile American guitarist born in Suffolk, Virginia. His earliest and strongest musical influence was Django Reinhardt, the famous gypsy guitarist. Byrd became the American guitarist who best understood and played Brazilian music, especially the Bossa Nova genre...
Trio as Byrd and Brass. This unique and critically acclaimed blending of Latin, jazz and classical styles, with one of the world's premier jazz guitarists and his trio, led to a long collaboration including over 50 concerts throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
concerts in Annapolis, and two recordings, Byrd and Brass and Christmas with Byrd and Brass.
The Quintet made a strong commitment to expanding the repertoire for the medium and has a list of over seventy-five world premieres to its credit. Among the composers who have written works for the ensemble are Douglas Allanbrook
Douglas Allanbrook
Douglas Allanbrook was an American composer, concert pianist and harpsichordist. He was associated with a group of mid-twentieth century Boston composers who were students of Nadia Boulanger.-Life and work:Allanbrook was born on April 1, 1921 and raised in Melrose, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston...
, Michael Brown, Bruce Clausen, George Heussenstamm, Warren Kellerhouse, Jiri Laburda, Robert Hall Lewis, Allen Molineux, Lawrence Moss
Lawrence Moss
Lawrence Kenneth Moss is an American composer of contemporary classical music.He holds a B.A. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, an M.A. from the Eastman School of Music, and a Ph. D...
, Jiri Pauer
Jirí Pauer
Jiří Pauer was a Czech composer.Pauer studied first with Otakar Šín, then from 1943 to 1946 at the Prague Conservatory with Alois Hába, and finally with Pavel Bořkovec at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He later taught for many years at the Academy where his pupils included composer...
, Karl Pilss, Walter Ross, Jerzy Sapieyevski, Elam Sprekle, Robert Starer
Robert Starer
Robert Starer was an Austrian-born American composer and pianist.Robert Starer began studying the piano at age 4 and continued his studies at the Vienna State Academy...
, George Walker
George Walker (composer)
George Theophilus Walker is an African-American composer, the first to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He received the Pulitzer for his work Lilacs in 1996....
and Robert Washburn. Of special interest are four compositions for quintet and orchestra composed for the ABQ and performed with the Baltimore Symphony, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Wichita Symphony and the Dublin Radio Orchestra.
United States Senator Barbara A. Mikulski congratulated the Annapolis Brass Quintet for the national record on the floor of the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on April 27, 1993, on the occasion of their final concert on April 25, and in recognition of the "contributions that the Annapolis Brass Quintet has made to brass chamber music. During its 22-year history, it has entertained people around the world and has positively influenced the development of its genre. Its members have achieved a truly high standard of artistic excellence and, together, represent what is best in American music."
Discography
- Annapolis Brass Quintet (Crystal S-202)
- QuintessenceQuintessenceQuintessence, literally fifth essence , can refer to:-Science:* Aether , the fifth classical element after earth, fire, water, and air...
(Crystal S-206) - Annapolis Sounds (Richardson RRS-3)
- EncounterEncounterEncounter may refer to:In psychology:*Encounter , an authentic, congruent meeting between individuals*Encounter group, a form of group psychotherapyIn games:*Encounter , an international network of active urban games...
(Crystal S-207) - The Spirit of Christmas Brassed (Richardson RRS-5)
- Music of Lawrence Moss: Symphonies (Orion ORS 79362)
- Invitation to the Sideshow (Crystal S-213)
- Music of Lawrence Moss: Flight (AmCam Recordings ACR 10301)
- The Age of Masques and Revels (Antigua DG91.5)
- Synthesis (Crystal S-219)
- New Music for Brass Quintet (Crystal S-235)
- Byrd and Brass (Concord Jazz, Inc.)
- Brass and Pipes (CRS)
- Christmas with Byrd and Brass (Antigua DG91.6)
- Reflections in Brass (Antigua 92)