Filmed from the Lowell Observatory Giovale Open Deck Observatory, this special online concert will be premiered on this webpage and YouTube pages September 25th at 7pm. Generously sponsored by Lowell Observatory, and Nat and Jean White.
Northern Arizona University Elden Brass Quintet Musicians
Northern Arizona University Elden Brass Quintet
Stephen Dunn and Cindy Gould, trumpets
Nancy Sullivan, horn
David Vining, trombone
Benjamin Ordaz, tuba
Program Notes
Sonata from Die Bankelsangerlieder (Bench Singer’s Song) (1684)
Anonymous
A cornerstone of brass quintet literature, this energetic work is notable for the antiphonal playing so effective with brass sonorities. Recent research attributes the composition to Daniel Speer, a Baroque period German composer.
Contrapunctus IX, “alla duodecima,” from The Art of the Fugue, BWV 1080
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
Arranged for brass quintet by John Glasel
The Art of the Fugue contains 14 fugues and four canons, all in D-minor, arranged in increasing difficulty. Contrapunctus IX is a double fugue (two themes treated as a fugue at the interval of a twelfth, thus the subtitle “alla duodecima”). This masterwork is especially lively and compelling when performed by a brass quintet.
Quintet No. 1, Mvt. 3
Victor Ewald (1860-1935)
Brass players are indebted to Russian composer Victor Ewald for his series of four brass quintets that have become a staple of the repertoire. These wonderful quintets represent almost the only, and certainly the most extended examples of original brass literature in the Romantic style.
Washington Post March
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932)
Arguably Sousa’s second most famous march, after Stars and Stripes Forever, this iconic march was written for the Washington Post newspaper to celebrate the first awards presented by the Post’s Amateur Authors Association competition.
Ain’t Misbehavin’
Fats Waller (1904-1943)
Arranged for brass quintet by Lee Norris
This is a 1929 stride jazz/early swing song. Waller said the song was written while “lodging” in prison (for an alimony violation), and that is why he was not “misbehaving.”
Escape
Kevin McKee (b. 1980)
McKee is an American composer with a primary emphasis in brass chamber music. Escape was his first composition written in a cinematic style depicting a rapid descent down Castle Crags Mountain in California.
Sponsors
Generously sponsored by:
Lowell Observatory
– Dr. Jeff Hall, Director
– Dr. Danielle Adams, Deputy Director for Marketing and Communications
Nat and Jean White
Credits
Video – Nicholas Geib, Firewatch Media
Audio – Kyle Miller, Lore Audio
Graphics – Heather Brown, Cultural Sponge
Executive Producer – Larry Lang, Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra
Be sure to check back on FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 25th starting at 7pm to view this special performance!
Consider Making a Donation
Your support of music in our community is more important now than ever! The Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra would not exist without the generosity of our family of donors. Please consider a contribution to our FSO Sustainment Fund so that we are able to resume great live performances when it is safe to do so again.
“It doesn’t come close to replacing the experience of a live performance. Still, it’s at least something we can do to build music together. The result is something we’re very proud of.”
-Larry Lang, the FSO’s Executive Director