New Chicago Brass

Recital for the UVA BrassFest 2018
March 17, 2018 - 8:00pm
Old Cabell Hall
Free

The New Chicago Brass will perform a free recital at 8pm on Saturday, March 17th, 2018 in Old Cabell Hall as part of the University of Virginia BrassFest 2018. This free event is supported by The Eleanor Shea Music Trust.

The University of Virginia's McIntire Department of Music hosts the fourth annual UVA BrassFest on Friday, March 16th and Saturday, March 17th, 2018 in Old Cabell Hall in Charlottesville, VA. This two day event includes an Open Rehearsal on Friday 3/16 at 7:30pm, an open chamber group masterclass on Saturday 3/17 at noon and an open rehearsal and play along with students and brass faculty at 2pm on Saturday 3/17.  The 2018 BrassFest culminates with a concert by the New Chicago Brass at 8pm on Saturday 3/17.  All events are free and open to the public. Registration is requested but not required.  Register here. 

A fresh take on the classic style, New Chicago Brass (NCB) represents the cutting-edge generation of high-quality brass performance in Chicago. Since its inception in 2012, the ensemble – in various combinations of trumpets, horns, trombones, and tuba – has amazed audiences throughout the Chicagoland area with its resplendent sound and virtuosic playing.

NCB began as a dream voiced during a workshop with world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble. Founders Amy Krueger and Duncan Spry were inspired to act on that dream, and gathered current and former members of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago for a reading session. Shortly thereafter, the group organized a benefit concert for the American Red Cross at Gary United Methodist Church in Wheaton, IL. Less than a month later, NCB was featured on a chamber music concert presented by the Civic Orchestra at Symphony Center, the home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This paved the way for two more performances: the first, alongside the Chicago Symphony Brass, was the culminating event of the CSO Rivers Project at Ping Tom Memorial Park in Chicago, and was attended by Mayor Rahm Emmanuel. In the other, the group entertained outside the entrance to Orchestra Hall, and delighted passersby on Michigan Avenue for Make Music Chicago. The rapid success of NCB inspired its members to make the switch from casual reading ensemble to professional performing group. Since then, the ensemble has been asked to play for patrons preceding the CSO’s Symphony Ball, and has organized numerous concerts in the greater Chicagoland area.

New Chicago Brass enjoys playing a varied repertoire, including arrangements of composers such as Gabrieli, Mendelssohn, and Wagner, and compositions written specifically for the grouping by composers such as Koetsier, Crespo, and Boehme. The instrumentation is inspired by ensembles such as the Philip Jones Ensemble and the German Brass and usually performs as a ten-piece group. However, size is flexible, and ranges from quintets to 11-piece or larger, depending on repertoire demands.

Members of NCB can be found performing regularly with such groups as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, CSO’s contemporary music ensemble MusicNOW, Music of the Baroque, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and various local and regional orchestras. They routinely work with the most famous conductors in recent history. Members have performed all over the globe, including Scotland, China, Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan, and participated in an impressive list of premiere music festivals. You can hear members of NCB on recordings by CSO Resound (the Grammy award-winning Verdi Requiem with Riccardo Muti), Dutton Epoch Records with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sony BMG, Naxos, and on numerous video game soundtracks. Most members are active private teachers, and regularly perform educational programs for all ages and musical backgrounds.

New Chicago Brass on YouTube. 

Old Cabell Hall is located on the south end of UVA's historic lawn, directly opposite the Rotunda (map). Parking is available in the Central Grounds parking garage on Emmet Street, in the C1 parking lot off McCormick Road, and in the parking lots at the UVA Corner.

This event is supported by the Eleanor Shea Music Trust.

Please call the Music Department at 434.924.3052 for more information.
All events are subject to change. 

Address

UVA Department of Music
112 Old Cabell Hall
P.O. Box 400176 Charlottesville, VA 22904-4176

Email: music@virginia.edu