Brass-Beatbox-Breakdown

 It felt wrong for me to make a blog about brass bands with vocals or rap or whatnot, and not talk about Ska Punk in some way. Because of that, I am going to talk about it very directly! Ska Punk is one of the main reasons I ever practiced when I first picked up a trombone. My older brother would constantly be showing me bands like Streetlight Manifesto and Reel Big Fish. This led me to discovering so many other bands like Jeff Rosenstock's Ska Records and The Arrogant Sons of Bitches. I still remember hearing a trombone solo in a Ska Punk song for the first time and being amazed by how much character was being poured into the instrument and how it sounded just like their voices when they sang (for better or for worse).  Streetlight Manifesto - We Will Fall Together The aggression in the horns, the clarity of articulation, and the emotional rawness that the hornlines captivated for a younger me were everything. I would sit and listen to their albums and just noodle along, bec...

While originally I was only going to write about brass bands and rap artists, it only felt natural to expand into the realm of brass bands with vocal accompaniment, as they often go hand in hand. One brass band that is doing it uniquely is the Dirty Dozen Brass Band . Many groups have dedicated beatboxers, rappers, or vocalists, and yes, The Dirty Dozen do have members of their group that sing or provide vocals from time to time; they often collaborate with existing artists and serve as not just a band's hornline, but as a collaborator on stage with numerous bands.  Above is an example of just that! This is the Dirty Dozen with Elvis Costello. Costello is an English singer, songwriter, producer, author, and TV host who has run the musical gauntlet and performed in groups that perform a wide array of genres. This piece above highlights not just his versatility as a performer but also how wonderful brass blends with voice, in "That's How You Got Killed Before" off of th...

 Quintet for Brass - Andres Luz      Recently, in class, we listened to a Brass Quintet by Andres Luz, a postmodern Filipino-American composer. He had asked our class for feedback on the work, specifically the third movement. In this blog post, I aim to highlight the strengths of this composition along with how I believe it can be improved.  Movement I-  Grinding, Twisting Steel Movement II-  Intermezzo: Unexpected Amalgam Movement III -  ring modulation Movement IV -  Canzon á 5 Strengths A lot of this piece is wonderfully composed, each movement sucsessfully achieves what it has set out to do. The video with the first movement shows the program notes and each movement envokes the characterstics Dr. Luz strives for the audience to feel.  Each instrument is written idiomatically and plays to the strengths of the instrument. There is good variation from movement to movement, almost to a detriment.  It is incredibly fun to play. I pla...

 Brass Quintet has been an important part of my musical background ever since I entered my undergraduate studies at South Dakota State University. Before the semester had even begun my freshman year, the head of the school of music knocked on my practice room door and asked me if I would be willing to join a brass quintet, and I ecstatically said yes. Ever since then, I have been involved in a brass quintet every year of my studies until now.  Knowing that this last group presentation was an opportunity for us to highlight brass quintets that we had not talked about in class, I figured this would be the perfect time to talk about two works that have meant a lot to me over the years. Suite from the Monteregian Hills - Morely Calvert Suite from the Monteregian Hills performed by  Colorado MahlerFest Brass Quintet Daniel Kelly & Richard Adams, trumpets. Lydia Van Dreel, horn. Lucas Borges, trombone. Jesse Orth, tuba. The Monteregian Hills are a range of hills around Qube...

  During an Advanced Brassed Ensemble Literature class, we watched a video of a brass ensemble festival in Belgium in which a group performed with choreography on bicycles. It blew my mind, and I had to know more! Sources vary on how this tradition of bicycle ensembles or Velo Clubs came to be, but a few things are consistent among sources.  In the 1890s, bicycles were beginning to be mass-produced, and with this, more and more people began riding in the streets. This came with an increase in the number of accidents. New legislation had to be put into place, and fast. The law called for a horn, bell, or bugle to be sounded when approaching intersections to warn pedestrians. Soon, these velo clubs all had at least one bugler who rode at the front of the pack, and then more and more people wanted to bring their horns, and this effect snowballed until the majority of individuals had horns with them while they rode.  Over time, the purpose of the buglers changed to help organ...

 Overture for Euphoniums and Tubas     Overture for Euphoniums and Tubas (2015) by Parker Gaims  performed by MGySgt Mark Jenkins, MSgt Matthew Summers, GySgt Ryan McGeorge, and SSgt Hiram Diaz, euphonium MGySgt John Cradler and SSgt Simon Wildman, tuba Parker Gaims is a Washington, D.C. based clarinetist and composer whose compositions have been performed by the United States Marine Band, Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, DePaul University Wind Symphony, Northwestern Clarinet Faculty, DePaul Clarinet Faculty, the Los Angeles Symphonic Winds, pianist Winston Choi, and members of every D.C. service band. The Overture for Euphoniums and Tubas is a piece that I was unfamiliar with until searching for pieces for ensembles that I was unfamiliar with. The amount of character changes is astounding and well composed. I appreciate the warmth and group sound of this type of ensemble and the versatility that the valved instruments allow for, great technical ...