American Brass Quintet Performs Works From the 16th and 21st Centuries on Wednesday, November 20, 2019

NEW YORK –– The American Brass Quintet (ABQ) performs works from the 16th century as well as contemporary pieces in a recital on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, at 7:30pm in Paul Hall as part of Juilliard’s Daniel Saidenberg Faculty Recital Series. The program features Three Madrigals by Luca Marenzio (edited by Raymond Mase); Luminosity by alumna Jessica Meyer; Fixated Nights by Trevor Gureckis; Fanfare Quintet by Jennifer Higdon; Three Madrigals by Claudio Monteverdi (edited by Louis Hanzlik); and Music of the Camino de Santiago by Tomás Luis de Victoria (edited by Patrick Quigley and Louis Hanzlik).

American Brass Quintet members are Kevin Cobb and Louis Hanzlik, trumpets; Eric Reed, horn; Michael Powell, trombone; and John D. Rojak, bass trombone. They will be joined by ABQ seminar students Michael Chen and Clint McLendon (trumpets), Hannah Miller (horn), Addison Maye-Saxon (trombone), and Ehren Valme (bass trombone).

Tickets at $20 ($10 for full-time students with a valid ID) are available at juilliard.edu/calendar.

About the Program

The ABQ will perform Three Madrigals by Luca Marenzio (1553-1599), edited by Raymond Mase. Marenzio was one of the leading Italian madrigalists and composed more than 500 works. His madrigals were immensely popular throughout Europe and were published not only in Italy, but also in Antwerp, Paris, Nuremberg, and London. The three madrigals performed on this concert are Scendi dal paradiso, Qual mormorio soave, and Gia torna a rallegrar and they are included on the recent ABQ recording of music of the Italian Renaissance, In Gabrieli’s Day.

Jessica Meyer is a versatile composer and violist. She has premiered pieces for solo viola internationally—expanding the repertoire for viola by championing new works and composing her own. Most recently, she was commissioned by Juilliard for its Historical Performance program for a concert of new works composed in response to Haydn’s Seven Last Words, that were performed last spring at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Luminosity was commissioned by the Women Composers Festival of Hartford for its 2016 festival and premiered by the Nautilus Brass. The composer writes, “Luminosity explores how brass instruments can convey the essence of various forms of light, both visible and invisible. While combining both expected and unexpected colors and textures that are unique to brass instruments, this work strived to capture a series of moments—from light that illuminates certain aspects of nature to the ineffable kind that radiates from within a particular person.”

Trevor Gureckis studied composition and piano at the Yale School of Music and the University of Texas at Austin. He has received numerous awards for his music, including a JFund commission from the American Composers Forum, a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts, and young composer awards from both BMI and ASCAP Foundations. Fixated Nights (2010) was commissioned by the ABQ with funds from the Jerome Foundation. The work was premiered at the Aspen Music Festival in 2010 and received its New York premiere at Alice Tully Hall.

Fanfare Quintet by Jennifer Higdon was composed in 2002. This work is a movement from an organ and brass quintet piece called Ceremonies that was commissioned by the Philadelphia chapter of the American Guild of Organists when it hosted the group’s national convention. Higdon is one of America’s most acclaimed and most frequently performed living composers having received the 2010 Pulitzer for her Violin Concerto, a 2010 Grammy for her Percussion Concerto, a 2018 Grammy for her Viola Concerto, and the Nemmers Prize from Northwestern University, which is given to contemporary classical composers of exceptional achievement who have significantly influenced the field of composition. Higdon holds the Rock Chair in Composition at the Curtis Institute of Music.

Three Madrigals by Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) has been edited by Louis Hanzlik. Monteverdi wrote and compiled nine books of madrigals for vocal ensembles of varying size. The works represented in this edition are from the fourth and fifth books and were composed for five-part vocal ensembles. They were published in 1603 while Monteverdi was employed in the Mantuan Court under Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga. During Monteverdi’s time, madrigals were often performed by instrumentalists.

The final work on the program is Music of the Camino de Santiago by Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611), edited by Patrick Quigley and Louis Hanzlik. The ABQ will be joined for this work by students from the quintet’s recent seminar. Victoria was one of the most accomplished composers of sacred music from 16th-century Spain. The three pieces that will be performed on this concert are Ave Regina caelorum; Gaude, Maria Virgo; and Regina caeli laetare.

About the American Brass Quintet

The American Brass Quintet is internationally recognized as one of the era’s premier chamber music ensembles. The group has earned its stellar reputation through its celebrated performances, genre-defining commissioned works, and ongoing commitment to the education of generations of musicians. Since its founding in 1960, the American Brass Quintet has performed on five continents, made nearly 60 recordings, and premiered more than 150 contemporary works for brass.

The American Brass Quintet has commissioned works by leading composers that have contributed significantly to both contemporary chamber music and the foundation of the modern brass quintet repertoire. Such composers include Robert Beaser, William Bolcom, Elliott Carter, Eric Ewazen, Anthony Plog, Huang Ruo, David Sampson, Gunther Schuller, William Schuman, Joan Tower, and Charles Whittenberg, among many others. The Quintet’s emerging composer commissioning program produced brass quintets by rising stars Gordon Beeferman, Jay Greenberg, Trevor Gureckis, and Shafer Mahoney. The group’s latest album, Perspectives (2017), one of 12 albums with Summit Records, features music by Robert Paterson, Jay Greenberg, Sebastian Currier, and Eric Ewazen.

Celebrating its 60th anniversary season, the American Brass Quintet performs across the continental United States. Season highlights include the world premiere of a commission by Nina C. Young at Baltimore’s Shriver Hall and wide-ranging programs featuring works by composers spanning five centuries, including Claudio Monteverdi, Josquin des Pres, Anthony Holborne, Luca Marenzio, Osvaldo Lacerda, Joan Tower, Jennifer Higdon, David Sampson and Eric Ewazen, among others. The quintet will make appearances this season in New York City and Troy, New York, Chicago, Lewiston, Maine, Waterford and Norfolk, Virginia, Youngstown and Columbus, Ohio, and Carmel, Indiana.

Committed to the development of brass chamber music through higher education, the American Brass Quintet has served as ensemble in residence at Juilliard since 1987 and at the Aspen Music Festival since 1970. President Emeritus Joseph Polisi said of the group, “With intelligence, artistry, and imagination, the American Brass Quintet has exemplified the highest standards of chamber music for brass instruments during its remarkable existence.” In 2017, the group launched the ABQ Seminar @ Aspen, a four-week brass chamber music intensive that offers the highest caliber of training for emerging brass quintets and musicians. Since 2000, the quintet also has shared its expertise in chamber music coaching and performance through a program of short residencies that feature regularly into the group’s touring schedule. Offering young musicians an intense chamber music experience over several days, the quintet’s residencies have been embraced by schools and communities throughout the United States and in a dozen foreign countries.

Among its numerous distinctions and citations, the American Brass Quintet is the 2013 recipient of the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award for significant and lasting contributions to the field, the highest honor accorded by Chamber Music America.

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Program Listing:
Wednesday, November 20, 2019, 7:30pm, Paul Hall
Daniel Saidenberg Faculty Recital Series
American Brass Quintet
Kevin Cobb, Trumpet
Louis Hanzlik, Trumpet
Eric Reed, Horn
Michael Powell, Trombone
John D. Rojak, Bass Trombone

American Brass Quintet Seminar Students:
Michael Chen, Trumpet
Clint McLendon, Trumpet
Hannah Miller, Horn
Addison Maye-Saxon, Trombone
Ehren Valme, Bass Trombone

Three Madrigals by Luca Marenzio (edited by Raymond Mase)
Jessica MEYER Luminosity
Trevor GURECKIS Fixated Nights
Jennifer HIGDON Fanfare Quintet
Three Madrigals by Claudio Monteverdi (edited by Louis Hanzlik)
Music of the Camino de Santiago by Tomás Luis de Victoria (edited by Patrick Quigley and Louis Hanzlik)

Tickets at $20 ($10 for full-time students with a valid ID) are available at juilliard.edu/calendar.