The American Brass Quintet is an American

brass quintet A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instruments. The instrumentation for a brass quintet typically includes two trumpets or cornets, one French horn, one trombone or euphonium/baritone horn, and one tuba or bass tro ...

founded in 1960. Unlike conventional brass quintets, the bass voice is provided by a

bass trombone The bass trombone (, ) is the bass instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. Modern instruments are pitched in the same B♭ as the tenor trombone but with a larger bore, bell and mouthpiece to facilitate low register playing, and u ...

rather than a

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

. The Quintet has served as Ensemble-in-Residence at the

Aspen Music Festival and School The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a European classical music, classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music stu ...

since 1970 and at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

since 1987.

Members

Current

Past

Previous members are:

Trumpet

Horn

Trombone

Bass Trombone

History

In its early days, the Quintet sought to differentiate itself from other brass quintets by dedicating itself to "music originally written for brass," and substituted a bass trombone for the conventional tuba voice. The Quintet has toured extensively, giving concerts in Europe, Central and South America, Asia, Australia, and all fifty of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The Quintet's repertoire blends classical works, often arranged by its members for modern performance by a brass quintet, with new works it has commissioned from contemporary composers including Samuel Adler,

Bruce Adolphe Bruce Adolphe (born May 31, 1955) is a composer, music scholar, the author of several books on music, and pianist. He is currently Resident Lecturer and Director of Family Concerts of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, where he has been a ...

, Daniel Asia, Jan Bach,

Robert Beaser Robert Beaser (born May 29, 1954, Boston, Massachusetts) is an American composer. Biography Beaser was brought up in a non-musical family. His father was a physician and mother was a chemist. He grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, where he disti ...

William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer who was one of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century. He combined elements of European modernism and American " ...

Billy Childs William Edward Childs (born March 8, 1957) is an American composer, jazz pianist, arranger and conductor from Los Angeles, California, United States. Early life When he was 16, Childs attended the Community School of the Performing Arts sponsored ...

, Robert Dennis,

Jacob Druckman Jacob Raphael Druckman (June 26, 1928 – May 24, 1996) was an American composer born in Philadelphia. Life A graduate of the Juilliard School in 1956, Druckman studied with Vincent Persichetti, Peter Mennin, and Bernard Wagenaar. In 1949 an ...

, Eric Ewazen, Anthony Plog,

Huang Ruo Huang Ruo (黃若, born 1976) is a Chinese-born composer, pianist and vocalist who now lives in the United States. Biography Born on Hainan Island off the southern coast of China in 1976, Huang was taught piano and composition from the age of ...

, David Sampson,

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...

William Schuman William Howard Schuman (August 4, 1910February 15, 1992) was an American composer and arts administrator. Life Schuman was born into a Jewish family in Manhattan, New York City, son of Samuel and Rachel Schuman. He was named after the 27th U.S. ...

, Ralph Shapey, Joan Tower, Melinda Wagner, and Charles Whittenberg. The group has released recordings of over twenty-five new works for brass quintet.

Teaching

The Quintet has been in residence at the Juilliard School since 1987 and at the Aspen Music Festival since 1970. It has established residencies at music departments in the US, including the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

in 2008. Many young ensembles, including the Extension Ensemble, Manhattan Brass Quintet, Meridian Arts Ensemble, and Urban Brass Quintet have worked with the Quintet through these residencies. Since 2001 the group has offered a program of mini-residencies as part of its regular touring season with the aim of offering young musicians an intense chamber music experience over several days.

Awards

The Quintet was the 2013 recipient of

Chamber Music America Chamber Music America (CMA) is an American non-profit organization that provides small ensemble professionals with access to a variety of professional development, networking, and funding resources. CMA's regular initiatives include grants, awards, ...

's highest honor, the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award for significant and lasting contributions to the field.

References

External links

American Brass Quintet
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{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1960 Brass quintets Juilliard School faculty American brass bands Summit Records artists 1960 establishments in the United States