by Brian Buerkle | Nov 13, 2021 | Spectrum Brass Seminar
Announcing the 11th year of the Spectrum Brass Seminar from July 8th to August 15th, 2022. We are so thrilled to be inviting 10 brass students to join us at the Bay View Music Festival for FIVE full weeks of intense instruction that will include private lessons, chamber music coachings, entrepreneurial classes, weekly performances, community building experiences, large brass ensemble performances, and mock auditions, all set in one of the most beautiful and historic places in the United States. Apply today!! You’ll be glad you did!!
by Brian Buerkle | Aug 8, 2021 | Performance
To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Spectrum Brass as Artists-In-Residence at the Bay View Music Festival, we were fortunate enough to be asked to perform the entire final Vespers for the 2021 Season. In our concert we showcased some of the greatest works of the brass repertoire by performing our favorite pieces from the last ten years of Vespers, recitals, and brass concerts. Our program included Anthony DiLorenzo’s Cosmos, a 2020 Spectrum Brass Commission, as well as works by Bozza, J.S. Bach, LaFosse, Ewazen, Susato, Kamen, Chesky, Piazzolla, Hamlisch, Ellington, and Elgar. We also were honored to perform Anthony Barfield’s Gravity for Brass Quintet, featuring Everette McCorvey’s reading of “Harlem” by Langston Hughes to accompany the piece. It was a special night for everyone…especially our esteemed horn player, Aaron Brant, who performed his final concert with Spectrum Brass after having joined us in 2012. We wish Aaron and his entire family the greatest of success as they embark on a new chapter in life. Looking forward to seeing everyone at Bay View in 2022.
by Brian Buerkle | Aug 4, 2021 | Performance
Spectrum Brass made its debut performance at the Leelanau Community Cultural Center’s Old Art Building in Leland, MI as a part of their MUSIC IN THE AIR series. It was a beautiful night for an outdoor performance. We treated the wonderful audience to a concert of brass standards and fun tunes. The program included Anthony DiLorenzo’s Cosmos, a 2020 Spectrum Brass Commission, as well as works by Susato, Cheetham, Calvert, Kamen, Bozza, LaFosse, Arnold, and Piazzolla, in addition to popular songs from A Chorus Line by Marvin Hamlisch, James Bond 007 Theme, and a suite of music from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein.
by Brian Buerkle | Mar 6, 2021 | Spectrum Brass Seminar
We are extremely disappointed to announce that the host of the Spectrum Brass Seminar, the Bay View Music Festival, has made the difficult decision to cancel instrumental programs again this summer because of COVID. This has not been easy on any of us, but the safety of our students and faculty has to be our top priority. We are working hard to ensure that when we return in 2022, our program will be even better than ever. Please keep with us over the coming months as we continue to release more archival video performances and new projects. Thank you so much for your continued support!!
by Brian Buerkle | Jul 25, 2020 | Performance
On Saturday, July 25th, 2020, Spectrum Brass premiered COSMOS by Anthony DiLorenzo. I commissioned this brand new piece for Spectrum Brass and the Bay View Music Festival to celebrate our upcoming 10th Anniversary season of the Spectrum Brass Seminar. COSMOS is an incredible new concert showpiece for brass quintet and we are thrilled to have been a part of its creation. Enjoy!!
Listen to us play!
Notes by the composer: Strap in and prepare to be thrust into the stars at the moment where it all began. Flourishes of vivacious passages hurtle us outward from an explosive start. The music depicts the creation of the universe as it expands immensely, forming space, time, matter, and energy.
The ominous passages that start the journey transition into a transcendental dance, as galaxies mold and splashes of hydrogen and helium merge to help form the rich psychedelic clouds and nebulas, filling the once dark void.
The work continues to propel the listener outward at breaking speed as life emerges and takes its place within the mass of luminescent energy known as…the COSMOS.
