ROCHESTER, NY — For the fourth consecutive year, Canadian Brass — long considered the world’s leading brass ensemble — comes to the Eastman School of Music for an exciting weekend workshop (July 8-10). The highlight of the group’s summer visits is a public performance, and last year’s show at Kilbourn Hall was a complete sellout. This summer’s concert takes place at Eastman Theatre on Saturday, July 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Sporting signature tuxedos and sneakers, the quintet from Toronto-which includes witty Eastman alumnus and tubist, Charles Daellenbach-plays an astonishingly diverse repertoire that spans almost 400 years. From J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor to the Beatles’ Penny Lane, the group’s arrangements show off its dazzling virtuosity as well as its ability to engage and entertain an audience. In their suite from Bizet’s Carmen, for example, the musicians don wigs and bullfighter outfits to enact a hilarious ten-minute version of the classic opera-while never missing a challenging note.
The 34 year-old Canadian Brass has made more than 60 recordings, and has created a repertoire of more than 200 transcriptions, arrangements, and commissions. The “fabulous five” have performed all over the world with major symphony orchestras, and have been seen by millions of television viewers on such programs as The Tonight Show, Entertainment Tonight, and numerous PBS specials.
Reserved tickets are $20, $15 and $12. They are available at the RPO Box Office, 108 East Avenue (585-454-2100), online at www.Rochester.edu/concerts, at area Wegmans Home Video Departments, and at the Eastman Ticket Office in the School’s Main Hall on the day of the concert from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Any unsold seats go on sale one hour before concert time at the Eastman Theatre box office.
As part of its summer residency at Eastman, Canadian Brass will work with professional, collegiate, and high school students in brass ensemble repertoire. A free concert by these students will take place in Kilbourn Hall at 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 10.
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Note to editors: Color photos of Canadian Brass are available for downloading at www.canbrass.com/press.html. Interviews with musicians and coverage of the workshop and/or concerts can be arranged on request.