SUN, MAR 5th, 2023 at 3:30 PM
Seraph Brass
Sponsored by Ed and Ellen Bernard
Venue: Second Presbyterian Church, 4200 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore, MD
Free concert. No tickets or reservations required. Presented in-person and livestreamed on YouTube.
PROGRAM
Holberg Suite, Op. 40
I. Prelude
Edvard Grieg (1843–1907), arr. Jeff Luke
“Sempre Libera” from La Traviata
Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901), arr. Jeff Luke
La Danza, “Tarantella Napoletana”
Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868),
arr. James Market, re-arr. Raquel Samayoa
Fantasia III for Brass Quintet
I. Lunaire
Kevin Day (b. 1996)
Drei Romanzen, Op. 22
Clara Schumann (1819-1886), arr. Noah Dugan
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Franz Liszt (1811-1886), arr. Jeff Luke
Central Park Morning
David Chesky (b. 1956)
Hora Staccato
Grigoraș Dinicu (1889-1949), arr. Tim Olt
Vuelta del Fuego
Kevin McKee (b. 1980)
Khirkiyaan (Windows): Three Transformations for Brass Quintet
I. Tuttarana
Reena Esmail (b. 1983)
Asteria
Virgo, the Lover of Justice
Catherine McMichael (b. 1954)
Go
Anthony DiLorenzo (b. 1967)
Holberg Suite, Op. 40
I. Prelude
Edvard Grieg (1843–1907), arr. Jeff Luke
“Sempre Libera” from La Traviata
Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901), arr. Jeff Luke
La Danza, “Tarantella Napoletana”
Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868),
arr. James Market, re-arr. Raquel Samayoa
Fantasia III for Brass Quintet
I. Lunaire
Kevin Day (b. 1996)
Drei Romanzen, Op. 22
Clara Schumann (1819-1886), arr. Noah Dugan
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Franz Liszt (1811-1886), arr. Jeff Luke
Central Park Morning
David Chesky (b. 1956)
Hora Staccato
Grigoraș Dinicu (1889-1949), arr. Tim Olt
Vuelta del Fuego
Kevin McKee (b. 1980)
Khirkiyaan (Windows): Three Transformations for Brass Quintet
I. Tuttarana
Reena Esmail (b. 1983)
Asteria
Virgo, the Lover of Justice
Catherine McMichael (b. 1954)
Go
Anthony DiLorenzo (b. 1967)
SERAPH BRASS
https://www.seraphbrass.com/
Mary Elizabeth Bowden, trumpet
Raquel Samayoa, trumpet
Rachel Velvikis, horn
Victoria Garcia, trombone
Samantha Lake, tuba
Seraph Brass was founded by trumpet soloist Mary Elizabeth Bowden with the mission of elevating and showcasing the excellence of female brass players and highlighting musicians from marginalized groups both in personnel and in programming. Winners of the American Prize in Chamber Music, the group has been praised for their “beautiful sounds” (American Record Guide), “fine playing” (Gramophone), and “staggeringly high caliber of performance” (Textura). Now in its ninth touring season, Seraph primarily performs as a quintet, with a dynamic roster drawing from America’s top brass musicians. The group is currently in residency at the Walton Art Center’s Artosphere Festival, alongside the Dover Quartet. Seraph Brass is a Yamaha Performing Group and performs exclusively on Yamaha instruments.
2022-23 performance highlights include Anthony DiLorenzo’s Chimera for brass quintet and orchestra with the Florence Symphony in November, and performances at Chamber Music Raleigh, Chautauqua Institution, University of Toronto, Asheville Chamber Music Series, National Gallery of Art in D.C., Diehn Concert Series in Norfolk, UNC Greensboro, and extensive touring around the United States through Live On Stage. In 2023, Seraph will premiere the world premiere of a brass quintet with wind ensemble arrangement of Anthony DiLorenzo’s Chimera at the 2023 American Trombone Workshop with the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own.” They will also perform the world premiere of a new concerto commission by Jennifer Jolley for Brass Quintet and Wind Ensemble with Texas Tech University. The group will return to Lieksa Brass week in Finland in Summer 2023.
Seraph performs a diverse body of repertoire, ranging from original transcriptions to newly commissioned works and core classics. The group has commissioned new pieces by Catherine McMichael and Rene Orth; both featured on the Silver Medal Global Music Award-winning debut album Asteria, along with Wolf for solo soprano and brass quintet by Joseph Hallman. The group regularly participates in commissioning consortiums, recently supporting works by Kevin Day, Mischa Zupko, and Lillian Yee. Seraph’s concerto performances have included Rick DeJonge’s Prelude and Fantasy and James Stephenson’s Dodecafecta.
Members of Seraph Brass are passionate about music education, and hold teaching positions at the University of North Texas, Shenandoah Conservatory, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In each of their tours, the group works to provide educational outreach to local schools, and they also offer a variety of entrepreneurship and career development workshops, in addition to traditional brass pedagogy and technique master classes.
Seraph has toured around the world, including performances at the Tafalla Brass Week in Spain, Lieksa Brass Week in Finland, the Busan Maru International Music Festival in South Korea, the Forum Cultural Guanajuato in Mexico, International Women’s Brass Conference, the International Trumpet Guild Conference, and a two-week tour across China. Recent touring highlights have included shows and residencies at the Lyric Chamber Music Society in NYC, Interlochen Arts Academy, Virginia Arts Festival, University of North Carolina School for the Arts, Michigan State University, Sarasota’s Artist Series Concerts, Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago, and Del Valle Fine Arts Presents in California. The group has also toured extensively as Allied Concert Services artists.