From the Pages of . . .
 bedfordgazette.jpg


November 19,2010
Concert Review
Mainstreet Brass, November 13, 2010

Whenever the Guest Artist Series features a brass ensemble, there's always a large and eager audience, for a very good reason:  Brass music is fun!  And the most fun is the way brass musicians arrange music for other instruments -- because brass instruments were invented fairly recently, so there's not a huge repertoire, and because brass players are really creative.  Saturday's concert had multiple examples of that talent.

The prelude to Act 1 from the opera "Carmen" is a prime example.  A very energetic transcription of the familiar piece was a great way to kick off the evening.  There were, later in the program, three Gershwin piano preludes that translated wonderfully.  But the most unusual--and very successful--transcription was the Queen of the Night aria from Mozart's "Magic Flute"!  You're thinking that it would be impossible to pretend to be a soprano if you're a horn player.  No problem if you have a piccolo trumpet.  Those high notes were amazing.

The more traditional classical pieces were performed elegantly as period pieces.  Selections from the 16th century composer Tielman Susato gave us a real "Masterpiece Theatre" feel for the Renaissance, and a Vivaldi piece was equally atmospheric.  Offenbach was a treat, and who knew that the popular can-can piece was part of the satiric operetta "Orpheus in the Underworld" as an "infernal galop" in Hell.

The program had a bit of everything.  There was jazz, there were hymns, there was a "Sound of Music" piece, there was a medley of themes from TV westerns, and it ended with the melancholy "Ashokan Farewell" and a peppy encore.

The performers were splendid: Kevin Long and Donald Hughes on trumpet, Shari Gleason-Mayrhofer on French horn, Bryan Hay on trombone, Allen Frank on tuba, and Bob Stevens on percussion.  They are true musicians as well as crowd pleasers, with their witty commentary, talented transcribers, and fine ensemble playing.  You will definitely see them again in the Guest Artist Series.