Frøydis Ree Wekre

Frøydis Ree Wekre  is a horn player born in 1941 and was born from a musical family. Before playing the horn she studied piano and violin, while playing in a Junior Orchestra in Norway. Frøydis only picked up the horn at the age of seventeen due to loving the sound.

Frøydis won her first position in an orchestra in 1961- she was 20.... she had been playing the horn for only four years...

After playing in the orchestra for a while she retired to become a full time teacher of Horn. There was one sentence that stood out to me in her bio on the Internation Horn Society website...

"She advocates practicing lip and mouthpiece buzzing while waiting for a bus, even if it might be considered a bit eccentric; "If people don't know you, it doesn't matter what they think of you, and if they do know you, well, then it's not a surprise."

Great idea to do soemthing and not care about how a random person portrays you for doing it!

I included this video, even though it is 40 mins long, but it teaches you about her ideas on teaching, intonation, whistling and buzzing at bus stops.

Deanna Swaboda

Dr. Swaboda is a female tuba player, and teacher at Arizona State University's School of Music where she teaches Tuba and Euphonium. She has travled the world playing Tuba, but the really cool thing about Dr. Swaboda is she is the creator and performer in of a motivational recruiting video called Band Blast Off.

I decided to look up this recruiting video and found out you can only buy it to view the whole video. It is a 20 minute video for band directors to focus on teamwork while having fun in band. I wanted to share the little snippet I found!

The First All Female National Trumpet Competition Group

I was going to do this blog on the first all-female trumpet ensemble that made it to the National Trumpet Competition 

This group is from the University of California Los Angeles, studying with Jens Lindemann who is the prior trumpet player in the Candian Brass.

The contest was recently canceled and they can no longer go, but before the contest was canceled they posted a video to raise money for their trip and I wanted to show it to you all because I find it pretty empowering. This video will have to be hyperlink though due to the blogger not wanting to find the video on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=vAhYKMC73ug&feature=emb_logo

Listening playlist 2

For listening number two click here

Quintet for brass by Jay Greenberg (2012)

Played by: American Brass Quintet 

Funkytown/ I Feel Good (2015)

Played by: Lucky Chops

Arfica (2011)

Played by: Hackney Colliery Band 

Divertimento No. 4 K. 439b by Mozart (1783)

I.               Allegro

II.              Largo

III.            Menuetto

IV.            Adagio 

V.             Allgretto 

Played by: Horn Ensemble D3

Florentiner Marsch 1998

Played by: Mnozil Brass

Quintet by Michael Kamen (2003)

Played by: Canadian Brass 

Seraph Brass

Seraph Brass is an all female brass ensemble consisting of six female brass players from around the country. Based off videos and their website though they play mostly quintet music and swap out on of the trumpet players and sometimes incorporate sextet music.

The group has three trumpet players: Mary Bowden, Raquel Samayoa, and Jean Laurenz a horn player: Rachel Velvikis a Trombone player: Hana Beloglavec and a Tuba player: Gretchen James. These players have played for Adele, played in world renowned orchestras like the Chicago Symphony and many other cool things. Check out their Bio here.

You watch some of their media here but I want to include this video for you all.

IWBC Founder Susan Slaughter

International Women's Brass Conference is a conference that is held every other year throughout the country, and their mission is to educate, develop, support, and inspire all women brass musicians. During this conference, there are masterclasses, competitions, mock auditions, and performances for the guest to attend. The best part is this conference is not open to just female brass players, but anyone can attend.

This conference was started by a woman named Susan Slaughter, a trumpet player known to be the first female Principal trumpet in a major orchestra. Susan played in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for 37 years. I thought this video provided is a cool way to listen to her story and she discusses the life of freelancing and being a professional.

Listening Playlist

Here is the link to my playlist for class! It will cover Brass bands, trumpet ensembles, and brass quintets.

Hope you enjoy!

Here is the notes on the pieces:

1. Riverdance (arr. For brass band) Ray Farr, Bill Whelan, Garry Cutt

Playing: Grimethrope Colliery Band

• Formed in 1917, during the First World War, Grimethorpe Colliery Band is a British institution. National and British Open Champions on numerous occasions, the band’s contest successes remain legendary. These include 16 Brass In Concert Championship titles, 11 times Yorkshire Regional Champions, two English National Championship victories, four times British Open Champions and four times National Champion Brass Band of Great Britain.

     2. White Rose Caleb Hudson

Playing: Canadian Brass

• In 1942, five University of Munich students and one professor, Hans Scholl, formed a clandestine, non-violent Nazi resistance movement known as the “White Rose.” 
• In 2014, filmmaker Peter Logue created a short documentary about the “White Rose” movement titled The Search for the White Rose. Caleb wrote the original soundtrack for this film.

      3. Quintet Michael Kamen

Playing: Canadian Brass

• This commissioned piece was completed by Michael Kamen for the Canadian Brass just prior to his passing. It is a fitting tribute to Michael's special relationship with the group and the brass quintet form. "Quintet" is featured on the Canadian Brass CD 'Amazing Brass'

     4. Crazy in Love/ Gonna Make You Sweat Fättes Blech

Playing: Crazy Kids

•  No bio

     5. Cityscapes Erik Morales

• I. Rush Hour
• II. Skyscrapers
• III. Rhythm of the City

Playing: Tromba Mundi

• 21st Century (2005). "Cityscapes" is a three movement work for five Bb trumpets. Each movement gives a caricature of city life "under the microscope". The first part entitled "Rush Hour" is a light and somewhat comical movement that depicts the morning commute into the city. The second part, entitled "Skyscrapers", attempts to portray the grandeur and magnificence of the city's skyline. The third and final part, entitled "Rhythm of the City", is a musical essay that describes how a city is always teeming with action and is never at rest. This final movement features an unusual percussive effect of tapping the mouthpiece to create active layered rhythmic patterns. Rushing interlocking 16th notes at blinding speeds and sudden pyramidal effects create a thrilling ride that will leave you breathless.
• The Tromba Mundi Trumpet Ensemble was established in 2008 with the idea of promoting chamber music solely for trumpet. his prolific group, made-up of professionals and professors from across the United States, has already made a substantial impact in the trumpet world. The players themselves have toured the world as soloists and clinicians, made many diverse recordings, and performed with some of the nations leading orchestras, jazz ensembles and artists. From the Chicago Symphony to the Maynard Ferguson Big Band and other ensembles spanning across the globe, Tromba Mundi features some of the finest trumpeters in the nation. The energy and synergy among these performers makes for exciting performances to both see and hear.

     6. Music for Brass John Towner-Williams

Playing Presidents Own Brass Section

• John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. With a career spanning over six decades, he has composed some of the most popular and recognizable film scores in cinematic history, including the Star Wars series, Jaws

      7. Quintet for Brass Jay Greenburg

Playing: American Brass Quintet

• Jay "Bluejay" Greenberg is an American composer and former child prodigy who entered the Juilliard School in 2002 at age 10.
• The Quintet for Brass was completed on 29 February 2012 for the American Brass Quintet with support from the Jerome Fund commission. It is approximately 14 minutes in duration. The American Brass Quintet gave the premiere performance at the Aspen Music Festival on 18 July 2012. 
• Much performer/composer interaction led the work to its ultimate form. As so often happens when I attempt to "revise" a piece, the final version ended up being an entirely new piece unrelated to its earlier drafts. The members of the American Brass Quintet provided invaluable feedback and technical assistance, for which I am quite grateful. 
• Time is inconstant during the Quintet. One, two, or — at times — all five players step away from the underlying pulse: in time and out of time through several episodes. 

      8. Wolf Burger Hot 8 Brass Band

• The Hot 8 Brass Band is a New Orleans based brass band that blends hip-hop, jazz and funk styles with traditional New Orleans brass sounds. It was formed by Bennie Pete, Jerome Jones, and Harry Cook in 1995,[1] the merging of two earlier bands, the Looney Tunes Brass Band and the High Steppers Brass Band