Seraph Brass ensemble to give mini residency, recital
Seraph Brass, an all-female quintet that tours around the world and performs with esteemed ensembles, will hold a mini residency on Feb. 8 that culminates with a free performance in Rosch Recital Hall.
School of Music trombone lecturer and BPO Principal Trombonist Jonathan Lombardo will welcome the brass ensemble Seraph Brass for a mini residency that includes a recital Thursday, Feb. 8.
The all-female ensemble will give master classes to Fredonia brass students and give a talk about entrepreneurship. The residency culminates with a chamber music recital at 8 p.m. in Juliet J. Rosch Recital Hall that is free and open to the public.
“I’m very excited to welcome Seraph Brass to the Fredonia campus for what will be an inspiring day for both faculty and students. During the day they will work hands on with our brass students in instrumental masterclasses as well as present a class open to the whole music department on music entrepreneurship,” Mr. Lombardo said.
The residency is made possible through support from the Fredonia School of Music.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary season, Seraph Brass was founded by trumpet soloist Mary Elizabeth Bowden with a mission to showcase the excellence of female brass players and highlight musicians from marginalized groups, both in personnel and in programming.
Winner of the American Prize in Chamber Music, the group has been praised by American Record guide for “beautiful sounds," by Gramophone for "fine playing” and by Textura for “staggeringly high caliber of performance.” Seraph Brass primarily performs as a quintet, with a dynamic roster drawing from America’s top brass musicians.
Highlights for their 2023-24 season include the world premiere of Jennifer Jolley’s “Dust” for brass quintet and wind ensemble at the University of North Texas followed by performances at Shenandoah Conservatory and Swarthmore College. The season includes a performance of Anthony DiLorenzo’s “Chimera” in collaboration with the Lansing Concert Band, alongside residencies at esteemed institutions that include Oberlin College, University of Michigan and Allegheny College, complemented by a national tour.
This season marks a milestone as Seraph Brass records its second album in partnership with Tower Grove Records. The album will showcase new works for brass quintet featuring compositions by Jeff Scott, Reena Esmail, Kevin Day, Anthony DiLorenzo and Kevin McKee.
Seraph Brass, a Yamaha performing group, has a diverse body of repertoire, ranging from original transcriptions to newly commissioned works and core classics. The group has commissioned pieces by Catherine McMichael and Rene Orth; both were featured on the Silver Medal Global Music Award-winning debut album “Asteria,” along with “Wolf” for solo soprano and brass quintet by Joseph Hallman and most recently “Showcase” by Jeff Scott.
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 classes.
