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by Paul Bryan, Artistic Coordinator & Conductor
2006-2007 will mark the 10th season of Bravo Brass - an important and memorable milestone for the ensemble. However, before Bravo Brass can focus on next year, the group has an exciting finish in store for this season.
While PYO and PYAO have concluded their seasons with successful festival concerts at the Kimmel Center, Bravo Brass is entering the homestretch of its year. On June 3, the ensemble will present its third annual festival concert at 8:00 p.m. at Church of the Holy Trinity Rittenhouse Square. Bravo Brass will be joined by soloists Barry McCommon and Robert Skoniczin, two of the ensemble's faculty members. Mr. McCommon will perform "Chicago", the second movement of David Uber's Skylines for Bass Trombone and Brass Ensemble. Mr. Skoniczin will be accompanied by the ensemble's trumpet section in a performance of Gottfried Stolzel's Concerto in E-flat major. The program will also include works by Gustav Mahler, Raymond Luedeke, and Kazimierz Serocki featuring the individual instrumental sections of the ensemble. The full student ensemble will perform works by Gordon Jacob, Giovanni Gabrieli, Bendetto Marcello and Earl Zindars, and the students will be joined by the ensemble's faculty in selections from George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and Richard Wagner's famous "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral" from Lohengrin.
On June 8, Bravo Brass will have the distinct honor of performing as a featured ensemble at this year's International Trumpet Guild Conference hosted by Rowan University and Dr. Bryan Appleby-Wineberg. The opportunity to perform for an international audience and the exposure Bravo Brass will gain certainly makes this concert one of the highlights of the ensemble's first decade of existence.
Bravo Brass joined the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra in 2003 after six seasons with Temple University Music Prep's Center for Gifted Young Musicians. The ensemble's mission has been to further the individual and ensemble playing skills of brass players through weekly rehearsals and three to five concerts per year. The ensemble members gain valuable experience by learning important pieces in the brass repertoire, as well as by rehearsing and performing beside members of the Resident Faculty. Over the past nine seasons, 62 alums have moved on from Bravo Brass to some of the finest schools and conservatories including The Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Boston University, and the University of Michigan. The Bravo Brass class of 2006 will next year attend schools including the Eastman School of Music, Rutgers University, The Hartt School at the University of Hartford, and Temple University.
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