A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instruments, such as the jazz quartet or the orchestra. Some music ensembles consist solely of singers, such as choirs and doo wop groups. In both popular music and classical music, there are ensembles in which both instrumentalists and singers perform, such as the rock band or the Baroque chamber group for basso continuo and one or more singers. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles. Some ensembles blend the sounds of a variety of instrument families, such as the orchestra, which uses a string section, brass instruments, woodwinds and percussion instruments, or the concert band, which uses brass, woodwinds and percussion.
The Canadian Brass is a Canadian brass quintet formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario, by Charles Daellenbach (tuba) and Gene Watts (trombone), with horn player Graeme Page and trumpets Stuart Laughton and Bill Phillips completing the quintet. As of 2018, Daellenbach is the sole original member in the group, with the other members being trumpeters Caleb Hudson and Brandon Ridenour, hornist Jeff Nelsen and trombonist Achilles Liarmakopoulos.
A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instruments. As a common ensemble group, the brass quintet has a broad repertoire containing musical genres from madrigals to jazz.
Arnold Maurice Jacobs was an American tubist who spent most of his career with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He held that position from 1944 until his retirement in 1988.
Philip Smith is an American classical trumpet player. He is former Principal Trumpet with the New York Philharmonic and played with the orchestra from 1978 to 2014. Smith, born in the United Kingdom, is from a Salvation Army background. He assumed the co-principal position in the New York Philharmonic in June 1978 and the principal position in 1988. He also is a supporter of brass bands, performing with various groups of distinction.
When the American Brass Quintet gave its first public performance on December 11, 1960, brass chamber music was still relatively young to concert audiences. The Chicago Brass Quintet had originated the concept of a brass quintet in 1948, followed by the New York Brass Quintet in 1954. To delineate itself from these other two groundbreaking ensembles American Brass Quintet dedicated itself to "music originally written for brass," and substituted a bass trombone for the conventional tuba voice. That debut concert for them in 1960 marked the beginning of an international career for the ensemble that includes performances in Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and all fifty of the United States; a discography now numbering fifty-one recordings; the premieres of over one hundred new brass works, and the inspiration to a whole new generation of brass quintets worldwide. ABQ commissions by Samuel Adler, Bruce Adolphe, Daniel Asia, Jan Bach, Robert Beaser, William Bolcom, Elliott Carter, Billy Childs, Robert Dennis, Jacob Druckman, Eric Ewazen, Anthony Plog, Huang Ruo, David Sampson, Gunther Schuller, William Schuman, Ralph Shapey, Joan Tower, Melinda Wagner, and Charles Whittenberg are considered among the most significant contributions to the brass quintet repertoire. In the past fifteen years alone, the ABQ has released recordings of over twenty-five major new brass quintets. The presentation of challenging contemporary brass music alongside earlier eras carefully edited by ABQ members for modern performance, has become a trademark of ABQ programming, and has helped establish the American Brass Quintet as the leader in the field of serious brass chamber music today.
The Atlantic Brass Quintet is an American brass quintet that has been in existence for over 30 years.
Empire Brass is a brass quintet from the United States. The group was founded in 1972. The original members met at Tanglewood Music Center in 1970.
Allan Dean is an American trumpeter who has spent much of his career working as a chamber music player in the United States. Mr. Dean's career is particularly well established in the New York musical scene—primarily because of his long involvement with the New York Brass Quintet. While in New York City, he was a prolific commercial trumpeter, recording jingles for everything from ABC Nightly News to the Olympics. He is also a founding member of Summit Brass, and currently plays with the Saint Louis Brass Quintet. His arrangements are often featured on recordings with these ensembles.
The Meridian Arts Ensemble is an American chamber music ensemble based in New York City, specializing in the performance of new works for brass and percussion.
John Rommel (born 1958) is an American classical trumpeter and professor at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
David C. Sampson is an American contemporary classical composer.
Craig Morris is an orchestral trumpeter known for serving as the Principal Trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He is also known as a soloist and chamber musician. He is an endorsing artist for Yamaha Instruments, and is currently Professor of Trumpet for the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami.
Juan José Colomer is a Spanish composer.
Musical repertoire is a collection of music pieces played by an individual musician or ensemble, composed for a particular instrument or group of instruments, voice, or choir, or from a particular period or area.
Jack Gallagher is an American composer and college professor. His compositions include orchestral, chamber, piano and choral works. He has written two symphonies, both of which have been recorded.
The Chamber Wind Music of Jack Cooper is the first classical/new music studio recording featuring numerous performing artists recording chamber wind music of the composer on the Centaur Records label.
Christopher Martin is an American trumpet player who was named the principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic in May 2016 and began his tenure there in September 2016. He has also served as Principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2005-2017) and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (2000-2005), and as Associate Principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra (1997-2000). He has also performed with High Bridge Brass, an American conical brass quintet, since its founding in June 2018. During his time in Chicago, Martin gave the world premieres of several trumpet concerti, notably Christopher Rouse's Heimdall's Trumpet in 2012.
Kerry Turner is an American composer and horn player. Turner is a recognized name in the horn and brass industry. Turner’s major ensembles with whom he performs include the American Horn Quartet, the Virtuoso Horn Duo, and the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra. Turner has performed internationally as a soloist and clinician. Turner also sings tenor in a semi-professional octet.
Rolf Thorstein Smedvig was an American classical trumpeter. He was the founder of the Empire Brass Quintet. He is renowned for his exemplary tone and accurate intonation.
