Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Western Carolina University |
Genres | Brass Quintet |
Years active | 1993 | –present
Members | Brad Ulrich David Ginn Travis Bennett Zsolt Szabo Mike Schallock |
Past members | Dan Cherry Alan Mattingly Robert Kehrberg Ken Kroesche |
Website | www |
Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet is a brass quintet founded in 1993 and currently Quintet in Residence [1] at Western Carolina University.
Since its founding in 1993, the Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet has entertained audiences around the world in nine countries on three continents in venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and Shostakovich Philharmonia Hall. The Quintet performs a wide variety of music ranging from Early Renaissance to Jazz. In addition, works commissioned from regional composers such as Bruce Frazier, Michael Kallstrom and Robert Kehrberg have expanded the repertoire for all brass quintets.
The Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet is a non-profit, 501-c(3) organization whose mission is "to promote the understanding and enjoyment of music, particularly among the youth of western North Carolina, and to expand appreciation for the musical heritage of the Southern Appalachian region".
Among its many community service performances, the SMBQ has helped to raise money for the new public library, for the local arts council, and for the Jackson County band program. On an afternoon in 2007, the quintet hosted "Sunday in the Park" and helped raise $14,500 for National Alzheimer's Day.[ citation needed ]
Jackson County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,109. Since 1913, its county seat has been Sylva, which replaced Webster.
Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an American national park in the southeastern United States, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The park contains some of the highest mountains in eastern North America, including Clingmans Dome, Mount Guyot, and Mount Le Conte. The border between the two states runs northeast to southwest through the center of the park. The Appalachian Trail passes through the center of the park on its route from Georgia to Maine. With 13 million visitors in 2023, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States.
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 trumpeters Stuart Laughton and Bill Phillips completing the quintet. As of August 2023, Daellenbach is the sole original member in the group, with the other members being trumpeters Joe Burgstaller and Ashley Hall-Tighe, hornist Jeff Nelsen, and trombonist Achilles Liarmakopoulos.
The geography of North Carolina falls naturally into three divisions — the Appalachian Mountains in the west, the central Piedmont Plateau, and the eastern Atlantic Coastal Plain. North Carolina covers 53,819 square miles (139,391 km2) and is 503 miles (810 km) wide by 150 miles (241 km) long. The physical characteristics of the state vary from the summits of the Smoky Mountains, an altitude of near seven thousand feet (2,130 m) in the west, sloping eastward to sea level along the coast and beaches of the Atlantic Ocean.
Roy Claxton Acuff was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown" format to the singer-based format that helped make it internationally successful. In 1952, Hank Williams told Ralph Gleason, "He's the biggest singer this music ever knew. You booked him and you didn't worry about crowds. For drawing power in the South, it was Roy Acuff, then God."
The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains, and the name is commonly shortened to the Smokies. The Smokies are best known as the home of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which protects most of the range. The park was established in 1934 and, with over 11 million visits per year, is the most visited national park in the United States.
A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instruments. The instrumentation for a brass quintet typically includes two trumpets or cornets, one French horn, one trombone or euphonium/baritone horn, and one tuba or bass trombone. Musicians in a brass quintet may often play multiple instruments. Trumpet players for instance may double on piccolo trumpets and flugelhorns. There can be variation in instrumentation depending on the type of quintet. In some quintets, the horn is replaced by an additional trombone. Euphonium may also be substituted for the trombone part. While the tuba is considered a standard, the range and style of many pieces lend themselves to being played with bass trombone as the lowest-pitched instrument. Additionally, some pieces call for the use of percussion instruments, particularly the snare drum, tambourine, or timpani.
The Annapolis Brass Quintet (ABQ) was a brass quintet founded by trumpet player David Cran and trombone player Robert Posten in 1971 as America's only full-time performing brass ensemble. During the course of its 22-year career, it played concerts in all fifty states and throughout Europe, the Orient, the Middle East, Central America and Canada.
The Atlantic Brass Quintet is an American brass quintet that has been in existence for over 30 years.
Eric Ewazen is an American composer and teacher.
Horace Sowers Kephart was an American travel writer and librarian, best known as the author of Our Southern Highlanders and the classic outdoors guide Camping and Woodcraft.
Western North Carolina is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United States, with 125 peaks rising to over 5,000 feet in elevation. Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet, is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and mainland eastern North America. The population of the 23 most commonly associated counties for the region, as measured by the 2020 U.S. Census, is 1,149,405. The region accounts for approximately 11% of North Carolina's total population.
Silers Bald is a mountain in the western Great Smoky Mountains, located in the southeastern United States with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Its proximity to Clingmans Dome and its location along the Appalachian Trail make it a popular hiking destination.
Mount Guyot is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the southeastern United States. At 6,621 feet (2,018 m) in elevation, Guyot is the fourth-highest summit in the Eastern U.S., and the second-highest in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While the mountain is remote, the Appalachian Trail crosses its south slope, passing to within 1,000 feet (300 m) of the summit.
David C. Sampson is an American contemporary classical composer.
Mount Chapman is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. It has an elevation of 6,427 feet above sea level. While the mountain is located deep within the Smokies, the Appalachian Trail crosses its eastern slope, coming to within 200 feet (61 m) of the summit. Mount Chapman is among the 10 highest mountains in the Appalachian range, if subpeaks are not included.
Folkmoot USA, The State International Festival of North Carolina, is an international folk festival held since 1984 in Waynesville, North Carolina and surrounding communities. During its history, the two-week event has featured around 8000 performers from approximately 200 countries. The Folkmoot USA non-profit organization has its headquarters in the former Hazelwood Elementary School. The name "Folkmoot", used for a festival in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, means "meeting of the people". The North Carolina General Assembly declared Folkmoot USA to be the state's official international folk festival in 2003. The Southeast Tourism Society has named Folkmoot USA one of its top twenty events for 20 years.
Brasstown is an unincorporated community located mostly within Clay County, North Carolina, United States, though roughly one third of Brasstown is within the adjacent Cherokee County. Brasstown Creek travels through the community and separates the two counties.
The Smoky Mountain Brass Band (SMBB) is a British-style brass band based in Asheville, North Carolina. The band, which consists of both professional and non-professional musicians, performs several concerts each year all throughout western North Carolina. The current Director of Music of the Smoky Mountain Brass Band is Casey Coppenbarger.