American Brass Quintet to Perform on May 2

Chamber music lovers are in for a very special treat when Friends of Music Concerts, Inc. presents the American Brass Quintet on Saturday, May 2 in the Kusel Auditorium at Sleepy Hollow High School. The performance begins at 8pm and parking is free.

Although the ABQ was founded in 1960 and has been in residence at Juilliard since 1987, this is the group’s debut performance on the Friends of Music stage. Instruments include two trumpets, tenor and bass trombones, and horn, playing music originally written for brass.

The concert program will include Elizabethan Consort Music, edited by Raymond Mase; Osvaldo Lacerda’s Fantasia and Rondo; David Snow’s Dance Movements; Witold Lutoslawski’s Mini Overture for Brass Quintet; Josquin des Pres’ Chansons, edited by Raymond Mase; and Eric Ewazen’s Colchester Fantasy.

The quintet’s performances have been called “positively breathtaking” by The New York Times and “a tour de force in brass chamber music…that is unparalleled in the world today” by Oberlin College Conservatory. In Australia, a delighted critic said that the quintet is “doing for brass what the Italians did for pasta,” and Newsweek has hailed the ensemble as “the high priests of brass.” www.americanbrassquintet.org

Adult single tickets to individual concerts are $30 each. Students age 18 and under are admitted free of charge. Tickets may be purchased in advance by mailing a check to Friends of Music Concerts, P.O. Box 675, Millwood, NY 10546, or will be available at the door. More information about Friends of Music Concerts may be obtained from the web site above or by calling 914-861-5080. Photo credit: Matt Dine