The UTC Music Department will present two concerts filled with a variety of brass ensembles. The UTC Horn and Trombone Quartets, directed by Gordon James and Rich Stichler, will present their concert on Monday. Then the following Monday, April 5, UTC Brass Quintets I and II will also give a concert. Both performances will be at 7:30 p.m. in Patten Chapel on the UTC campus, and they are both free and open to the general public.
The Horn Quartet, directed by Mr. James, will present the first half of the program on Monday. Their performance will include an arrangement of J.S. Bach’s Fugue in C Minor and several short Horn quartets written by Lowell Shaw called “Fripperies.” Fripperies are light hearted, jazzy pieces. The Trombone Quartet, directed by Mr. Stichler, will conclude the program with a few classical selections, such as “Achieved is the Glorious Work,” by Haydn, and such familiar tunes as “Blue Skies,” by Irving Berlin and an arrangement of “Georgia on my Mind,” by Hoagy Carmichael.
Both Brass Quintets playing in the April 5 concert are comprised of two trumpets, one horn, one trombone, and one tuba. This is the compilation of a traditional brass quintet. The groups will be playing music written entirely during the 20th century, including an arrangement of “Penny Lane”, by the Beatles and “Sunday Traffic,” by Aaron Copland (from the documentary film, The City, 1939).
Mr. James, director of the Horn Quartet and both Brass Quintets, is the principal horn of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, and he has been playing and teaching horn for 25 years. He presently teaches at UTC, Southern Adventist University, Lee University and Covenant College. He also performs with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and the Huntsville Symphony.
Mr. Stichler, director of the Trombone Quartet, is adjunct professor of trombone/low brass at UTC. He currently is director of bands at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School and he was director of bands at Ridgeland High School in Rossville from 1993 to 1999. Before coming to Georgia, he taught band and orchestra in Arizona, California, and Nevada, and he performed in prestigious symphonies and bands throughout the U.S. Currently, he is president of the Georgia Association of Jazz Educators, and a professional trombonist in the Chattanooga and Atlanta areas.
The UTC Music Department will also present two concerts for lovers of trumpets and jazz. The UTC Trumpet Ensemble directed by Dr. Erika Shafer, with special guests the Tennessee State Trumpet Ensemble, will present a concert on Thursday, April 1. The following week, the UTC Jazz Band, also directed by Dr. Shafer, will present a concert on April 8. Both events are at 7:30 p.m. in the Roland Hayes Concert Hall of the UTC Fine Arts Center. There is no admission charge for either event.
The Trumpet Ensemble is composed primarily of students from Dr. Shafer’s trumpet studio. They will be welcoming the Tennessee State Trumpet Ensemble directed by Paul Deyo for a program in which the groups will each perform alone and then combine for the finale. Music to be performed on the program includes Renaissance, Romantic, and Contemporary works for trumpets by composers Charpentier, Gounod, Horton, Silva, and Combes. The finale will consist of a jazz standard “Here’s That Rainy Day” by Jimmy Van Heusen and Giovanni Gabrielli’s “Canzona Primi Toni a’ 8”, an antiphonal brass masterwork.
The Jazz Band concert will feature music from the bebop ear including works by Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. Other works on the program will demonstrate a variety of jazz styles as performed by big band leaders such as Gordon Goodwin, Sammy Nestico, Bob Mintzer, Matt Harris, Oliver Nelson, Chick Corea, and Tom Kubis.
The UTC Jazz Band is an auditioned group open to any student at UTC and other local universities as applicable. Through the medium of a jazz ensemble, students learn about the jazz genre and develop their ability to express themselves through this genre. Trumpet Ensemble is a chamber music group open to both music majors and non-music majors. The group's focus is to master chamber music rehearsal and performance techniques, to gain performance experience, and to learn trumpet ensemble literature. Students also develop their trumpet playing skills and enjoy playing with a group comprised solely of their instrument.
For more information, please contact the UTC Music Department at 425-4601 or visit http://utc.edu/music.