Bombastiq Brass Quintet to Perform August 21st at the Cyr Center

The Bombastiq Brass Quintet: Andrew Bove, tuba; Haim Avitsur, trombone; Karl Kramer-Johansen, French horn; Bryan K. Appleby-Wineburg, trumpet; Thomas Hoyt, trumpet.

Perennial favorites the Bombastiq Brass Quintet will continue the Friends of Music 25^th Anniversary Season in a performance at 3PM on Sunday August 21 at the Cyr Center in Stamford. These seriously talented professionals usually provide a bit of comic relief in their programs and this year it seems they will continue this tradition with a concert they have titled “Music by Composers with Silly Names.”

Those who heard the Quintet perform in 2008 will no doubt remember a piece arranged by group leader Karl Kramer that was based on a performance he heard by a street musician in Paris. It seemed the musical equivalent of a three-ring circus; the audience was at first astounded and then delighted by the playful use of non-classical instruments including kazoos and other children’s toys. It was great fun and received a rousing ovation, and we will have an encore of the piece on August 21.

A number of 20^th-Century composers will be represented including Mr. Kramer’s grandfather, Jolly Kramer-Johansen, who created a great deal of music for the Norwegian film and television industries. Also included are works from the 16^th and 17^th Centuries that are more in keeping with the classical tradition of Friends of Music, and the Quintet will perform them all masterfully. The complete program is planned as follows:

 

Bombastiq Brass Quintet

Plays music by

 COMPOSERS WITH SILLY NAMES

Samuel Scheidt (1587 – 1654):  Centone V

I.     Galliard Battaglia                                               

II.    Benedicamus Domino

III.   Canzon Gallicam

Paul Thermos (1952 – 2003):  Groundwork

Jolly Kramer-Johansen (1902 – 1968):  To Små Hender

Soloist: Bryan Appleby-Wineberg – Trumpet

Charging Thunder:  Song of the Old Wolf/Song of the Young Wolves

— Intermission —

Jacob Clemens Non Papa (1510/15 – 1555/56):  Angelus Domini

Milan Igloo:  4 Dvojpisni v Odlisnych Taktech

I.     Na tech panskejch Lukach & Utikej, Kaco

II.    Je-Li Pak Pravda, Nebo Ne & Ach, Neni tu, Neni

III.   Slibl Mne Muj Mily & Slunicko Za Hory Zachazi & U Klastera Pole

IV.   Uz Ho Vedou, Martina & Ta Zlukovska Naves

Carl Orff (1895 – 1982):  Carmina Burana Suite

Darius Milhaud (1892 – 1974):  Concertino d’Hiver

Soloist: Haim Avitsur – Trombone

Ludwig Wilhelm Andreas Maria Thuille (1861 – 1907):  Gavotte

Henri Faisal N’Gombe (contemporary):  Tu Veux

Soloist: Karl Kramer – Piccolo horn

Emile Waldteufel (1837 – 1915):  Eilgut-galopp

I can promise you there is never a dull moment when these gentlemen come to play for us! Here is some biographical information in case you think this humorous approach means their level of talent is any less than the usual high quality of artists who perform for us:

     Bryan Kent Appleby-Wineberg is currently Assistant Professor of Trumpet and Brass at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ, and principal trumpet of The Haddonfield Symphony.  He is also a solo cornetist with the Gramercy Brass Band in NYC, and the Atlantic Brass Band in Glassboro.  Bryan completed his Doctorate at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, studying with Peter Bond of the New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and having served as a Doctoral Fellow in Trumpet at Rutgers for three years.

     Mr. Appleby-Wineberg was reviewed by Classical New Jersey as possessing “unheralded virtuosity of breath-control and intonation” and playing “with creamy effortlessness.”  The Evansville (IN) Courier and Press described him as having “a sure and strong clarion tone.”  He has performed with numerous orchestras and symphonies in the eastern United States.  Bryan holds degrees from The Oberlin Conservatory of Music and The Cleveland Institute of Music, where he was awarded the 1994 Bernard Adelstine Prize in Trumpet.

     Thomas Hoyt is a member of the New York City Opera Orchestra and has appeared as soloist or guest artist with the Bach Aria Group, Philharmonia Virtuosi, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He performs as an extra with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra and New York City Ballet Orchestra, among others.

     Tom received a Grammy for his part in the Wicked cast album.  He has played with over twenty Broadway musicals, most recently with the smash hit Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre.  He can also be heard on a variety of recordings and television programs including a program on Nickelodeon.  Tom holds a Doctorate from S.U.N.Y. Stony Brook and a Masters from Yale University.  He teaches at New York University and at Columbia University Teachers College. 

 

     Norwegian horn player Karl Kramer-Johansen has been principal horn of the Jupiter Symphony for five years.  During this period he was regularly featured as soloist in the well-loved concerti by Strauss and Mozart, as well as in neglected masterpieces by Reinecke, Dubois, Chabrier and others.  In addition to orchestral and solo work Karl also maintains a busy chamber music schedule as artist-member and guest artist of numerous concert series and festivals.  Chamber music partners include Adam Niemann, William Wolfram, Ruth Laredo, Philip Entremont, and Richard Bishop.

     Also sought after as recitalist/lecturer, Karl has toured the United States with composer/pianist Wolfgang Plagge and given masterclasses at several universities.  Other new music collaborations include those with Marc-Antonio Consoli, professor at New York University (Varie Azione III, Games for Three, Four Shades of Tango), and the world-premiere of Kile Smith’s triple concerto The Three Muses, with oboist Gerard Reuter and cellist Wolfram Koessel.

     Karl is also a top prizewinner in many international competitions and the recipient of several awards, most recently the 2001 America-Scandinavian Society Cultural Award.  Karl can be heard on the Philips, Aurora and Polygram labels.

     Trombonist Haim Avitsur has presented numerous solo recitals featuring newly commissioned works for trombone at venues such as Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, the Noonday Concerts-Trinity Church Wall Street, Stanford University CA, Syracuse University NY, and at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.  His chamber music appearances include Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, WQXR New York Classical Radio Station, Bard College, and the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.  Mr. Avitsur has presented masterclasses at Aaron Copland School of Music, NY, and the Tel-Aviv Music Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel, among others.
     In November 2000, Mr. Avitsur gave his Carnegie debut at Weill Recital Hall after having won the Artist International’s Special Presentation Award in its 2000 Competition.  Mr. Avitsur is the first Israeli trombonist on record to play a full recital in this hall. In the spring of 2002 Haim played a concert and gave a workshop at Stanford University, CA.  During those events he premiered three pieces for trombone and electronic sounds.   Since the fall of 1999, Mr. Avitsur has been adjunct faculty at Queens College, New York, and more recently he joined the faculty of the Mannes College of Music Extension Division.

    And I must add that last year Mr. Avitsur was put through his virtuosic paces by Mr. Kramer's arrangements; I had no idea a human being could play so many notes in such a short time with such precision and beauty. WOW! Likewise we have heard fabulous solo interludes by each of these gifted artists through the years.

    Andrew Bove is from Massapequa Park, NY, and now enjoys a diverse career as a freelance musician based in New York City. As an orchestral musician, Mr. Bove has performed with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, Westchester Philharmonic, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Prometheus Chamber Orchestra, New World Symphony, as well as many others.  He is also in demand as a chamber musician, and has performed and recorded with numerous groups including the Extension Ensemble, the American Brass Quintet, and Sequitur.  Andrew has also recorded for television, and was recently featured by Hip-Bone music in their series of CDs and instructional DVDs for young musicians.

    From 1999-2002, he was the recipient of the orchestral tuba fellowship from the Aspen Music Festival and has performed at many other festivals, including the Tanglewood Music Center, the Music Academy of the West, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Pierre Monteux School. Mr. Bove is a graduate of The Juilliard School and Northwestern University, and is currently a faculty member at the Bar Harbor Brass Week, Sarah Lawrence College and Kean University.

Do come and join us to continue the celebration of our 25th Anniversary Season with a rousing and fun afternoon in the presence of the Bombastiq Brass Quintet, with many thanks to the ongoing support of the Robinson-Broadhurst Foundation!