Empire Brass
The Empire Brass enjoys an international reputation as North America's finest brass ensemble, renowned for its brilliant virtuosity and the unparalleled diversity of its repertoire. The five musicians - all of whom have held leading positions with major American orchestras - perform over 100 concerts a year, in cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington, London, Zurich and Tokyo. With their wide-ranging and best-selling recordings on the Telarc label, they have introduced an even larger worldwide audience to the excitement of brass music ranging from Bach and Handel to jazz and Broadway. They are equally at home in the majestically antiphonal works that Gabrieli composed for St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice and the exuberantly show-stopping tunes that Richard Rodgers and Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote for Broadway. In addition to playing across the United States, the Empire Brass has toured the Far East seventeen times, and performs regularly in Europe. It has played to standing-room crowds in the former Soviet Union, where their concert was broadcast on television.
The ensemble has performed with major symphony orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and Zurich's Tonhalle Orchester. The Empire Brass regularly visits leading summer festivals including Ravinia, Tanglewood, Caramoor, Saratoga and Chautauqua. In addition to its many appearances in the United States, the Empire Brass recently performed to sold-out audiences from Kuala Lumpur to Lucerne. The ensemble made their debut tour of China during the 1999-2000 season.
Recent engagements include performances at Carnegie Hall, New York’s Central Park and Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center, the Ventura Chamber Music Festival, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, for the San Francisco Symphony, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and their 17th recital tour of the Far East. In January 2002, they were the Artists-in-Residence at the first Latin American Brass Festival in Venezuela. The upcoming season includes performances throughout the United States and Asia.
The Empire Brass notably has been awarded the Naumburg Prize and the Harvard Music Association Award. It is a frequent guest on nationally syndicated radio programs including Saint Paul Sunday Morning, Traditions, and NPR Performance Today, and has been televised on Good Morning America, the Today Show, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, and in 1999, a special Holiday concert for NHK Japan. Among its many honors, Empire Brass became the first ensemble to play at the newly remodeled Carnegie Hall and opened the Carnegie Hall Centennial Gala, joining forces with members of the New York Philharmonic in the world premiere of Joan Tower's specially commissioned Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman.
A series of best-selling CDs on the Telarc label offers music spanning five hundred years from a dozen different countries. Among these are Romantic Brass, an anthology of Spanish and French music; Brass on Broadway; Class Brass - On the Edge, featuring works from Khachaturian, Prokofiev, Bernstein and Copland; and Mozart for Brass, arrangements of Mozart works by Rolf Smedvig; Passage, arrangements for brass and percussion of music from 138 B.C. to 1611 A.D., an original concept of the Empire Brass founding member Rolf Smedvig, with the collaboration of the electronic percussionist Kurt Wortman. Other recording include An Empire Brass Christmas - The World Sings; Firedance featuring the works of Ravel, Debussy, Bartók, Bernstein and other 20th century composers; and Christmas with The Master Chorale & Empire Brass, with The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay. Under the baton of Mr. Smedvig, the Empire Brass has released two recent recordings for Telarc: The Glory of Gabrieli, antiphonal music for brass choirs with guest performers from the New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony; and a live recording Baroque Music for Brass and Organ with organist William Kuhlman, featuring works of Bach, Purcell, Telemann and Handel.
