| Concord Band Virtual Brass Quintet |
In mid-April, a few weeks after The Concord Band had been forced to suspend rehearsals due to the COVID-19 pandemic, trumpeter Cindy Blanchard began looking around for musicians to play with virtually. She recruited brass players from the Band, and soon a virtual brass quintet was formed. Rich Given joined Cindy on trumpet, Cam Owen on horn, Peter Norton on trombone, and Chi-Sun Chan on tuba.
The group chose Die Bänkelsängerlieder, a classic in brass quintet literature by an anonymous 17th century itinerant musician (a bänkelsänger or "bench singer"). Ken Troup, President of the Band, helped connect the quintet with Bryce Denney (former Band member and husband of Band horn player Kathryn Troup Denney), who provided the technical expertise needed make the separate recordings and combine them into one performance.
Bryce coached the group on how to prepare their individual recordings, and Rich and Sun provided practice tracks to get everyone playing at the same tempo and in the same style. After some test runs, Bryce combined and edited the audio and video to create the final version. This is a time-consuming process, and the quintet would like to thank Bryce for his time, dedication, and expertise! The Concord Band would like to thank them all for a splendid gift.
If you enjoy the quintet and the Concord Band, consider making a donation to the Band to keep it going during these uncertain times.
