The Chicago Brass Quintet originated in 1963 when students from the Northwestern University School of Music formed the group to advance interest in brass chamber music via concerts, instructional sessions, radio and recorded projects, and the creation of original compositions.
Extensive tours have taken the ensemble across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Frequent live appearances at Chicago’s WFMT studios have led to national broadcasts on National Public Radio as well as transmissions over Canada’s CBC network.
Principal trumpet duties with the Chicago Opera Theater, Concertante di Chicago, and the Elgin Symphony fall to Ross Beacraft, who has also appeared regularly with the Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, and both the ballet and theater orchestras of Chicago, in addition to numerous radio and television spots. An Eastman School alumnus, Beacraft directs admissions at the DePaul University School of Music.
Matthew Lee serves as principal trumpet for the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta, Light Opera Works Orchestra, and Millar Brass Ensemble. After reaching the finals of the Maurice Andre Solo Trumpet Competition in Paris, he has continued to perform with the Lyric Opera and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Lee holds degrees from Western Illinois University and Northwestern University and instructs at both DePaul University and Elmhurst College.
Greg Flint maintains an active schedule on horn with the Lyric Opera, Grant Park Symphony, and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras, has toured alongside Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin, and explores an eclectic range of repertoire. A Northwestern University graduate, Flint teaches at the DePaul University School of Music.
Founder James Mattern built a career as trombonist, composer, and arranger with the Lyric Opera, Grant Park Symphony, Chicago’s Contemporary Chamber Players, and Chicago’s ballet and theater orchestras. Degrees from Lawrence University and Northwestern University prepared him for faculty appointments at Northern Illinois University and the DePaul University School of Music; his brass works and adaptations receive performances internationally.
Principal tuba responsibilities with the Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra and numerous Chicago theater orchestras belong to Dan Anderson, who also performs jazz bass with many of the city’s leading artists. Anderson earned degrees from the University of Illinois and Northwestern University and teaches at Columbia College as well as the DePaul University School of Music.
Commissions from Cliff Colnot, James Mattern, Lawrence Rapchak, Dan Anderson, and J. Mark Scearce have expanded the brass quintet repertoire. Since 1981 the ensemble has issued multiple recordings on the Crystal, Centaur, Delos, and Covenant labels, including a 1988 CD for GIA Publications devoted to brass and choral works by Richard Proulx, then music director and composer-in-residence at Holy Name Cathedral.
Repertoire spans original works and transcriptions of masterworks drawn from America, Western and Central Europe, the British Isles, and Russia across several centuries, while arrangements of Broadway tunes and jazz standards have further broadened its audience.
