Biography
The American Brass Quintet launched their career in 1960, at a time when brass chamber music remained largely unfamiliar to concert audiences. As a result, the ensemble had to assemble a body of works almost entirely from the ground up, in marked contrast to the string quartet tradition with its three centuries of available scores. The ABQ have subsequently presented more than 100 world premieres and compiled a catalog exceeding 40 recordings, forming the most substantial collection of serious brass music documented by any single group.
Unlike many brass quintets that have found success through adaptations of popular, jazz, and rock material in lighter programs, the ABQ have cultivated a reputation for a rigorous and considered engagement with the medium. Their central repertoire draws on contemporary scores, their own realizations of Renaissance and Baroque music, and revivals of neglected brass literature from the nineteenth century. Among the composers commissioned across the decades stand Jan Bach, William Bolcom, Elliott Carter, Jacob Druckman, Eric Ewazen, William Schuman, Ralph Shapey, Gunther Schuller, Virgil Thomson, and Melinda Wagner.
Performances have taken the quintet throughout Europe, Asia, South and Central America, the Middle East, Australia, and the United States, prompting characterizations such as "the high priests of brass" in Newsweek, "positively breathtaking" in The New York Times, and "of all the brass quintets, this country's most distinguished" in the American Record Guide. Their steadfast focus on serious brass repertoire appears in continuing residencies at the Juilliard School from 1987 and the Aspen Music Festival from 1970.
Entering their second half-century, the ABQ have preserved both their artistic purpose and their distinctive sound. While none of the original members remain, personnel shifts have occurred gradually, with trombonist Michael Powell joining in 1983. After the heightened interest in brass quintet music during the 1980s and 1990s subsided, the group continued to obtain major commissions, among them a work by Joan Tower honoring the Juilliard School centennial in New York in 2006. They issued their own anniversary release, a double-CD collection devoted entirely to new music, in 2010 and received the Richard J. Bogomolny Award for chamber music in 2012. Affiliated with the Summit label since 1992, the ABQ have sustained regular recording activity, releasing Perspectives, containing works by Sebastian Currier, Eric Ewazen, Robert Paterson, and Jay Greenberg, in 2017. The members at that point were Powell, bass trombonist John D. Rojak who joined in 1991, trumpeter Kevin Cobb from 1998, trumpeter Louis Hanzlick since 2013, and hornist Eric Reed who joined in 2014.
Unlike many brass quintets that have found success through adaptations of popular, jazz, and rock material in lighter programs, the ABQ have cultivated a reputation for a rigorous and considered engagement with the medium. Their central repertoire draws on contemporary scores, their own realizations of Renaissance and Baroque music, and revivals of neglected brass literature from the nineteenth century. Among the composers commissioned across the decades stand Jan Bach, William Bolcom, Elliott Carter, Jacob Druckman, Eric Ewazen, William Schuman, Ralph Shapey, Gunther Schuller, Virgil Thomson, and Melinda Wagner.
Performances have taken the quintet throughout Europe, Asia, South and Central America, the Middle East, Australia, and the United States, prompting characterizations such as "the high priests of brass" in Newsweek, "positively breathtaking" in The New York Times, and "of all the brass quintets, this country's most distinguished" in the American Record Guide. Their steadfast focus on serious brass repertoire appears in continuing residencies at the Juilliard School from 1987 and the Aspen Music Festival from 1970.
Entering their second half-century, the ABQ have preserved both their artistic purpose and their distinctive sound. While none of the original members remain, personnel shifts have occurred gradually, with trombonist Michael Powell joining in 1983. After the heightened interest in brass quintet music during the 1980s and 1990s subsided, the group continued to obtain major commissions, among them a work by Joan Tower honoring the Juilliard School centennial in New York in 2006. They issued their own anniversary release, a double-CD collection devoted entirely to new music, in 2010 and received the Richard J. Bogomolny Award for chamber music in 2012. Affiliated with the Summit label since 1992, the ABQ have sustained regular recording activity, releasing Perspectives, containing works by Sebastian Currier, Eric Ewazen, Robert Paterson, and Jay Greenberg, in 2017. The members at that point were Powell, bass trombonist John D. Rojak who joined in 1991, trumpeter Kevin Cobb from 1998, trumpeter Louis Hanzlick since 2013, and hornist Eric Reed who joined in 2014.
Albums
