Humboldt State University Chamber Music Composition Contest

The Humboldt State University Brass Chamber Music Workshop announces its twelfth annual composition contest. First Prize - $2000; Second Prize - $1000; Third Prize - $500. There are no application fees.

This years contest seeks original, previously unpublished, works for brass octet (3131): 3 trumpets (cornets, flugelhorns), horn (in F), 3 trombones (bass clef), and tuba. Bass trombone and/or euphonium may be used in place of one or more trombones.

All qualifying works will be played and judged by the Workshop coaching staff.

Winners’ works will be performed during the July 2015 Brass Chamber Music Workshop in Arcata, California. Amateur musicians will perform the music in a workshop format. Qualifying submissions will be added to the Workshop Library.

Contest particulars, including submission directions, qualifying guidelines, and tips for successful submissions can be found on the web by visiting http://www.humboldt.edu/brass/compcontest.html

Deadline for submissions is February 1, 2015.

Conference/Symposium on Musical Instrument Making

From November 7-9, the Kloster Michaelstein Foundation will present the 41st Academic Conference and 33rd Symposium on Musical Instrument Making in Blankenburg, Germany. The event will feature the topic "From the Serpent to the Tuba: Development and Use of Low Lip-Vibrated Wind Instruments with Holes and Valves." The artist in residence will be tubist and serpent expert Michel Godard. For more information, visit http://www2.kloster-michaelstein.de/de/news/news_14013.html

ITEA Elections

The time has come once again to hold elections for the position of Vice-President/President-Elect of ITEA. Marty Erickson, our most recently elected Vice- President, will assume the Presidency of the organization on July 1, 2015.

Deanna Swoboda is actively soliciting nominations for this position. If you have an idea of someone within the ITEA community who you believe would do an admirable job of leading the organization, please send her an e-mail nominating that person - deanna.swoboda@asu.edu

Nominations will be open until November 1, 2014. Once nominations have closed, the Nominations Committee will consider the names presented and contact the parties who have been nominated to gage their interest in serving. Once the committee has determined the interest of the nominees, it will present a slate of nominees that will be announced to the membership and voted upon via www.iteaonline.org.

Celebrate Brass! at University of Wisconsin-Madison

From October 8 to 13, the UW-Madison School of Music will present its first major brass festival in 32 years - a six-day exploration of the complex nature of brass music, from the delicate woven chords of trumpets and horns to the swagger and growl of the tuba and trombone.

The event will feature famed Norwegian solo tubist Øystein Baadsvik, the only tuba virtuoso to have carved out a career exclusively as a soloist, rather than becoming a member of an orchestra or accepting a teaching post. Baadsvik will be joined by hornist Jessica Valeri (BM, UW-Madison, 1997) of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra; Michigan’s Western Brass Quintet; UW-Madison’s Wisconsin Brass Quintet; renowned brass composer, trumpeter, and blogger Anthony Plog; and new UW-Madison faculty tubist Tom Curry.

The festival will include four separate concerts and master classes on each of four brass instruments (trumpet, trombone, horn, and tuba) plus a separate class on orchestral auditions with Valeri. There will also be multiple open rehearsals and two colloquium discussions - one with Anthony Plog and one with Oystein Baadsvik.

Celebrate Brass! is organized by UW trumpet professor John Aley, now in his 33rd year at the School. Aley was also involved with the first festival, which took place during his second year at UW-Madison. Aley is also principal trumpet of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Wisconsin Brass Quintet.)

The highlight concert of the week will be “Brass Alchemy,” a ticketed event, Saturday, October 11, at 8 PM in Mills Hall.

“Brass Alchemy” will feature a full contingent of soloists, guests, and students presenting dramatic and inspired works of John Williams, Morten Lauridsen, Juan Colomer, Ennio Morricone, Scott Hiltzik, Kevin Puts, Anthony DiLorenzo, and an original work of Baadsvik’s, Fnugg. School of Music professor Scott Teeple will conduct. Tickets for the general public are $25; UW-Madison music majors with ID are free; all other students (all ages, all schools), $10.00. Ticketing information: http://www.music.wisc.edu/about-us/tickets/

All other events are free. The School of Music thanks the Vilas Trust for its support. Visit http://www.music.wisc.edu/brass-festival/ for more information about the festival.

BASSically BRASS at MS Walk

In May, BASSically BRASS, the euphonium and tuba ensemble at the Unviersity of Wisconsin – Eau Claire provided entertainment for the annual Multiple Sclerosis Walk. The group performed popular favorites prior to the beginning of the walk and sent the walkers off to the strains of Luis Maldonado’s arrangement of The Light Cavalry Overture. There was a large audience, most of whom had never heard a euphonium/tuba ensemble – many new fans were won. BASSically BRASS played in honor of friends and alumni who have multiple sclerosis including Eau Claire resident (and former Tommy Johnson student) Philip Machmeier, Tuba Mom Amy Hellevik, studio alum Lori Knoener, BASSically and special BRASS friends, Marjorie Catania and Lisa Johnson. Events like the MS Walk are a great way to reach out to the community, find new audiences, and support a great cause. If there’s an MS Walk in your area, consider offering the services of your euphonium/tuba ensemble or quartet.

Septura Reaches Top 10 in UK Classical Charts

London-based brass septet Septura's debut CD for Naxos has reached the Top 10 of the UK classical charts and third in the specialist classical charts in its first week of release. The disc - Music for Brass Septet - features transcriptions for brass septet of choral and organ works by Brahms, Bruckner, Mendelssohn, and Schumann.

Septura is embarking upon an unprecedented series of 10 recordings for Naxos over five years. Through transcriptions, arrangements, and original works, each disc explores a different period, genre, and set of composers, asking the question, "what if these works of art had been written for brass?" The series aims to redefine the brass ensemble as a serious artistic medium by creating a canon of classical art-music for brass septet – a "counter-factual history" of brass chamber music.

Septura’s members are the leading players of the new generation of British brass musicians, holding principal positions in the London Symphony, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony, Scottish Opera and Aurora orchestras. The group is currently Ensemble in Residence at the Royal Academy of Music.

The CD is available now in Europe, North America, and Asia and also on iTunes.

For more information, visit www.septura.org