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Jun 27, 2023

Copper Street Brass brings ‘epic’ sound to Carleton Symphony Band winter concert

Carleton students collaborated with Copper Street Brass to create new sounds to

Carleton students collaborated with Copper Street Brass to create new sounds to fill Kracum Performance Hall, showcasing the "epic" and "evolving" nature of music.

On Feb. 17 in Kracum Performance Hall, the Carleton community enjoyed a concert showcasing the talent of our Symphony Band and guest musicians Copper Street Brass. Titled "At the Intersection of Epic and Evolution," Music@Carleton presented an engaging show that juxtaposed early brass band music with new, innovative repertoire.

Scattered conversation at the start of the event mingled with the ringing of the oboe's proud A note, tuning the band. As the dimming lights hushed the audience, a spotlight shone into the auditorium. The conductor, Visiting Instructor in Music and Director of the Carleton Symphony Band Claire Larson, stood amidst the sea of seated onlookers, and with a flick of her wrist, the band jumped into their first song.

Emphasizing the "epic" in their concert title, the brass section lined up on the lip of the stage, blasting their bold tune right into the audience. Building louder and richer, the song completely enveloped listeners through the combination of Larson conducting from the audience and trumpet players toeing the stage's edge.

After the first piece concluded and as the brass players found their seats, Larson announced to the audience: "When you think brass and you think epic, you have to play ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’ by Aaron Copland." She also recalled that Copper Street Brass has played the song "too many times to count" in its years as an ensemble.

Blue lighting framed the symphony band next as a single clarinet embarked on the playing of "Canzona No. 1," the second piece of the program. The melody was then passed between instruments, from the trombone and clarinet playing in harmony, to the flute and oboe crescendoing into prominence, until the whole band rose up. Composed by Giovanni Gabrieli, the song exemplifies how Gabrieli pioneered an antiphonal style, bridging the Renaissance and Baroque eras of composition.

A quintet followed, featuring Grace Lyons ’26 on flute, Sylvie Dirkswager ’25 on oboe, Sam Ederington ’25 on clarinet, Ben Ellis ’26 on tenor saxophone and Larson on french horn, playing "My Spirit Be Joyful" by J. S. Bach. The unique five-part arrangement was inspired by Copper Street Brass’ grouping. The song started with the horn and sax trekking out on a fanciful tune before being joined by clarinet, flute, and finally, oboe. Noted in the program as a standard for the brass quintet, "My Spirit Be Joyful" follows a call-and-response structure, as one instrument begins, only to be followed and outlasted by the same melody played on a different instrument, with the cycle continuing to include all players.

The fourth song, "First Suite in E-flat," consists of three parts: "I. Chaconne," "II. Intermezzo" and "III. March." Copper Street Brass joined the Carleton Symphony yet again to capture the music written by Gustav Holst, described by Larson as a "legendary composer" who "left an indelible mark on the band world." In the first movement, deep tubas started before the rest of the brass quietly joined them. The woodwinds then introduced a jaunty and boisterous tune that breathed life into the piece. The brass continued to serve as a grounding sound, calming the woodwinds until an almost somber mood was achieved. That persisted until a drum roll crescendoed with the instruments and burst into a full and balanced symphony sound. The second movement started out with familiar, lively playing from the woodwinds. From their light, energetic tune came a single soaring clarinet and flute on a bed of soft brass. As the melody strengthened with the accompaniment of more instruments, I got the sense of being on a voyage, the music carrying me through a vast journey. In the third movement, rapid, stunning trilling from the brass broke the section away from its role of anchor as it came in with full, lively force. Spirited playing by all grew with a large drum sound into a grandiose finish.

The next portion of the program shifted focus from epic to evolving pieces, particularly featuring Copper Street Brass in concert with their theme "Evolution of Brass." In her introduction, Larson emphasized the inclusion of historically marginalized composers in conjunction with the use of mediums heard more often in mainstream pop, to highlight the way music is evolving in the current age. She described the collection of music as a "new, fresh creature" made up of songs that "need to have their sounds heard."

This "fresh repertoire" began with a saxophone quintet. Kicking off with quite the recognizable tune, the lyrics echoed in my head as the saxophones played the melody of "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. Achieving the full range of energy and emotion found in the classic rock song, the slow, measured beat picked up as the saxophones played in harmony, with drums keeping the pace in the background.

Next presented was "A Cor’ Amoris," which Larson informed the audience was just published a couple of months ago. With Copper Street Brass playing stage right of the Carleton Symphony Band, the "great, deep concert band" song chock-full of "lush, beautiful band lines" filled the auditorium.

Some classic pop music flowed next from the stage. Larson had a particular goal with this piece, stating that she "wanted to surprise the audience with this one." After a high trumpet opening, a wailing brass section quickly rose, with a piccolo trumpet reaching absurdly high notes. Called "Brass Romance," the mashup of songs performed included the works of Lady Gaga ("Bad Romance") and Coldplay ("Viva La Vida"). These song choices were inspired by the unusual songs often picked by Copper Street Brass for their performances, where they operate under the motto: "No music is off limits."

The audience then enjoyed another brand new song, which Larson guessed would be unfamiliar to most. Titled "Semper Supra," the march was written for the newest branch of the U.S. military, the Space Force. So new, in fact, was this piece, that Music@Carleton had to write to the United States Air Force for the sheet music. Originally only 30 seconds long, an arrangement for Carleton stretched it to a snappy one minute and seven seconds.

Composed by Alex Shapiro, the next song, "Tight Squeeze," brought a unique and novel sound to Kracum. Described by Larson as "probably the first time you’ve heard this kind of music," this song was certainly new to my ears. With an electronic track of percussion and synthesizers playing live, the Symphony Band joined to create an intense and almost eerie song. With sudden whooshing sounds mixing with metal noises, the players soon physically joined the commotion as they got out of their seats, dancing, spinning and smiling.

The second half of the show exclusively featured Copper Street Brass. Without further introduction, they jumped into their first song, "Bohemian Rhapsody," and wasted no time from then on. Intertwining a slew of melodies, I heard "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor; "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar; "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg, which listeners may have recognized from the teaser trailer of Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride;" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," along with songs I felt I should remember and others which I couldn't place at all. The opening melody, the band later explained, went from "Queen to Kansas to Mozart and a little bit of everything in between." Titled "That 70s Show," this program from Copper Street Brass connected a wide range of songs under the umbrella of hits popular in the ’70s—from the 1770s to the 1970s.

The band's selection from the 1770s focused on Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute," which was one of his most popular and "took audiences on a trip, a fantastic voyage." Copper Street Brass highlighted the moment that opera fans really wait for, "when a special singer comes on stage for one particular aria." However, rather than an opera singer joining their ranks, an instrument played the part instead. To replace such a high opera part, one may expect an instrument like the piccolo trumpet, but Copper Street Brass played this part on a tuba!

Their selection for the 1970s portion was by a composer from Buenos Aires. This composer took inspiration from jazz, fusion, avant garde, traditional tango and classical music and blended it into a new style called "tango nuevo." Ending the program with a collage of songs, Copper Street Brass went from a revisit of Mozart to "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley.

The end-of-term concert was the culmination of a number of workshops led by Copper Street Brass at Carleton, which included guided rehearsals as well as coaching sessions for Carleton chamber groups and ensembles from local middle and high schools. The members of Copper Street Brass didn't only perform with Carls, they taught them, and the group's collaboration with the Carleton Symphony Band was well-showcased with this winter concert.

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