On a chilly Wednesday night, the 乐播传媒 Brass Ensemble forged a warm blend of sounds during a rehearsal at the Olin Arts center. The new ensemble, formed last fall, features a quintet of brass instruments backed by percussion.
Alan Carr, manager of Olin Arts and director of the ensemble, has been pleased with the new group鈥檚 progress.
The ensemble offers a change of pace from larger groups like orchestra or jazz band, he says. 鈥淵ou have to assume more of a leadership role and take more ownership of your part, because each part is equally important. It forces you to be a team in a different way. It鈥檚 been fun to watch the kids really grow.”
Kyle Zollo-Venecek '17 of Concord, N.H., works through a tough music chart.
Carr sometimes play his horn while conducting, a useful teaching tactic when words alone won't do.
Leah Sturman '17 of Huntington Beach, Calif., plays her french horn part.
The group heads to Carr's office to listen to a studio recording of a piece before rehearsing it.
Director Alan Carr conducts the ensemble through a jazz piece.
Trumpet player Jamie Fagan 鈥�20 of Wilton, Conn., has also noticed the difference playing in a tighter group. Having always played in larger ensembles where he could 鈥渟ort of hide,鈥� he now feels 鈥減retty exposed, so it鈥檚 really challenged me to take my playing to a different level.鈥�
Fagan added that his coursework in classical music and Western culture has enhanced his playing experience. 鈥淣ow I know why Bach wrote what he wrote. So that gives you a lot more context when you play, and at the end of the day you play better than you would have otherwise,鈥� he said.
鈥淚鈥檓 not the star of the show.”
Drummer Kyle Zollo-Venecek 鈥�17 of Concord, N.H., also appreciates the intertwining of disciplines. He says the rigor of deciphering scholarly articles and working through problem sets has given him the discipline to 鈥渂e able to sit down with a [music] chart, where I can鈥檛 read a single thing on it, and actually figure it out piece by piece and play it. You just gotta start from the top and work your way through.鈥�
Zollo-Venecek, who was a guitar player before turning to drums last year, embraces the supportive, structural role that percussion plays in the ensemble. 鈥淚鈥檓 not the star of the show,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople want you to play with them because you make them feel good about playing. And that鈥檚 kind of the whole thing.鈥�
