UPEI Music Department Recital Series begins September 12
The UPEI Department of Music is pleased to begin its 2014-15 Concert Series at Steel Recital Hall on Friday, September 12 at 7:30 pm with David Braid and the Maritime Brass Quintet performing Braid's works for jazz piano and brass quintet and Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue.'
Throughout this season, the Music Department will be celebrating its students, alumni, and PEI musicians by featuring them in fifteen of the seventeen concerts presented in the series. This first concert includes UPEI alumni Eric Mathis and Bob Nicholson as part of the brass quintet. The Maritime Brass Quintet brings the highest calibre chamber music to concert halls, churches, festivals, and schools throughout the Maritimes. The group is comprised of five of Canada's finest brass players: Curtis Dietz and Richard Simoneau (trumpet), Gina Patterson (horn), Eric Mathis (trombone), and Bob Nicholson (tuba and bass trombone).
Maritime Brass Quintet members have studied throughout North America and performed or held positions with many of the world's leading ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony, Toronto Symphony, l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Honolulu Symphony, and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. They also have experience playing in numerous smaller groups and ensembles, including Foothills Brass, Northumberland Brass, Honolulu Brass Quintet, the Jive Kings, and the Canadian Brass.
'They know each other musically and get as fine a blend as you can get with instruments from different makers. The sound of this quintet was sunny and glorious' - The Chronicle Herald By Stephen Pedersen Concert Review
Since forming in the spring of 2011, the Maritime Brass Quintet embarked on a busy concert schedule and its members have been featured guests at many of the region's well-known concert series and performance venues including the Scotia Festival of Music, the Music Room, Acadia University, University of Prince Edward Island, Université de Moncton, and First Baptist Church, Halifax. They frequently collaborate with some of the regions finest musicians including Paul Halley and the King's Chapel Choir, Nick Halley and Capella Regalis, Jeff Joudrey and the Halifax Camerata, the Musique Royale Concert Series, Music at Three Churches, Mahone Bay, and in recital with Mark Duggan at the Scotia Festival of Music. All members are dedicated educators as well as players, and are committed to working with brass players of all ages.
Braid has been hailed by MacLean's Magazine as 'a jazz genius to call our own.' Braid, a two-time Juno award winner, is among a new generation of Canadian artists making his mark on international stages. Braid has performed across Western Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, Australia, Brazil, the United States, and Canada. Combining harmonic intricacies fundamental to European classical music and the spontaneity of American jazz, Braid's original music engages audiences with melodic lyricism and rhythmic pulses that do not conform neatly to any one musical genre.
Recently awarded Jazz Pianist of the Year in Canada, Braid is also a recipient of SOCAN Composer of the Year, recognizing his output of over eighty works including compositions for solo piano, jazz ensembles, chamber ensembles, and symphony orchestras. He has released nine recordings, garnering six Juno nominations and two Juno awards; he is also a multi-national jazz award winner and a recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts' Jazz ID Award. Braid graduated from the University of Toronto and was nominated for the Governor General's Academic Medal. His most recent focus is on solo piano performances. In addition to his solo recording, 'VERGE,' Braid's solo work is profiled in Daniel Berman's series 'Solos: the Jazz Sessions' (Original Spin Media) along with pianists Brad Mehldau, Ethan Iverson, and Jacky Terrason. Braid's solo work is also recorded on CBC's 'Q,' and 'The Signal.' In addition to performing and composing, Braid is on faculty at the University of Toronto.
Tickets for the September 12 performance are $15/$10 for students and seniors, and are available at the door, or in advance by calling 566-0507 or by email at music@upei.ca
