|
Smoky Mountain Brass Band
The Smoky Mountain Brass Band (SMBB) is a British-style brass band based in Asheville, North Carolina. The band, which consists of both professional and non-professional musicians, performs several concerts each year all throughout western North Carolina. The current Director of Music of the Smoky Mountain Brass Band is Casey Coppenbarger. Being a British-style brass band, the band's instrumentation differs from that of most American bands. The band consists entirely of brass and percussion instruments. The brass instruments used are mostly conical bore instruments (e.g. cornets, alto horns, and euphoniums) except for the trombones. Most instruments are in the keys of E♭ and B♭. History The Smoky Mountain Brass Band was founded in April, 1981, by Richard Trevarthen and a small group of musicians from western North Carolina after attending a brass band workshop at NC State University. Since then, the Smoky Mountain Brass Band has been active, performing concerts and partici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Brass Band
In Britain, a brass band (known regionally as a silver band or colliery band) is a musical ensemble comprising a standardized range of brass and percussion instruments. The modern form of the brass band in the United Kingdom dates back to the 19th century, with a vibrant tradition of competition based around communities and local industry, with colliery bands being particularly notable. The Stalybridge Old Band (still in existence) was formed in 1809 and was perhaps the first civilian brass band in the world. Bands using the British instrumentation are the most common form of brass band in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and are also widespread in continental Europe, Japan and North America. The tradition for brass bands in the UK is continuing, and local communities and schools have brass bands. British band contests are highly competitive, with bands organized into five sections much like a football league. Competitions are held throughout the year at local, re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous city. According to the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 94,589, up from 83,393 in the 2010 census. It is the principal city in the four-county Asheville metropolitan area, which had a population of 424,858 in 2010, and of 469,015 in 2020. History Origins Before the arrival of the Europeans, the land where Asheville now exists lay within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation, which had homelands in modern western North and South Carolina, southeastern Tennessee, and northeastern Georgia. A town at the site of the river confluence was recorded as ''Guaxule'' by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto during his 1540 expedition through this area. His expedition comprised the first European visitors, who carried endemic Eurasian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conical Bore
In music, the bore of a wind instrument (including woodwind and brass) is its interior chamber. This defines a flow path through which air travels, which is set into vibration to produce sounds. The shape of the bore has a strong influence on the instrument's timbre. Bore shapes The cone and the cylinder are the two idealized shapes used to describe the bores of wind instruments. Other shapes are not generally used, as they tend to produce dissonant, anharmonic overtones and an unmusical sound. Instruments may consist of a primarily conical or cylindrical tube, but begin in a mouthpiecs, and end in a rapidly-expanding "flare" or "bell". This flare reduces the acoustic impedance mismatch between the instrument and the air, allowing the instrument to transmit sound to the air more effectively. These shapes affect the prominence of harmonics associated with the timbre of the instrument. A bore that flares from the mouthpiece reduces resistance to the breath, while a bore that na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornets
The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a soprano cornet in E and cornets in A and C. All are unrelated to the Renaissance and early Baroque cornett. History The cornet was derived from the posthorn by applying rotary valves to it in the 1820s, in France. However, by the 1830s, Parisian makers were using piston valves. Cornets first appeared as separate instrumental parts in 19th-century French compositions.''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Micropedia, Volume III, William Benton, Chicago Illinois, 1974, p. 156 The instrument could not have been developed without the improvement of piston valves by Silesian horn players Friedrich Blühmel (or Blümel) and Heinrich Stölzel, in the early 19th century. These two instrument makers almost simultaneously invented valves, though it is likely t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenor Horns
The tenor horn (British English; alto horn in American English, Althorn in Germany; occasionally referred to as E horn) is a brass instrument in the saxhorn family and is usually pitched in E. It has a bore that is mostly conical, like the flugelhorn and euphonium, and normally uses a deep, cornet-like mouthpiece. It is most commonly used in British brass bands, and Mexican banda music whereas the French horn tends to take the corresponding parts in concert bands and orchestras. However, the tenor horn has occasionally been used as an alternative to the French horn in concert bands. Description The tenor horn is a valved brass instrument (in E) which has a predominantly conical bore like that of the euphonium and flugelhorn. It uses a deep funnel- or cup-shaped mouthpiece. The tenor horn's conical bore and deep mouthpiece produce a mellow, rounded tone that is often used as a middle voice, supporting the melodies of the trumpets, cornets, or flugelhorns, and fills the gap above ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euphoniums
The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" or "good" and ''phōnē'' means "sound", hence "of good sound"). The euphonium is a valved instrument. Nearly all current models have piston valves, though some models with rotary valves do exist. Euphonium music may be notated in the bass clef as a non-transposing instrument or in the treble clef as a transposing instrument in B. In British brass bands, it is typically treated as a treble-clef instrument, while in American band music, parts may be written in either treble clef or bass clef, or both. Name The euphonium is in the family of brass instruments, more particularly low-brass instruments with many relatives. It is extremely similar to a baritone horn. The difference is that the bore size of the baritone horn is typically small ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trombones
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate. Nearly all trombones use a telescoping slide mechanism to alter the pitch instead of the valves used by other brass instruments. The valve trombone is an exception, using three valves similar to those on a trumpet, and the superbone has valves and a slide. The word "trombone" derives from Italian ''tromba'' (trumpet) and ''-one'' (a suffix meaning "large"), so the name means "large trumpet". The trombone has a predominantly cylindrical bore like the trumpet, in contrast to the more conical brass instruments like the cornet, the euphonium, and the French horn. The most frequently encountered trombones are the tenor trombone and bass trombone. These are treated as non-transposing instruments, reading at concert pitch in bass clef, wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
E♭ (musical Note)
E (E-flat) or mi bémol is the fourth semitone of the solfège. It lies a diatonic semitone above D and a chromatic semitone below E, thus being enharmonic to D ( D-sharp) or ''re dièse''. In equal temperament it is also enharmonic with F (F-double flat). However, in some temperaments, D is not the same as E. E is a perfect fourth above B, whereas D is a major third above B. When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the E above middle C (or E4) is approximately 311.127 Hz. See pitch (music) for a discussion of historical variations in frequency. In German nomenclature, it is known as Es, sometimes (especially in the context of musical motifs, e.g. DSCH motif) abbreviated to S. Designation by octave Scales Common scales beginning on E * E major: E F G A B C D E * E natural minor: E F G A B C D E * E harmonic minor: E F G A B C D E * E melodic minor ascending: E F G A B C D E * E melodic minor descending: E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
B♭ (musical Note)
B (B-flat) is the eleventh step of the Western chromatic scale (starting from C). It lies a diatonic semitone above A and a chromatic semitone below B, thus being enharmonic to A, even though in some musical tunings, B will have a different sounding pitch than A. B-flat is also enharmonic to C (C-double flat). When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the B above middle C is approximately 466.164 Hz. See pitch (music) for a discussion of historical variations in frequency. While orchestras tune to an A provided by the oboist, wind ensembles usually tune to a B-flat provided by a tuba, horn, or clarinet. In Germany, Russia, Poland and Scandinavia, this pitch is designated B, with 'H' used to designate the B-natural. Since the 1990s, B-flat is often denoted Bb or "Bess" instead of B in Swedish music textbooks. Natural B is called B by Swedish jazz and pop musicians, but still denoted H in classical music. See B (mus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1982 World's Fair
The 1982 World's Fair, officially known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition (KIEE) and simply as Energy Expo '82 and Expo '82, was an international exposition held in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Focused on energy and electricity generation, with the theme ''Energy Turns the World'', it was officially registered as a "World's Fair" by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). The KIEE opened on May 1, 1982, and closed on October 31, 1982, after receiving over 11 million visitors. Participating nations included Australia, Belgium, Canada, The People's Republic of China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, and West Germany. It was the second World's Fair to be held in the state of Tennessee, with the first being the Tennessee Centennial Exposition of 1897, held in the state's capital, Nashville. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durham, North Carolina
Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, Durham is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 4th-most populous city in North Carolina, and the List of United States cities by population, 74th-most populous city in the United States. The city is located in the east-central part of the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region along the Eno River. Durham is the core of the four-county Research Triangle#Office of Management and Budget Definition, Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Area, which has a population of 649,903 as of 2020 U.S. Census. The Office of Management and Budget also includes Durham as a part of the Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh-Durham-Cary Combined Statistical Area, com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
