The Annapolis Brass Quintet (ABQ) was a

brass quintet A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of Brass instrument, brass instruments. The instrumentation for a brass quintet typically includes two Trumpet, trumpets or Cornet, cornets, one French horn, one trombone or euphonium/barito ...

founded by

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

player David Cran and

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

player Robert Posten in 1971 as America's only full-time performing brass ensemble. During the course of its 22-year career, it played concerts in all fifty states and throughout Europe, the

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

, the Middle East, Central America and Canada.

Members

The original members of the quintet were trumpeters Cran and Haldon "Butch" Johnson, trombonists Posten and John Driver, and

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

player Rick Rightnour. Through 1993, 14 different musicians played as regular members, including future social scientist

Arthur C. Brooks Arthur C. Brooks (born May 21, 1964) is an American author, public speaker, and academic. Brooks served as the 11th President of the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of twelve books, including ''Love Your Enemies'' (2019), The ''Co ...

. At that time, the

quintet A quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single ...

disbanded, and played again only for a single concert in December 2000 in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

to honor the late jazz guitar legend

Charlie Byrd Charlie Lee Byrd (September 16, 1925 – December 2, 1999) was an American jazz guitarist. Byrd was best known for his association with Brazilian music, especially bossa nova. In 1962, he collaborated with Stan Getz on the album '' Jazz Samba' ...

. The final roster in 1993 and at the reunion concert were Cran, Posten, trumpeter Robert Suggs, trombonist Wayne Wells, and horn player Sharon Tiebert, the only female member in the Quintet's history.

Notable performances

The Quintet is notable for its 1979 founding of the International Brass Quintet Festival in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, which became recognized as a major forum for brass chamber music. A major highlight of the 1989 festival was the combined appearance of both the

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

and

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

Brass Quintets with the ABQ two months before the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

toppled, a historic collaboration both musically and politically. The festival presented over 200 free public concerts and conducted workshops and seminars for students and professional brass players. In 1985, the ABQ first performed with the Charlie Byrd Trio as Byrd and Brass. This unique and critically acclaimed blending of Latin, jazz and classical styles, with one of the world's premier jazz guitarists and his trio, led to a long collaboration including over 50 concerts throughout the United States, Christmas concerts in Annapolis, and two recordings, Byrd and Brass and Christmas with Byrd and Brass. The Quintet made a strong commitment to expanding the repertoire for the medium and has a list of over seventy-five world premieres to its credit. Among the composers who have written works for the ensemble are

Douglas Allanbrook Douglas Allanbrook (April 1, 1921 – January 29, 2003) was an American composer, concert pianist and harpsichordist. He was associated with a group of mid-twentieth century Boston composers who were students of Nadia Boulanger. His compositions ...

, Michael Brown, Bruce Clausen,

George Heussenstamm George Heussenstamm (born July 24, 1926) is an American composer. His most well-known works include jazz-classical chamber styles, such as ''Etudes (7) for oboe, clarinet & bassoon, Op. 77'' (1964), ''Alchemy for solo oboe and tape, Op. 60'' ( ...

, Warren Kellerhouse, Jiri Laburda,

Robert Hall Lewis Robert Hall Lewis (April 22, 1926 – March 22, 1996) was an American composer, conductor, and trumpet player who taught at Goucher College (1958 – 1995) and Peabody Conservatory (1958 – 1995), both in Baltimore, Maryland. His works ...

, Allen Molineux,

Lawrence Moss Lawrence Kenneth Moss (November 18, 1927 – June 24, 2022) was an Americans, American composer of contemporary classical music. He was born in Los Angeles. He held a B.A. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, an M.A. from the Eas ...

, Jiri Pauer, Karl Pilss, Walter Ross,

Jerzy Sapieyevski Jerzy Sapieyevski (born Jerzy Sapiejewski in Łódź, 20 March 1945), is a Polish-born pianist, composer, educator and conductor who settled in the United States in 1967. Career Jerzy Sapieyevski was born in Łódź and began music and engineerin ...

, Elam Sprenkle,

Robert Starer Robert Starer (8 January 1924 in Vienna – 22 April 2001 in Kingston, New York) was an Austrian-born American composer, pianist and educator. Robert Starer began studying the piano at age 4 and continued his studies at the Vienna State Academy ...

George Walker George Walker may refer to: Arts and letters * George Walker (chess player) (1803–1879), English chess player and writer *George Walker (composer) (1922–2018), American composer * George Walker (illustrator) (1781–1856), author of ''The Co ...

and Robert Washburn. Of special interest are four compositions for quintet and orchestra composed for the ABQ and performed with the

Baltimore Symphony The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...

, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Wichita Symphony and the Dublin Radio Orchestra.

Awards and recognition

United States Senator

Barbara Mikulski Barbara Ann Mikulski ( ; born July 20, 1936) is an American politician and social worker who served as a United States senator from Maryland from 1987 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she also served in the United States House of Repr ...

congratulated the Annapolis Brass Quintet for the national record on the floor of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on April 27, 1993, on the occasion of their final concert on April 25, and in recognition of the "contributions that the Annapolis Brass Quintet has made to brass chamber music. During its 22-year history, it has entertained people around the world and has positively influenced the development of its genre. Its members have achieved a truly high standard of artistic excellence and, together, represent what is best in American music."

Discography

*''Annapolis Brass Quintet'' (Crystal S-202) *''Quintessence'' (Crystal S-206) *'' Annapolis Sounds'' (Richardson RRS-3) *''Encounter'' (Crystal S-207) *'' The Spirit of Christmas Brassed'' (Richardson RRS-5) *'' Music of Lawrence Moss: Symphonies'' (Orion ORS 79362) *'' Invitation to the Sideshow'' (Crystal S-213) *'' Music of Lawrence Moss: Flight'' (AmCam Recordings ACR 10301) *'' The Age of Masques and Revels'' (Antigua DG91.5) *''Synthesis'' (Crystal S-219) *'' New Music for Brass Quintet'' (Crystal S-235) *'' Byrd and Brass'' (Concord Jazz, Inc.) *'' Brass and Pipes'' (CRS) *'' Christmas with Byrd and Brass'' (Antigua DG91.6) *'' Reflections in Brass'' (Antigua 92)

References

External links

Official ABQ Website
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1971 Brass quintets American brass bands 1971 establishments in Maryland Musical groups disestablished in 1993 1993 disestablishments in Maryland Culture of Annapolis, Maryland