Monroe NY News

Brass instruments can play serious chamber music, too. That’s the message Septura, a British brass septet with performers from London’s major orchestras, wants to impart.

To prove it, the group has released nine albums of transcriptions of major chamber music, piano and choral works, and various other arrangements on the Naxos recording label. Included are works like Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, and Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.

“We certainly have had some interesting debates with musicians about our transcriptions,” says trumpet player Simon Cox, the group’s founder. Even the spouse of one of the group’s members—a violinist—questioned their judgement. “Eventually she acknowledged that it does work quite well.”

Cox held a coveted position in an orchestra in Finland when he realized he’d rather stop counting rests, an unfortunate reality for brass players in orchestras, and perform chamber music. So, he quit the orchestra. “The only trouble was that I’d never particularly enjoyed playing in a brass quintet,” he says.

Brass quintets are the most common brass chamber music configuration, but he felt it lacked the oomph and choir-like sound of an orchestral brass section. After earning a PhD on the topic of brass chamber music, he took the brass section out of the orchestra and founded Septura: a combination of three trumpets, three trombones, and a tuba.

“There’s something about the blend of sound of brass instruments, which is a bit like the human voice and a really high-quality choir. It’s something that’s quite uniquely emotive,” he says.

“There are also things we can do that other instruments can’t do. We have a pretty big dynamic range compared to most chamber ensembles, which means that sometimes the listening experience can feel like something that almost envelops you, rather than just takes place in front of you. I think that can create quite powerful listening experiences for the audience.”

Those who associate brass groups with marching bands will be taken aback by the range of colors and dynamics Septura brings to its performance at Eastman’s Kilbourn Concert Series on Monday, February 27 at 7:30 p.m. The concert opens with English arrangements: Finzi’s “God is Gone Up,” a celebratory choir and organ work, followed by a transcription of Elgar’s famous “Serenade for Strings.” The second half features American works straight off their latest Naxos volume: Gershwin’s Three Preludes and Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Although brass instruments can soar over Coplandian intervallic leaps with ease, it is the uncanny ways that Septura can camouflage into colors usually produced by reed and string instruments that surprises.

Eastman’s performance will also include a work commissioned for the group by English composer Pete Walton called Time Out of Joint. Although the group previously focused on building a base of traditional repertoire for the ensemble, their Eastman program is more indicative of the directions the group hopes to go in the future.

Because American audiences seem to embrace brass music, Cox says, the ensemble has engaged in several tours across the United States. The group’s stop on the Kilbourn Concert Series will be a highlight for Eastman students, says trombonist Mark Kellogg, a professor of euphonium, trombone, and brass chamber music and chair of the woodwind, brass, and percussion departments.

“The musicianship and virtuosity of this wonderful group continues the storied traditions of British brass playing promoted by earlier groups such as the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble,” Kellogg comments. 

Tickets for the Kilbourn Concert Series are $32–45. Visit EastmanTheatre.org to purchase tickets and for more information.

Original source can be found here.