Renowned quintet to join EYSO Brass Choir on stage
The Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra Brass Choir, led by Brass Choir Conductor Jason Flaks, will perform with the nationally recognized Wisconsin Brass Quintet at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9.
The concert will take place at the First Congregational Church, 256 E. Chicago St., Elgin. Tickets can be purchased through the ECC Box office at (847) 622-0300 or online at tickets.elgin.edu. Cost is $23, $18 for seniors, and $12 for students. In addition to the concert, a free master class, also at the First Congregational Church, will be offered at noon.
The Wisconsin Brass Quintet is an ensemble-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin, Madison School of Music. Current members include John Aley on trumpet, Mark Hetzler on trombone, Douglas Hill on horn, John Stevens on tuba and Douglas Lindsey on trumpet.
The quintet has performed brass chamber music throughout the nation. They also offer educational programs and master classes which have been presented in such prestigious settings as the Julliard School and the Yale School of Music.
The Wisconsin Brass Quintet is regularly featured on radio broadcasts and they have produced two CDs. Their initial CD features Verne Reynolds and two works by Stevens. Stevens is professor of tuba and euphonium at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a member of the Wisconsin Brass Quintet, a UW-Madison faculty ensemble-in-residence, and Symphonia, America’s acclaimed, professional tuba/euphonium ensemble.
Professor Stevens has enjoyed a varied career as an orchestral, chamber music, solo and jazz performer, composer/arranger, conductor and administrator. As a composer and arranger with over 50 original compositions and almost as many arrangements to his credit, Stevens is internationally renowned for his works for brass, particularly for solo tuba, tuba/euphonium ensemble and brass quintet.
He is the winner of numerous ASCAP awards and has received many composition grants and commissions. In 1997 he was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to compose a tuba concerto. In 2003, The Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra commissioned Stevens to compose Fanfare of Hope for the EYSO Brass Choir.
Stevens has been a member of the International Tuba and Euphonium Association Executive Committee and board of directors. Professor Stevens is an ASCAP composer and is sponsored as a performer by DEG Music Products Inc. and Willson Instruments.
EYSO auditions will be held June 1-5. Students who will begin fourth grade in the fall to college students can audition for a seat in one of the six ensembles. Find applications and audition requirements at eyso.org or call (847) 841-7700.