A Brass Octet

[Rochester2013]

A brass octet has recently formed (or is forming) out of our larger 40ish piece brass choir. The instrumentation is:

3 trumpets, 2 horns, 2 trombones or euphonium and 1 tuba.

Are there any musical suggestions for a group like this?

[Rochester2013]

Finally (if you can round up a few more players of similar ability to the original eight) you might consider expanding it into a full-blown "brass choir".

We do have a brass choir (I think I might have mentioned in the original post). It is quite large, around 35-45 players depending on the semester.

We have so many gig requests that we are forming a smaller ensemble (the octet) so that we can play the gigs that a sizable portion of the choir can't make.

[scottw]

I am always searching for good brass choir music in the 5-5-5-2-2-+ perc range, but finding a lot of octet and especially 10-tet stuff.A lot of Phillip Jones stuff is 8-10 pieces. Our own Bryan Dougherty at http://www.bvdpress.com/" target="_blank is a great source of music for the medium, just check the voicing/instrumentation for each composition you like.
Also:
http://www.hickeys.com" target="_blank
http://www.sldbrass.com" target="_blank
http://www.windmusicplus.com" target="_blank
http://www.music44.com/Merchant2/mercha ... Pg=12&Pg=1" target="_blank
http://www.rkingmusic.com" target="_blank
PS--If you find anything nice in a larger format, let me know!
Good luck, this is fun playing.

[imperialbari]

My Yahoo-based download project of free music holds quite a few modular arrangements, which are useable for ensembles like yours. All members will find voices to play. Only it takes a musical leader with good sense of balance to distribute the players on the parts. The index for the full project, last updated January 6th 2010, is here:

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Yo ... 0%20Index/

Music that might be relevant would be

lots of 4 part church related music including Russian Liturgic music

Schütz (use the 10-part material), especially if you have a couple of very strong soloists

Deep River in an adaption of a setting for male choir found in your LOC

4 Dances from Læsø (quite challenging also in the tuba part)

Vanhal, even if it only has 5 parts

If you tell your full name, your instrument, your ensemble, and mention this TubeNet posting, you will be approved.

Klaus

[Rochester2013]

Finally (if you can round up a few more players of similar ability to the original eight) you might consider expanding it into a full-blown "brass choir".

We do have a brass choir (I think I might have mentioned in the original post). It is quite large, around 35-45 players depending on the semester.

We have so many gig requests that we are forming a smaller ensemble (the octet) so that we can play the gigs that a sizable portion of the choir can't make.

Not meaning to "poke a stick", but (at least to me) the 40-piece thing seems like more of a "brass band". If (again) you pulled about 13-or-so people (maybe 4 trumpets / 2-4 horns / 3 trombones / euphonium / tuba / percussionist...what I would view as a "brass choir") from the 40 ( rather than just 8 ) there is beaucoup de musique for approximately that size of ensemble.

I see your point. I guess have just never thought of it any differently than a choir because, according to the registrar, we are a choir.

[tclements]

Teplace the 2nd horn with a trombone and you'd have a TON of stuff. Go to the BCMW website and check out our library.

[imperialbari]

Teplace the 2nd horn with a trombone and you'd have a TON of stuff. Go to the BCMW website and check out our library.

If school and band environments are large enough, it is fairly easy to man ensembles exactly as the scores need. I will not argue with Tony in his suggestion, only suggest an approach of which I have not been the only sample.

Decades ago I read a Down Beat article with a then fairly young horn player, who had given up a position as 2nd in the Boston symph. So not just any horn player. He used to take the train to NY to sit in with various jazz ensembles. Eventually he got bored by repeatedly playing Brahms’ 2nd (oh did I love playing 2nd horn in that symph, when I got the chance). He moved to NY and made a living on the jazz scene there. One asset of his was his willingness to read whatever was put in front of him. He would play 4th trumpet or 2nd trombone parts in the big bands.

At a summer camp where I took part on my Conn 28D, they suddenly missed a 1st part player, when the lowest brasses wanted to play 4-tets. Normally I played most on the F side of my horn. I could read bass clef for various horn transpositions, but I was not comfortable with bass clef concert. Cheap trick: just played the Bb side as if it was a baritone.

As the ensemble in question also is a learning experience for being versatile musicians in a real world, where a last minute emergency call may not place one at ones ideal chair, then I would recommend that the members adapt their reading skills to the music available.

Klaus

[Brassworks 4]

Here are a few you may not have seen yet:

http://brassworks4.com/brass_sextet_septet_octet.html" target="_blank


Thanks
Connie