Studzinski Recital Hall will not only be filled with the sounds of Bowdoin's two brass ensembles on Monday, but also by those of the United States Air Force Liberty Band's Colonial Brass ensemble.
The Colonial Brass ensemble usually maintains a schedule of shows that would make even The Rolling Stones cringe. "From what I understand, the USAF Band of Liberty travels 300 days out of the year," said Charlie Berdahl '11, a member of the Bowdoin Tracktet, a brass quintet made up exclusively of track athletes. "[They] contacted our instructor, Anita Jerosch, to see if she knew of any colleges that could host them since she works with many colleges in the area. She thought Bowdoin would be a prime venue and we were told of the concert two weeks ago."
The Colonial Brass ensemble, a subdivision of the USAF's larger Liberty Band, is a six-piece group that has appeared at impressive events such as the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) and the New York Brass Conference. They play a diverse repertoire of music ranging from classical to traditional marching band material to contemporary jazz.
The ensemble features two trumpets played by Senior Airman Laura Kluga and Staff Sergeant Cheryl Przytula, a French Horn played by Technical Sergeant Lawrence Price, a Tuba played by Staff Sergeant Steven Charles Skoy, a Euphonium (a smaller and higher-pitched version of the tuba) played by Staff Sergeant Eric Spinelli, and percussionist Senior Airman Michael Correa.
The first of the two Bowdoin ensembles that will join the Colonial Brass ensemble is the Tracktet, featuring Isaac Irby '09 and Stan Berkow '11 playing trumpet, Thompson Ogilvie '10 on horn, Hannah Peckler '11 on trombone, and Berdahl on tuba. This group, with its current members, performed at the brass concert last year to rousing applause and appreciation from track teammates and others.
The second Bowdoin ensemble is the Bowdoin Brass Quintet, made up of Abriel Ferreira '10 and Will Cogswell '11 on trumpet, Allison Chan '11 on the trumpet-like flugelhorn, Eugene Sun '11 on the trombone, and Nathan Elliott '09 on tuba.
The Colonial Brass Ensemble will collaborate with the Bowdoin brass quintets both during and apart from the concert: The Colonial Brass Ensemble will hold a workshop for both of the brass quintets as well as perform a few pieces with the Bowdoin ensembles.
"We might play music that they bring with them, but we have some old stand-by pieces just in case," Berdhal said. Whatever the pieces end up being, the concert promises to entertain.
The concert will be Monday at 8 p.m. in the Kanbar Auditorium of Studzinski Recital Hall.