Tomorrow evening Black Bayou Brass will present our annual faculty recital. (Click here for more information). As with most of our programs, we have assembled a variety of original and arranged works, making for an exciting and interesting concert. Here’s the program, with a few notes about each work. If you are in the area, we would love to see you there!

Flash, Jérôme Naulais: I discovered this work by accident, and it has become one of our favorites. Naulais is a distinguished trombonist and composer, with a large number of brass works in his catalog. His writing – at least in this work – is accessible, challenging, and fun to play. Here’s a short clip of the opening horn part. Flash is published by Editions Marc Reift.

Three Chorals for Brass Trio, Adriana Isabel Figueroa Mañas: We will be performing this work again in June at the International Women’s Brass Conference, along with several other works for brass trio by women composers. Three Chorals was commissioned by the Borealis Brass at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and freely incorporates the melodies and rhythms of Argentinian folk music. Borealis Brass has recorded the work, which is available on  iTunes and Amazon.

Figaro-Metamorphosen, Jan Koetsier: A set of virtuosic variations based on Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. Humorous, reasonably difficult, and very fun to play! I would love to know who the original performers were, and am working on finding that information.

Trio for Brass, Vaclav Nelhybel: One of the standards in the brass trio repertoire, this substantial work has been recorded by the University of Maryland Brass Trio.

Grand Russian Fantasia, Jules Levy/arr. Aaron Witek: An arrangement of this well known cornet solo by Black Bayou Brass member Dr. Aaron Witek.

Rondo, from Horn Concerto, K. 495, W.A. Mozart/arr. James Boldin: An arrangement by yours truly. The trio medium works surprisingly well for this piece, which has been published by the International Horn Society’s Online Music Sales.

That’s A Plenty, Lew Pollack/arr. Micah Everett: A great closer arranged by former Black Bayou Brass member Dr. Micah Everett. Available from Cimarron Music Press.