Canadian Brass, a quintet, brass ensemble, will be performing a holiday show at the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday, Dec. 3 from 7:30–9:30 p.m.
“The group has essentially been the primary driving force in the area of brass from upwards of five decades now,” Canadian Brass said in an email.
Canadian Brass has had 150 recordings, Juno Awards, Grammy Nominations and was the first musical ensemble from Canada sent to China in 1977, according to the members of Canadian Brass.
Canadian Brass said their concerts include a wide variety of music styles.
“From Renaissance to modern music, branching even into pop and jazz … whatever your taste in music, there is always something for everyone at our shows,” Canadian Brass said. “This is a Holiday concert, so of course there will be plenty of wonderful musical delights in the spirit of the season.”
Canadian Brass said they are excited about performing for the audience in Opelika.
“It's always a great experience to play for an audience and every audience is different,” Canadian Brass said. “So we look forward to performing for your local audience and then meeting as many people as possible after the concert when we go to the lobby.”
Canadian Brass said creating connections with their audience is very important to them.
“Most importantly, as members of Canadian Brass, our primary mission is to our audiences around the world,” Canadian Brass said. “Our audience is everything to us. And we are not afraid to have a little bit of fun on stage ... OK, we actually have a ton of fun on stage and hope to share our joy and passion for music for years to come with audiences all over the world.”
Phillip Preston, director of East Alabama Arts, said Canadian Brass will have an entertaining show.
“They’re virtuosos in every respect, and they also have a great sense of humor," Preston said. "It will be a very casual, laid-back performance. They’re real audience pleasers and so combine that with the skill of the play, it will be a very enjoyable experience.”
Preston said Canadian Brass will be working in the community throughout the day.
From 10 a.m.–11 a.m., Canadian Brass will perform at the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts for area high school bands and share what their lives are like traveling as musicians.
Canadian Brass will then have a master class for Auburn’s brass ensemble at 1p.m. in Auburn University’s Goodwin Music Hall.
Jake Finn, senior in mechanical engineering, plays the trombone in Auburn’s College of Liberal Arts’ Dean’s Brass Quintet and will be attending the master class as well as performing for Canadian Brass with the other members of the Brass Quintet.
Finn said he is looking forward to meeting the members of Canadian Brass.
“[They] have been a musical inspiration to me since I was a young man in high school,” Finn said. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I’m excited to be a part of the class.”
Finn said he hopes the master class will help his Quintet learn how to improve their performances.
“We are competing in the MTNA Southern Division Competition for Chamber Ensembles in January, so hopefully we can apply what we learn in the master class to our performance for the competition,” Finn said.
John Seymour, junior in business, plays the tuba in the Dean’s Brass Quintet.
Seymour said the Brass Quintet is planning on performing Bach’s "Contrapunctus 9" for Canadian Brass, and he is looking forward to hearing Canadian Brass’ comments on their performance.
“They’ve actually performed that piece before, and so it’s going to be really exciting to get their opinions on how we’re doing with it and just some of the musical aspects of it,” Seymour said.
Seymour said he will be attending Canadian Brass’ holiday show.
“I’m super excited about getting to hear them,” Seymour said. “They do a ton of really fun stuff.”
The box office for the show opens Thursday at 6:30 p.m., and there will be tickets at the door.
To purchase tickets online, visit www.eastalabamaarts.org.
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