Jenna Bacon, Campus Carrier arts and living editor
On Sunday, Berry College brass students and faculty, along with some local high school brass musicians, had the opportunity to participate in two masterclasses taught by members of Dallas Brass. Dallas Brass is a chamber brass ensemble with many notable accomplishments, including performing at Carnegie Hall, for former President George H.W. Bush and on the CBS “Early Show.” Their musical repertoire includes classical pieces, jazz music, swing music, and even popular theme songs. Artist Affiliate in Low Brass Michael Desousa corresponded with Dallas Brass and scheduled the event. The day began at 8 a.m., when the student musicians checked in and participated in some group warm-ups before being divided into 6 different chamber ensemble groups.
“We were all in different rooms, and we were rehearsing new music that we had never seen before,” Junior Kyle Freeman said. “It’s all sight reading and trying to bring it together as like a quintet or quartet, depending on which room we were in.”
A chamber ensemble is a small group of musicians performing music pieces without a conductor. Each musician in the group plays a distinct part, making it a very collaborative process. After the different chamber groups had rehearsed their music pieces a few times, the members of the Dallas Brass listened to each group and provided them with feedback.
“Often times in small groups in chamber music, everyone has equal importance, and everyone has a turn at being more or less the soloist,” Instructor of Horn at Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts Juan Berrios said. “So, we have to be soloists, we have to be team players and we have to be leaders, all together.”
After a quick lunch break, the student musicians were then divided into groups based on the instrument they played. Then, the Dallas Brass member who plays that instrument took the time to listen to students play, provide feedback and offer instruction specific to their instrument. According to Freeman, freshman music education major Landon Boyd got the opportunity to play for Dallas Brass’s trumpet players.
“They gave him really good comments about how to improve his air control,” Freeman said. “He sounded way better afterwards.”
Dallas Brass is not only an incredible talented group of musicians; they also have a huge passion for music education. According to Berrios, four of the seven group ensemble members teach music full time at various universities, and the remaining members teach regularly when they are not on tour.
“So, we learn to work as a team to deliver the most important points we want them to take away,” Berrios said. “It’s important as a teacher to have a sense of what message we want the group to receive from us and how we can deliver that information effectively.”
The members of Dallas Brass published two books that contain ensemble music for middle and high school students. Their books are titled “Brass Grooves Intermediate” and “Brass Grooves Advanced.” Both books are part of a community outreach program for students called Harmony Bridge.
At 3 p.m. Dallas Brass put on a concert for all of the student musicians in attendance as well as members of the Rome community. Junior music business major Lauren Skaare plays the trumpet and participated in a brass quintet her freshman year. Skaare shared her thoughts on the performance.
“I was amazed by how impactful collaborative playing is on an audience,” Skaare said. “Watching them interact with each other and us throughout the day and then seeing them put on this huge production was really cool.”
According to Skaare, her experience with the Dallas Brass has inspired her to try and get another brass quintet started at Berry. Skaare is not the only one interested in playing in a brass quintet.
“I’m part of the music fraternity on campus, Phi Mu Alpha, and we’ve been talking for years about trying to get a brass quintet together,” Freeman said. “Having these books (the Brass Grooves books) would be a really great place for us to start, and I’m super excited to talk to our executive committee about that.”
Berry is home to many talented student musicians. The Berry community is a place where talents are able to shine during concerts, sports games, and theatre performances. Be sure to support your fellow vikings!
For upcoming musical events at Berry, visit https://cal.berry.edu/music_events.