BIOGRAPHY

Engaging and eclectic, the Mirari Brass Quintet brings a spirit of joyful collaboration and innovation to music spanning many centuries and genres. The commissioners of multiple new works for brass, the group performs a spectacular tight-rope act, balancing intensity with levity and refined virtuosity with pure fun.

Founded in 2009, Mirari has performed extensively across the United States, forging connections with audiences through lively and polished performances. The group has performed and presented outreach programs as part of concert series, festivals, conferences, and residencies at universities in over 30 states and, in 2017, made their international debut in China.

Since its inception, Mirari has added nearly two dozen works to the brass quintet repertoire, with group members also contributing a number of arrangements and original compositions. Some highlights are included on their albums Spires (2012) and Renewed, Reused, Recycled (Summit Records, 2018). Mirari has also embarked on collaborative ventures, including Clint Needham’s concerto for brass quintet and wind ensemble, In These Hallowed Halls (2015), which was commissioned by Mirari and the Ohio State University Wind Symphony and premiered in 2017.

Mirari is unique in that as well as being outstanding performers, they also share a passion for music education and are all collegiate professors of music. The group relishes and seeks out extended time to interact with musicians by leading masterclasses, offering group and individual instruction, presenting clinics, and through their podcast, Mirari: UNMUTED. Through their educational endeavors, the quintet examines all aspects of life as an artist and helps to foster the development of complete musicians.

As a central tenet of the group, and by their name’s definition, all Mirari members share an admiration and respect for each other not only on stage and in music, but also in friendship.

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PROGRAMS

Celebration!

J.S. Bach – My Spirit Be Joyful

Steph Frye-Clark, arr. – Two English Madrigals

John Mackey – Sheltering Sky

Ravel – Le Tombeau de Couperin

-Intermission-

Renwick – Dance

Ewald – Quintet No. 1

Alex Noppe – Elegy

Jones – Four Movements for Five Brass

Kevin McKee – Escape

There is nothing abstract about this program, we are celebrating! After over a year of practicing and meeting virtually, Mirari is back on the road! Getting to make music with each other for live audiences has made us giddy to share great music that we love! What better way to ring in a new concert season or bring one to a close than with joyous brass!? With a robust and varied program of clever arrangements and lush original works, this program is sure to deliver a celebration for the ears and hearts of the listeners!

Food for the Soul: A Five Course Feast for the Ears

Select works of your choice from each of the following categories:

Appetizer (Pick 1): These shorter pieces are designed to warm up your palate!
J.S. Bach – My Spirit Be Joyful
Anthony DiLorenzo – Fire Dance
Dukas – La Peri
Scheidt – Canzona Bergamasca
Speer – Die Bankelsangerlieder
        
Soup/Salad Course (Pick 2): Some lighter fare as you prepare for the main course.
J.S. Bach – Contrapunctus
Crespo – “Vals Peruano” and “Ragtime” from Suite Americana
Stephanie Frye-Clark – Selected Madrigals: Flora Gave Me Fairest Flowers, Oft I 
Have Vowed or Come, Woeful Orpheus, and Mother, I Will Have a Husband
John Mackey (arr. Given) – Sheltering Sky

Main Course (Pick 1):  Substantial works, bound to satisfy any appetite!
Arnold – Quintet
Bozza  – Sonatine 
John Cheetham – Brass Menagerie
Mendelssohn – String Quartet No. 1
Eric Nathan – Spires
Ravel (arr. Van Hof) – Le Tombeau De Couperin

-Intermission-

Sides (Pick 1):  These light-hearted, accessible works pair well with the main course.
Calvert – Suite from the Monteregian Hills
Ewald – Quintet No. 1
Maurer – Three Pieces
C.C. Jones – Four Movements for Five Brass
Tull – Exhibition

Cordials (Ballads/Love Songs) (Pick 2): Who doesn’t love a ballad? These emotion-filled pieces, will tug at your heart strings, each telling its own story of love, loss, and connection.
Kamen – Quintet
Bernstein – “Maria, Somewhere” from West Side Story
Verdi – Nessun Dorma
Alex Noppe – Elegy

Dessert Course (Pick 2):  A scrumptious, final course to bring the evening to a close.
Kevin McKee – Escape
Corea (arr. Noppe) – Spain
Piazzola (arr. Van Hof) – Libertango
Bernstein (arr. Gale) – “Tonight,” “America,” and “I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story

William Shakespeare famously wrote, “If music be the food of love, play on.” This musical feast is an opportunity to fill the souls of your concertgoers through repertoire selected by you specifically to connect with and appease of your unique audience. The “courses” take the audience on a journey beginning with energetic, dazzling works to awaken the palate; a main course designed to fill the soul with an array of colors, textures, and flavors; culminating in sweet, dulcet tones to finish off the musical feast.

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