Brian Evans concert & masterclass at Kunitachi College of Music (TOKYO)

Brian Evans, ITG Vice-President and veteran trumpeter of the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra (AOBO), Sydney Opera House Orchestra, performed a concert and gave a masterclass at Kunitachi College of Music (KCM) on April 7, 2015, immediately following a performance with the Hornsby Band at Tokyo International School.

He was in Japan visiting various places and giving concerts with the Hornsby Girls’ Selective High School Band. His wife Deborah Dietz, conducts the band and teaches at the school.

Evans collaborated with pianist Noriko Yamauchi, on faculty at KCM in his recital. The repertoire included Alexander Goedicke’s Concert Etude Op.49, P I Tchaikovsky’s Neapolitan Air, Christopher Perrin’s KIGAN (dedicated to the Great East Japan Earthquake victims), Brendan Collins’ Serenade, and James L.Klages’ La Conteur. Notably, this was the Asian premiere of Christopher Perrin’s KIGAN. The work is based on the melody of old Japanese song ‘Sakura’. Evans introduced his vocal talents in his recitation of the last refrain.

At the masterclass follwing the concert, two KCM students performed in a masterclass given by Evans. Aya Nishida, a junior, played Vassily Brandt’s Concert Piece No.1, and senior Haruka Yokoo performed Arutiunian’s Trumpet Concerto. In working with the students, Evans gave suggestions for how to play phrases musically. He advised Nishida to play each phrase several ways to help find her own voice. He emphasized to Yokoo that she sustain her sound to the end and discussed the power and beautiful melody of the Arutiunian.

Kunitachi College of Music in the city of Tachikawa (30km west of central Tokyo) was founded in 1926 and will celebrate the school’s 90th anniversary in 2016. KCM has about 1,800 students, and the college’s brass band "Kunitachi Blasorcheter" is recognized as one of the most prominent college bands in Japan. The group played at the Midwest Clinic 2011 in Chicago and had a concert tour in Southeast Asia 2014, both with favorable reviews.

Source: Eisuke Yamamoto, Professor, Kunitachi College of Music, Tachikawa, JAPAN