Michigan Chamber Brass

On Thursday, September 25th and Friday the 26th, the Michigan Chamber Brass presented four children's concerts in the Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor (Michigan) elementary schools. Funded by a Pfizer Community Arts Grant, the ensemble performed Camille Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals. The perfect demonstration piece for elementary aged students, Carnival gave the children the opportunity to see and hear the brass and percussion instruments first hand. Each movement of the piece was accompanied by the poetry of Odgen Nash, read by a teacher from each school. The schools prepared the students for the program by reviewing and studying the music prior to the musicians' arrival. Over 1200 children heard the concerts with many resulting benefits: Rosalie Koenig, music teacher at Mitchell Elementary in Ann Arbor commented that "the event made a lasting impression on the children . building audiences of the future with informed enthusiastic listeners." For many of the children, it was their first live music experience and the first chance to see the brass and percussion instruments up close. The timing was perfect for the program as each September the students begin to choose the instruments they would like to play in their school music programs. Trumpet players on the program were David Kuehn, Justin Cohen, Jason Borngesser and Jean Moorehead-Libs; the ensemble features "the finest professional musicians in Southeastern Michigan".

The Michigan Chamber Brass (MCB) was formed in November of 1995 with the purpose of bringing to Michigan the finest in traditional and contemporary music for the symphonic brass ensemble. The organization is committed to reaching audiences through a yearly concert season and through educational activities in the form of workshops and concerts in public and private schools. The MCB serves the immediate community of Washtenaw County with its concert series and master classes and the entire state through tours and concerts in outlying areas, aiming to bring polished and exciting performances to the school, office, reception or concert hall and covering a wide variety of styles, periods and genres from classical to pop and baroque to jazz. For information on the Michigan Chamber Brass, contact Michael Grant at +1 (734) 485-2902.