Constitution Brass Quintet of Vermont

    The Constitution Brass Quintet was founded in 1983. Juried Artist in the Vermont Arts Council Arts Directory, the ensemble has appeared extensively throughout New England and has been a featured group at First Night Burlington since 1991. In July 1995, the group was honored to be selected to perform at the National Governors' Conference. The quintet's extensive repertoire spans over four centuries of music composition, from the 16th Century to the present, literally "Renaissance to ragtime and beyond." Audiences are presented a wide range of musical periods and styles. Added program features include historical and musical commentary, humorous anecdotes, and members of the quintet performing in the midst of the audience.

   In many ways 19th-century America was a musical nation and the Civil War a musical war. The quintet now presents a program of Civil War music and historical commentary as part of its standard concert fare. Performing authentic brass band renditions of the ballads, waltzes and marches of the period, the quintet is joined by a percussionist for this program. When it can be arranged, members of a Civil War reenactment group are present to add visual realism. The audience is encouraged to sing along on some of the songs following the lyrics in the printed program.

   In 1994, through a major grant from the Vermont Arts Endowment Fund, the ensemble commissioned internationally acclaimed Vermont composer Gwyneth Walker to create Shaker Tunes for Brass Quintet. This suite of five contemporary adaptations of Shaker tunes captures the exuberance of this unique New England sect and has been enthusiastically received by audiences and critics alike. The quintet recently co-commissioned a new work by former Vermont composer James Grant and has been working with student composers through the Vermont MIDI Project.

   The ensemble conducts school/community residencies tailored to the artistic needs of the region. A "mini-residency" of several days duration includes workshops on chamber music performance, rehearsing selections with student instrumentalists and performing with the students as a part of school assembly programs and public concerts. The quintet's school assembly program, "400 Years of Music as Performed on Brass Instruments," is geared to the grade-level of the student audience.