Student Listening Presentation

Link to playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5tOeqztu8JSBdXZ5RIaCM012lgs6XM3e&si=GTaDUh74yR0puZ1h 

Matthias Höfs Consort - Handel: Concerto F Major HWV 333 recorded 2025 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-XWQi-T2Sg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZTzLqRoh_8 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obYxm1l8FB0

These are the three movements that are available with live video. This piece is originally a concerto for two French horns with a small orchestra. It has been arranged for a trumpet ensemble.   

This performance features the Matthias Höfs trumpet consort. Matthias is a well known trumpeter and teacher in Europe, known for expanding the possibilities of what can be done on the instrument. He is a member of the German Brass and teaches trumpet at the Hamburg University of Music and theatre. He has also recorded and appeared on many CD's, which can be found on his website. 

60 trombonist play "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor recorded 2024, video published 2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEQVfCPT3s0 

This is an arrangement of a well known pop tune, but I would really like to talk about Christopher Bill. He is a trombone player known for making multi-track videos of himself playing popular music like this. While things like this are now pretty common, it was a unique thing to see 10 years ago when he was first becoming popular. In recent years he has gained notoriety in the trombone world for doing massive collaborations such as these. He remains a controversial figure in the trombone world because many believe such an emphasis on popular music can be a distraction, but his success is undeniable. He has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the trombone world. I think he represents a different vision of what success can look like as a musician in this modern day and age.  

American Brass Quintet "Common Hero's, Uncommon Lands" by Philip Lasser Recorded 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7bc77V4rak 

Philip Lasser (b. 1963) is a composer with both American and French roots. He received his Masters degree from Columbia University and his doctorate from Julliard. He currently serves as the director for the European American Music Alliance. 

This piece was commissioned by the Julliard school to celebrate the American Brass Quintet's 30 years of residency at the school. The piece is based on five short poems from different poets, and is supposed to represent the human spirit and it's "uncrushable work ethic" according to Lasser.   

Madeline Lee's "Cathedral" Performed by the Faculty at the 2022 Southeast Trombone Symposium

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNdYqGJt0vs

Madeline Lee (b. 1994) is a freelance composer who received her masters degree in Horn performance from the Columbus State University, and her BA in music education from the University of Kansas City Missouri. Her music has been performed at many notable brass conferences, including the ITF, ITG, and IWBC just to name a few. 

This piece specifically utilizes a lot of pointillism with a lot of rhythmic patterns being split up across various parts.  

Lauren Bernofsky's "Trio for Brass" Recorded by the University of Maryland Brass Trio in 2010

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22ddpaqvNKU

Bernofsky is a composer of music for a lot of different types of ensembles, and received degrees from Hartt School, New England Conservatory, and Boston University. Her music has been performed at the ITGC, Midwest Clinic, and by major orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra.  

According to her own description of the piece, she wrote it so that it would be challenging but not impossible to play. She experimented with different textures ranging from homophony and contrapuntal writing. She says that the most important thing for her was that the piece needed to be fun to both play and hear.   

J. J. Johnson "Piece for Two Tromboniums" Recorded in 1956

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3buruVWOu8

J.J. Johnson (1924-2001) is one of the most important figures in the world of jazz trombone playing. He is largely credited with keeping the instrument relevant during the bebop era of jazz, and is arguably one of the most prolific recording artist for jazz trombone. 

Recorded in 1956 off of the album "Jay & Kai + 6 The Jay and Kai Trombone Octet" this whole album features what is fairly uncommon, and that is a brass ensemble playing jazz music. The trombonium was essentially a fusion between a Euphonium and a trombone.

The sound is certainly like a small bore trombone, but if you listen to the piece, you can here pretty clearly that a lot of the technical stuff is being played on a valved instrument. I think this whole album is fascinating because it was made by one of the most popular Jazz trombonists, and it's a legitimate commercial release from the 1950's.