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This Sunday, December 15th at 1:30pm at All Saint’s Anglican Church, the Rupertsland Brass Band will be presenting their holiday concert.
Consisting of music by Gabrieli, John Rutter, Bach and more this is going to be a phenomenal concert that puts the sparkle on the holiday season in a way that only brass instruments can.
Adding to the joy and grandeur of the concert, The Rupertsland Brass Band will be joined by All Saint’s Anglican Church’s organist Dr. Dietrich Bartel. He will be performing a couple of solo organ pieces as well as adding to the texture of the marvelous sounds of brass.
The Rupertsland Brass Band was founded in 1997. It consists of 25 to 30 amateur and professional brass players of all ages. The common attraction is a love of music, and specifically a love of Brass Band music. Since their formation in 97, the group has entertained audiences throughout the province while keeping alive the brass band tradition.
Darryl Ferguson is the director of the Rupertsland Brass Band. The warmth and blend of the ensemble won him over from the start. “I just fell in love with it. It is such a great avenue to play music that is from different traditions, different styles, all kinds of transcriptions. I really fell in love with that type of playing and the challenges that it presented too. When we did pieces that may have been written for a concert band or an orchestra, the cornets would end up having to play the woodwind parts, or the violin parts. Additionally, just the warmth and the beauty of the brass band sound... all those conical instruments... is just a special thing.”
These warm blended sounds will be performing a wide variety of music, in a myriad of styles. There is a piece by the English composer Willliam Rimmer who is considered to be the John Philip Sousa of the brass band world, since he is mostly known for his marches written for brass band. There is also a stunner of a piece written in memory of Princess Diana written by the composer Joseph Turin.
There will also be a couple of pieces on the program written by the Venetian master of antiphonal brass writing Giovanni Gabrieli. As Ferguson says, “There are so many things about Gabrieli that are just beautiful. There is such a warmth in the sound. There is such lyricism also. We also love the antiphonal sounds. It is fun to think back to the late 1500s when Gabrieli had written this music for antiphonal brass choirs in Venice.”
Joining the Rupertsland Brass Band will be All Saints Anglican Church's organist Dr. Dietrich Bartel. As Ferguson states, “If you have not had the opportunity to hear that organ at All Saints...you have missed out. It is one of the most beautiful instruments in the city. To be able to have the brass band play in front of it...it just feels like you are enveloped in the sound. Dietrich is such a beautiful player, and such a powerful player. It is just great!”
As it is a holiday concert, audiences can expect to hear several Christmas carols and medleys, including Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah performed in all its grandeur by the band with the organ supplying the thick, magnificent bed of supporting sound.
The Rupertsland Brass Band’s Holiday concert is a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday season and hear the sonorous, magnificent sounds of brass.
The concert takes place this Sunday, December 15th at 1:30pm at All Saint’s Anglican Church.
