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The West Texas A&M University Brass Quintet will travel to Sweden this month to take part in a prestigious educational opportunity.
The WT ensemble was one of only five quintets chosen from around the world to participate in Stockholm Chamber Brass’s seventh Academy for Chamber Music from July 30 to Aug. 7 in Leksand, Sweden.
“After our tour to Italy in 2019, we wanted to explore more performance opportunities abroad, and Guglielmo (Manfredi, WT professor of music and quintet horn player) stumbled across the Stockholm Academy,” said Dr. William Takacs, WT professor of music and quintet trumpet player. “This is a great opportunity to be students again ourselves and get instruction and tips from professional musicians.”
Comprised of faculty members of WT’s School of Music in the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities, WT Brass Quintet also includes trumpet Dr. Russell Teweleit, WT professor of music; trombone Dr. John G. Shanks, associate professor of music; and tuba Dr. Jeremy Lewis, associate professor of low brass.
At the academy, WT ensemble members will take part in masterclasses, recitals and a group concert with other quintet members.
Each quintet also will work with one of five composers taking part in a simultaneous Academy Composers Course. At the end of the academy, each quintet will debut a new work by one of those composers.
“Stockholm Chamber Brass members are some of the top players in the world, and we expect to get insightful feedback not only from them, but also from the other quintet members chosen for the academy,” Manfredi said. “Those new ideas, of course, will translate into our teaching of our WT students. As teachers, we never stop learning ourselves.”
The quintet also performed June 27 as part of Lake City, Colorado, Arts’ chamber music series. In addition to its 2019 tour in Italy, the quintet, which formed in 2008, has performed in Florida and, closer to home, with Chamber Music Amarillo, First Baptist Church of Amarillo and at several elementary and high schools.
Stockholm Chamber Brass formed more than 30 years ago and is considered one of the world’s leading brass ensembles.
Fostering an appreciation of the arts is a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the five-year campaign — which publicly launched Sept. 23 — has raised about $110 million.
-West Texas A&M University