This year marks the 11th annual Holiday Brass Concert, a show bringing world-class musicians to Sitka to ring in the warm sounds of the holiday season. I began inviting brass players to Sitka eleven years ago as a benefit concert for Sitka Fine Arts Camp and to bring exceptional music to the community. Since then, word of this concert has spread to brass musicians from around the country who save their holiday vacation days and donate their time to be able to come up and play at this benefit concert. During a busy holiday season, these musical virtuosos look forward to a Sitka Christmas vacation and the opportunity to play an extraordinary collection of music and appreciate the natural beauty of Sitka's land and seas. With the opening of the Sitka Performing Arts Center in 2008, the concert is even more spectacular in a setting designed to accommodate exceptional sound.

This one and a half hour program spans 600 years of music and explores the feelings of joy, hope, beauty, and festive cheer. The concert begins with one of Bach's most famous pieces originally written for pipe organ: Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor.  This massive piece begins with the tuba and trombones playing quietly in the lowest register imitating the largest pipes on the organ and leads progressively through a series of variations to a massive climax of sound of 14 brass instruments playing at full volume. The air is cleared with high, fast trumpets playing in a completely contrasting piece by Bach, the Badinerie taken from a collection of dance pieces. Our tuba player is featured next demonstrating the surprising agility of the tuba. Our next piece is Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, one of the most challenging pieces in the trumpet repertoire. It features the trumpet in its highest register. Legend has it that Bach's trumpet player, Gottfried Reiche, died because of the strain of playing so high. We close the first half of the show with music originally written for cathedrals in 16th century Europe being performed from the balcony by opposing groups of musicians filling the hall with glory.

The tradition of Christmas Caroling first became popular in England. We begin our first half with a collection of English Christmas carols and continue with lush transcriptions of choral works. Our guest soloist, Rhiannon Guevin joins the group to sing Pie Jesu, one of the most beautiful pieces ever written for soprano voice. 

At the concert you will see a lot of instruments.  Many of the musicians will switch instruments between pieces. Look for three sizes of tubas, two types of trombones, and count the number of trumpets you see. We literally have to watch not to trip over trumpets on stage. Each trumpet player will play between 2 and 5 different kinds of trumpets including piccolo, E♭, B♭, C and flugel horn.

Brass music is closely associated with Christmas and other holidays in our country and Europe. For hundreds of years trumpets, trombones and the rest of the brass family have been used to celebrate and represent the glory and grandeur of kings and God.  Our concert is a celebration of the Holiday Spirit and it is our hope that by sharing the music we can bring hope and joy to your holiday.

Sincerely,

Roger Schmidt, Director, Sitka Fine Arts Camp
 

11th Annual Holiday Brass Concert:

Thursday, December 18th

Doors open at 6:15, Concert begins at 7pm

Tickets are available at Old Harbor Books, $25 for adults, $20 students & seniors.