Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Pineywoods Brass Quintet (SFA Faculty Brass Quintet) will perform a concert of original works for brass quintet along with arrangements of jazz standards and tangos as part of the 3rd Annual Brass Day at SFA on Sunday, Nov. 3.
The day’s activities will start with master classes for Texas high school students to study and practice music for the upcoming 2020 All-State Band auditions, according to Dr. J.D. Salas, associate professor of tuba-euphonium at SFA and Brass Day organizer.
“The master class portion of the day will include instruction on both the Texas Music Educators Association All-State Etudes and Association of Texas Small School Bands All-State Etudes to better serve the East Texas area,” Salas said.
Brass Day at SFA is a free, annual outreach event in which high school brass students work with SFA brass faculty to prepare for region and area auditions to qualify for the Texas All-State Bands. There will also be information for prospective music majors about the School of Music and its audition requirements for acceptance. All Brass Day events are located in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Drive.
All-Region clinics for 2A through 4A schools will be at 1 p.m., and clinics for 5A and 6A schools will be at 2 p.m. An information session about SFA is at 3 p.m., followed by the performance by the Pineywoods Brass Quintet at 4 p.m. in Cole Concert Hall.
The Pineywoods Brass Quintet is comprised of members of the brass faculty at SFA and include Dr. Gary Wurtz, director of the School of Music; Dr. Jacob Walburn, assistant professor of trumpet; Dr. Charles Gavin, professor of horn; Dr. Deb Scott, professor of trombone; and Salas. Among the selections on the concert program are “Suite from The Monteregian Hills” by Morley Calvert, “Three Pieces” by Ludwig Maurer and “Autumn Leaves” by Johnny Mercer, arranged by Zack Smith.
For more information about Brass Day, visit https://jdsalas.com.
Tickets for the Pineywoods Brass Quintet concert are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. Students who pre-register for Brass Day will receive free admission. Registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 28. For concert tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.