Friday, January 22, 2010

Sounds of Brass


I am fortunate to be conducting and playing trumpet with a great group here in Tacoma.  Brass Unlimited is a wonderful brass quartet (2 trumpets, 2 trombones), and has been performing in the South Sound for over 10 years.  Every January they give a recital and invite other local brass player to form a large brass ensemble.  This year is going to be a lot of fun.  I get to play a couple of solos as a featured trumpet, and I also get to conduct a majority of the large ensemble stuff.  My wife, Cindy Renander, is also performing a couple of clarinet solos.

More information is here:
http://www.brassunlimited.org/events.html

Monday, January 18, 2010

Concerts for Kids


Whew!  What a crazy couple of months.  I have had a ton of concerts - both conducting and playing trumpet.  And then getting Fall quarter shut down, and Winter quarter up and running.  It's been busy.  I hope you have been out listening to many of the concerts in the Tacoma area.  Tons of great music to experience, and I try to keep it listed on the calendar for this website.  Please check back frequently to see what performances you might want to attend in the Tacoma area.

This weekend (1/23 and 1/24) have some great opportunities for listeners of all ages.  First, there are several concerts on 1/23 for kids and families.

The Tacoma Philharmonic is hosting two concerts for young families, listeners can be as young as 3 months old!  These are great concerts designed for very young listeners, with lots of physical motion to respond to the music.  They are also nice and short - just 45 minutes long.  And did I mention tickets are just $5?  A great opportunity for families to experience classical music. More information here:  www.tacomaphilharmonic.org

That same day(1/23) the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association is hosting family concerts at the University of Puget Sound.  They will be performing Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, a favorite for young and older listeners.  This is great music to introduce young listeners to instruments of the orchestra.  It is also so inspiring to hear this music played so well, by a young and talented youth orchestra.  More information:  www.tysamusic.org