Alliance Brass had the opportunity to travel to Fredericksburg, Virginia from July 13-15 to work with students at the Fredericksburg Brass Institute. First of all, this program is amazing. The faculty are world-class and included so many young, upcoming brass leaders. ABQ was honored to be part of the festival. On the evening we arrived, we were greeted in the parking lot by some students who were hoping to help us with our bags and instruments up to our hotel room. (That was when I knew this was going to be a good weekend.)
The next morning we drove to Riverbend High School to warm up and present a masterclass.
We heard several groups play, all of which were talented students with one faculty coach member. Each of the quintets had named themselves a geometric shape. At first the name "Parallelogram Quintet" caught us a bit off-guard, but by the time the "Triangle Quintet" performed, we were in on the joke. After the groups played, we heard some very talented soloists play for us. This FredBrass thing was the real deal.
After the masterclass we headed over to the exhibits where we said a big hello to ABQ friend Kurt Wittstadt of Buffet Group/Hans Hoyer, and several other vendors.
Juan Berrios of Dallas Brass was giving a masterclass, too, so it was a busy afternoon between the two events and getting to meet Dr. Patrick Smith of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Later that evening, ABQ performed a concert for the students, faculty, and general public. The audience was so appreciative and warm! Special thanks to Buddy Dreshler and the team at #FredBrass. We wish you many continued years of success and look forward to running into you again soon!
