Guest Artist Quintet Includes IWU Alum

Jan. 24, 2018

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Chicago-based brass quintet Temperance Brass, including Illinois Wesleyan alum and tubist Max Briggs ’12, will be featured as guest artists at the Illinois Wesleyan University School of Music’s concert on Sunday, Jan. 28 at 3 p.m. in Presser Hall’s Westbrook Auditorium. The performance is free and open to the public.

Dedicated to sharing music of all genres, Temperance Brass performs original arrangements, as well as new and standard brass quintet repertoire. From the music of Queen, to Michael Jackson, to antiphonal Gabrieli, the group performs a broad range of styles including classical, rock, jazz, pop and even broadway.

Comprised of a tubist, two trumpeters, a trombonist, and a horn player, the quintet performs to audiences in engaging settings that are “friendlier” than a typical concert hall, including restaurants, breweries and schools. The group said that these spaces allow audiences to “sing, dance, laugh, and ultimately connect with” their music. To help the audience engage in their program, group members also host Q&A sessions during their performances where they engage with the audience by discussing how their music was composed or arranged and performing instrument demonstrations.

In addition to performing at private events and public concerts, the group also performs and teaches masterclasses at schools and universities. Their most recent project involved performing an artistic residency for three weeks at Lincoln Park High School (LPHS) in Chicago as part of a grant they received from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. At LPHS, they arranged and performed the world premiere of Symphony Fantastique for brass quintet, taught master classes, lessons and played with the LPHS band.

For additional information, please contact the School of Music at (309) 556-3061.