New York Chamber Brass named Faculty-in-Residence at Purchase College

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New York Chamber Brass named Faculty-in-Residence at Purchase College

August 31st, 2009 by A

New York Chamber Brass named Faculty-in-Residence at Purchase College

Purchase College
Conservatory of Music
SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

Media Advisory New York Chamber Brass

Purchase College is proud to announce New York’s visionary new brass ensemble as Faculty-In-Residence

Purchase NY, September 1st, 2009: New York Chamber Brass, New York City’s newest brass ensemble, has been named Faculty-in-Residence at the State University of New York’s Purchase College. Featuring some of New York’s finest brass players, the group is the first to hold the position at the College.

“How exciting for our students and the public to enjoy this marvelous new music”, said Thomas J. Schwarz, President of Purchase College. “Through this residency, these distinguished musicians will bring a new dynamic to the cultural scene at Purchase, with new sounds for a generation eager to embrace contemporary brass chamber music”.

New York Chamber Brass was a formed in 2009 by New York-based trumpeter Graham Ashton, Chair of Brass at the Conservatory of Music. Ashton, who trained at the Royal Academy in London, has a long and impressive international career as a performer and educator. Joining the faculty of Purchase College in 1999 to host the International Trumpet Guild’s 25 Anniversary Conference, Ashton has appeared as a soloist with such notables as the BBC Symphony, London Philharmonic, English Chamber Orchestra, New York Virtuosi and Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Ashton says: “New York is one of the most eclectic and cosmopolitan cities in the world, the idea was to create a dynamic, modern ensemble that would reflect that energy and edginess with the best players the city had to offer - we promise unparalleled, virtuosic performances featuring the very best of original, contemporary music for brass”.

The members of New York Chamber Brass are Graham Ashton and Rich Clymer (trumpets), Peter Reit (horn), Timothy Albright (trombone) and Marcus Rojas (tuba) who are all on the faculty at the Purchase College. NYCB will hold seminars and masterclasses each Monday in the Conservatory of Music Recital Hall, beginning in the fall. Classes are open to all students at Purchase College and the general public – admission is free.

“Where else can you hear music-making at this level for free”, said Dr. Bob Thompson, Dean of the Conservatory of Music. “This is an awesome opportunity for students, and for the wider community, to join us on campus to really enjoy, and appreciate, the talents and expertise of our faculty”.

In addition to concerts in the US, New York Chamber Brass has a touring schedule with upcoming performances in Hong Kong (fall 2009), UK (summer 2010) and Hungary (spring 2011). In April 2010, they will give the New York premier at Manhattan’s Merkin Hall, of the virtuosic Brass Quintet by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies Master of the Queen’s Music.

New York Chamber Brass will record for the European record label Signum Classics (London). They make their first cd in summer 2010 with the Premier recording of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ Brass Quintet.

For more information contact:   Professor Graham Ashton
Email: graham.ashton@purchase.edu
New York Chamber Brass website:      www.newyorkchamberbrass.com
Purchase College website:                     www.purchase.edu

Artist bios Graham Ashton – trumpet
Graham Ashton is Chair of Brass at Purchase College <http://www.purchase.edu/departments/AcademicPrograms/Arts/music/faculty/ashton/default.aspx> , State University of New York. As a soloist, he has appeared with numerous orchestras including the BBC Symphony, Australian Chamber Orchestra, London Philharmonic, English Chamber Orchestra, and New York Virtuosi. He has made eight award-winning recordings for EMI Virgin, Nimbus and Koch with the English Symphony, Irish Chamber Orchestra and Sinfonia of London, and premiered new commissions by George Fenton, Michael Nyman, Roger Steptoe, Colin Towns, and David Sawer. Mr. Ashton has performed on numerous film soundtracks in London, Paris, Dublin, Munich and New York, including Yentil; Never Say Never Again; Octopussy; The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover; Batman; Dangerous Liaisons; Cry Freedom; The Russia House and Casanova. He has also played on commercial albums with Paul McCartney, Barbara Streisand, Phil Collins, Van Morrison and Elvis Costello.

As a composer and arranger, Mr.Ashton has written music for radio, television, theatre and the concert platform. Commissions in recent seasons include the Australian Embassy Washington DC, Signum Classics (London), SUNY Fredonia and Sony Records. His music is published exclusively by Editions BIM, Switzerland.

Rich Clymer - trumpet
Rich Clymer has been a freelance artist in the New York Greater Metropolitan area since graduating with a MM from Manhattan School of Music in 1981. In that time he has appeared regularly with many of New York’s finest orchestras, such as the American Ballet Theater Orchestra, New York City Opera, American Symphony Orchestra, New York Chamber Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, Opera Orchestra of New York and with numerous Broadway Shows. Active in early music, Mr. Clymer is a former associate member of the New York Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble. In contemporary music he has worked with La Monte Young, Ben Neil, Peter Kotik, Dean Drummond and is formerly a member of Erik Hawkins Theater Orchestra.

Mr. Clymer is currently principal trumpet with New Haven Symphony Orchestra and a member of the American Ballet Theater Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic and Orchestra New England. He is Professor of Trumpet at Western Connecticut State University and on the faculty of Purchase College, State University of New York.

Peter Reit - horn
Peter Reit has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Orpheus Chamber Ensemble, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and New York City Opera Orchestra. He has also toured worldwide with the American Symphony and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestras with whom he played five seasons as Assistant Principal Horn under Maestro James Levine. Mr. Reit is now one of Manhattan’s most in-demand freelance horn players, playing Principal Horn with the Westchester Philharmonic, Greenwich Symphony and Scandia Symphony Orchestras.

Mr. Reit is featured on CDs of all musical genres, and can be heard on numerous television, radio and movie soundtracks. He has frequently performed at the Village Vanguard in New York City as a member of the Mel Lewis Big Band, and toured worldwide with the Bob Belden Ensemble. Mr. Reit is Professor of Horn at Purchase College, State University of New York, and also on the faculty of the Music Conservatory of Westchester and Vassar College. He has played in the orchestras for many Broadway shows, and is currently in his twenty-second year with the Broadway hit The Phantom of the Opera.

Timothy Albright - trombone
As a founding member of New York Chamber Brass, Timothy Albright is the most recent addition to the brass faculty at Purchase College, State University of New York. He enjoys a diverse career as a sought-after chamber musician and a cutting-edge jazz artist and is a regular member of the Argento New Music Project, Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, and Riverside Symphony. Mr. Albright is also a long-standing member of renowned saxophonist Steve Coleman’s group, Five Elements - widely considered one of the most challenging gigs in jazz.

Mr. Albright can be heard on numerous recordings and has toured extensively throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and the U.S. Recent appearances have included the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra and the International Contemporary Ensemble. Raised in the Napa Valley, California, Mr. Albright trained at the Eastman School of Music, and is currently featured in the orchestra of the Broadway Musical West Side Story.

Marcus Rojas – tuba
Marcus Rojas is a native of New York City. He has played with many diverse groups including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, New York Pops, Radio City Music Hall, Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy and Jazz at Lincoln Center with Winton Marsalis. He has also performed with ensembles led by Gil Evans, Lionel Hampton, Dave Douglas and P.D.Q. Bach.

Mr.Rojas has recorded for every major film, television and record company in the United States and played on over three hundred recordings and 60 film soundtracks, from cds with his own groups, Spanish Fly and Les Miserables Brass Band, to Sleepless in Seattle. Mr.Rojas is an avid proponent of contemporary classical and improvised music and is a founding member of SingleTree, a trio of flute, tuba and marimba, and Henry Threadgill’s Very Very Circus. He is a graduate of New York City famed High School of Music and Art and has a B.M. with distinction from New England Conservatory. Mr.Rojas has been on the faculty of Purchase College since 2005.

Courtesy: Shari Harel, Sally Fischer Public Relations
330 West 58th Street Suite 509
Email: shari@sallyfischerpr.com
www.sallyfischerpr.com

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