The air in Bryan Hall Theater vibrated with the resonating sounds of rich brass Thursday night at the Washington State University Brass Quintet concert.

After rescheduling due to hazardous weather last Thursday, the quintet performed their program, which included works like John Cheetham’s “Scherzo” and a quintet by Victor Ewald. The program covered the baroque, romantic and 20th century musical eras.

“A lot of the pieces played were standard brass quintet literature,” said Chris Wurst, a music graduate and quintet member. “It was a lot of music, but was worth it because it was a lot of good, quality repertoire.”

In place of putting notes in the programs, members of the quintet introduced pieces during the concert. The audience had the opportunity to not only learn about the music, composers and how the quintet approached each style, but were able to laugh at humorous remarks made by the members.

“This piece was written by anonymous,” said David Turnbull, WSU music faculty and quintet member. “Now, oddly enough, there were several pieces written by this person during this time period.”

The group demonstrated their professional experience through their well-blended tone and balanced high and low timbres. Their clear interpretation of each piece verified the time and effort put into the performance.

Leah Rosenkranz, alumna of WSU, said she comes to a lot of WSU music performances and enjoys the music they present. The brass quintet is an impressive group made up of mostly faculty members, she said.

“For someone who is not used to this kind of music, I still would recommend coming to concerts,” Rosenkranz said. “They play really interesting pieces people can enjoy even if they aren’t someone who necessarily likes listening to classical music.”

The quintet consists of Turnbull on trumpet, Matt Aubin on French horn, Christopher Dickey on tuba, Denise Snider on trombone and Wurst on trumpet. Turnbull, Dickey and Aubin are WSU faculty and Wurst is a graduate student.

Wurst said working with faculty and seasoned players allows him to see them as musicians instead of teachers. Teaching is a part of their life, but
performing is important for them too, he said.

“Life kind of takes hold of you sometimes,” Wurst said. “This kind of experience shows you the level you need to reach and continue to maintain as a performer while teaching and doing other things.”

The group toured earlier this year, Wurst said. The trip put the WSU brass faculty’s name out there and showed students the benefits of coming to WSU’s music school, he said.

“It also shows the immediate students here that their professors just aren’t blowing smoke,” Wurst said. “They can really play their instruments.”

According to their webpage, the quintet tours high schools in Washington, plays for concert programs and puts on master classes for brass players. From Renaissance to the 21st century, they present a wide variety of musical repertoire, it said.

“Members of the ensemble are in demand as performers, teachers and adjudicators,” the webpage said. “The quintet is committed to reaching out to music enthusiasts throughout the Pacific Northwest.”