January 27, 2010.
New brass quintet sets the bar high
Members from left to right: Ron George, horn; Brent Adams, tuba; Jehanbakhsh (John) Jasavala, trombone; Shawn Spicer, trumpet; Sasha Gorbasew, horn. Absent is Dave Robertson, trumpet.
A new brass quintet of some of the best players in the city is ready to hit the stage, or meeting hall, or classroom. Jehanbakhsh (John) Jasavala, trombone; Shawn Spicer and Dave Robertson, trumpet; Ron George, horn; and Brent Adams, tuba, are all members of the Don Wright Faculty of Music Brass Quintet at Western who maintain busy performing careers.
They have added this new group to their schedules to hear what their instructors say in practice, to showcase the talent at the Faculty, and most importantly, because they love to play.
The quintet will take their music beyond the Faculty walls to include a variety of venues, which can encompass a traditional concert hall, a banquet hall, a school auditorium or band room. “We want to enhance the artistic life on and off campus,” said Jasavala. “We can provide opportunities for cross-Faculty interaction. We want to work closely with the offices of recruitment and development for educational and community outreach. The goal is to create as many win-win scenarios as possible between music and other agencies.
The repertoire will include standard brass works and explorations of contemporary music and jazz. It’s important in a small group that ability and personalities blend, but also that a philosophy for the direction is shared. “Chamber music is all about group dynamics. We’re generally artistically like-minded, and enjoy spending time together – so far,” said Jasavala. “It’s important that it be artistically challenging and nourishing for us. The beauty of brass is it’s versatile. We want to take care of business with the standards, but reach out and explore what the artistic possibilities are.”
“Chamber music is one of the true tests of artistic expression,” he said. “It’s necessary. Chamber players say it is one of the best things you can do for your playing.”
In addition to concertizing for Western students, more events with secondary music programs will be planned, as well as collaborations with other areas at the Faculty, such as percussion and voice. The group also plans to commission and collaborate on works by Don Wright Faculty composers and performers, and set this up as a course in a workshop environment.
The first concert is planned for March 15 in the Paul Davenport Theatre in Talbot College at 12:30. The repertoire reflects the group’s philosophy: a standard by Russian composer Victor Ewald, a Canadian work by Gary Kulesha, John Cheetham’s contemporary Scherzo, an upbeat opener by Wilke Renwick and a medley from West Side Story. It’s free and open to everyone. The day before, the quintet has invited secondary school students to an open dress rehearsal, followed with a workshop for the young players, and pizza to end the session.
For more information, contact John Jasavala at jasavala@uwo.ca.
Media contact, Janis Wallace at wallacej@uwo.ca or 519-661-3767
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