The Xylophone and Brass Ensembles that are part of the Department of Theatre and Music Studies at The College at Brockport will take part in a Brockport Ensembles Concert on Wednesday, November 1, at 7:30 p.m. in the college’s Tower Fine Arts Center Mainstage, 180 Holley Street. Tickets, which cost $5, will be available at the door.
Ensemble coordinator Scott Horsington feels that “as the department’s music minor continues to expand, the ensembles help our students become better musicians. We are then able to program more challenging repertoires for them.”
During the concert, audiences will be treated to works by Dave Brubeck and Stevie Wonder, amongst other popular composers, played by the xylophones. The Brass Ensemble will be playing pieces that range from Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze” and Ives’ “Four Songs for Brass Quintet” to Henry Mancini’s “Theme from ‘The Pink Panther’” and the Beatles’ “Yesterday.”
A highlight of the concert will be the music directors of both ensembles, Natalie Sarrazin (xylophones) and Natalie Fuller (brass), performing Baylan’s “Petite piece concertante.” Fuller began playing the piano at the age of four, and trumpet followed two years later. Born and raised in Saskatchewan, she has performed throughout Canada, Great Britain and Japan. She earned her graduate degrees at the Eastman School of Music and now teaches at both Brockport and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Sarrazin is an ethnomusicologist and associate professor at Brockport. She has written and spoken extensively on the topic of music in Hindi film and is the author of several publications.
The Ensembles are just one aspect of the performance classes offered by the department. The Brockport College-Community Orchestra will present their fall semester concert on Saturday, November 18, in Brockport’s Seymour College Union Ballroom.
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