The 2013 series Music at Christ Church Andover will present James Thompson Brass Quintet, with Barbara Bruns on the C. B. Fisk organ, on Saturday, Jan. 26 at the church, 33 Central St.
The performance will begin at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.
Admission is $15 for adults, or $10 for students and seniors.
The James Thompson Brass Quintet and Christ Church Minister of Music Barbara Bruns have performed together on several occasions in past years, most recently heard in concert at the Old West Church, Boston, after which they started recording a CD featuring the C. B. Fisk organ there. The recording will be finished with the new Fisk organ at Christ Church following this concert.
Thompson, leader of the brass quintet, is professor at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. He has played principal trumpet in the Atlanta Symphony and the Montreal Symphony, where he recorded two trumpet concertos written for him. He has recently performed as a guest of the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Los Angeles and New York.
The concert will present, together with other works, the “Procession of the Nobles” by famed Russian composer Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (d. 1908) from his opera/ballet Mlada on themes of Russian origin. Viewers of TV news will recognize the central stirring tune as the theme used for the show Inside Washington. The concert concludes with the majestic Grand Choeur Dialogue for brass and organ by Eugene Gigout (d. 1925), organist and composer for over 60 years at the church and organ of Saint-Augustin in Paris.
Members of the quintet have close ties with Boston, according to a release. Thompson and trumpeter Richard Given both studied with Roger Voisin, known to Boston audiences as principal trumpet of the Boston Symphony for thirty-eight years and teacher at New England Conservatory (NEC) and Boston University. French hornist Kevin Owen is principal horn of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic as well as other New England orchestras. He has performed with Empire Brass and the Boston Chamber Music Society. Trombonist, keyboardist and composer Philip Swanson received the degree Doctor of Musical Arts from NEC. He has performed with the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. He has recorded one of his compositions with Bruns, organist, also the recipient of a graduate degree from NEC. Bass trombonist Gabriel Langfur has performed with the Boston Symphony and Pops, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and the orchestra of Boston Ballet. He holds a graduate degree from NEC and teaches at Boston University.
For more information, call Christ Church at 978-475-0529.
