About Us
OUR MISSION
The Mission of The Lexington Brass Band is to foster and promote the art of brass band music and its performance at the highest artistic level. In support of that mission, the Band shall create and preserve camaraderie and a sense of community among the band’s membership, and shall contribute to the cultural fabric of the central Kentucky community by developing a broad and diverse audience; educating the public about the intrinsic value of the genre; and encourage interest and participation in brass band performance.
History
The Lexington Brass Band was founded in the summer of 1992 by a group of area college brass professors interested in the rich repertoire of the British-style brass band. Drs. Ronald Holz and Skip Gray initially served as co-conductors, and President–Vice President respectively. Other key members at that early organizational phase were Vincent DiMartino, David Henderson, Louis Bourgois, Dan Brock, John Surgener, Mike West, and Dale Warren. Very soon several other key brass players and music teachers joined to help form the nucleus of an excellent band, including Jim Willett, Terry Magee, Tanya Bromley, H.M. Lewis, Ken Schubert, and husband and wife team Don and Karen Grammer. The band’s first concert was presented in November 1992, at the Central Christian Church.
Since that inaugural concert, the band has offered a regular concert series every year of its existence. In the first 7 years, the band alternated their concert locations between Central Christian Church and the Singletary Center for the Arts at the University of Kentucky. The 1998-99 season was held at the Lexington Opera House, and starting in the fall of 1999 programs were usually held at Calvary Baptist Church, 150 East High Street, Lexington. In that same year Ronald Holz became the sole Music Director of the Lexington Brass Band, serving in that capacity until June 2014. From the fall of 2004 through spring of 2007, the band presented its concerts at Centenary United Methodist Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington. From the fall of 2007 to the spring of 2014, the band returned to Calvary Baptist Church in downtown Lexington for its concerts, moving back to Centenary UMC with the 2014-15 season, with occasional concerts at the Lexington Opera House.
When Dr. Holz retired at the end of the 2013-14 season, the band used the 2014-15 season to audition guest conductors for the position of Music Director. At the end of that process, Vince DiMartino was selected as Music Director (June 2015-October 2017), with Lois Wiggins serving as the band’s Assistant Conductor. That same year, the band established a permanent office in ArtsPlace. Lois Wiggins served as the band’s interim Music Director from October 2017-May 2018. Following another audition process, David Goins was named as the band’s Music Director in May 2018.
In addition to its annual subscription concert series, the band has featured at such events as Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, International Trumpet Guild Conference, the gala concert at the All England Masters Brass Band Championships in Cambridge, England (and tour of England), several gala concerts of North American Brass Band Association, many appearances at the Great American Brass Band Festival, the Kappa Kappa Psi National Convention in 2015, and in Toronto, Canada, at the International Showcase gala concert at the Hannaford Street Silver Band’s Festival of Brass. In 2013 they featured at the University of Kentucky’s BrassFest and the Great American Brass Band Festival’s Grand Finale. Highlights of the 2017-18 season included participation in a Salvation Army Benefit Christmas Concert and a combined concert in April with the Lexington Singers and Lexington Ringers, featuring John Rutter’s Requiem and Daniel Pinkham’s Symphony Sacra.
What is a Brass Band?
A British brass band is a musical ensemble comprising a standardized range of brass and percussion instruments. The modern form of the brass band in the United Kingdom dates back to the 19th century, with a vibrant tradition of competition based around communities and local industry. The Stalybridge Old Band (still in existence) was formed in 1809 and was perhaps the first civilian brass band in the world.
Bands using the British instrumentation are the most common form of brass band in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and are also widespread in continental Europe, Japan and North America. The tradition for brass bands in the UK is continuing, and local communities and schools have brass bands. British band contesting is highly competitive, with bands organized into five sections much like a football league.
British Brass Bands are limited to specific instruments, excluding, for instance trumpets or French horns, which are found in orchestras and concert bands. The standard instrumentation is as follows:
-
11 cornets (B♭) –
-
Front row: one principal cornet, four solo cornets
-
Back row: 1 soprano cornet (E♭), 1 repiano cornet, two 2nd cornets, two 3rd cornets
-
-
1 flugelhorn (B♭)
-
3 tenor horns (E♭; called alto horn in the US) – solo, 1st, 2nd
-
2 baritone horns (B♭) – 1st, 2nd
-
2 tenor trombones (B♭) – 1st, 2nd
-
1 bass trombone (B♭)
-
2 euphoniums (B♭)
-
2 E♭ basses, also known as E♭ tubas
-
2 BB♭ basses, also known as B♭ tubas
-
2 to 4 percussion
The above totals 27–29 players, although in practice a band (such as ours!) often have more than this.
Brass bands in the British tradition are becoming more popular through the efforts of the North American Brass Band Association, which organizes an annual brass band convention and set piece style contest. The US Open Brass Band Championships are held in early November and serves as the countries leading entertainment competition. Brass Band Festivals such as The Great American Brass Festival, Ohio Brass Arts Festival and the Mid-Atlantic Brass Festival occur throughout the year. The brass band movement has undergone a resurgence in the late twentieth century, led by the North American Brass Band Association.