Musicians of all ages invited to Westminster’s annual Brass Extravaganza

Noted jazz musician John Raymond, associate professor of jazz studies/trumpet at Indiana University Bloomington, will present a free masterclass and an afternoon concert as part of Westminster College’s 2024 Brass Extravaganza on Saturday, March 16.

Brass musicians of all ages and skill levels are invited to participate in the day’s offerings, which will feature masterclasses and guest performances throughout the day. All performances will also be open to the general public.

The day will open at 10 a.m. with a group warm-up before Elizabeth Freimuth, principal French horn with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, presents a masterclass at 10:45 a.m. in the Beel’s Music Gallery.

Before joining the CSO in 2006, Freimuth was principal horn of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, principal horn of the Kansas City Symphony and assistant principal/utility horn of the Colorado Symphony.

Having an accomplished orchestral and solo career, she has also performed with the Butler County Symphony, Johnson City (Tenn.) Symphony Orchestra, Overland Park (Kan.) Symphony and the Lakewood (Colo.) Symphony. She has also performed as a guest principal horn with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, KBS Symphony (Korea), St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Saint Louis Symphony. During the summers, she has been the principal horn and faculty member at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, and since 2019, she has been a co-host of an annual summer Horn Intensive at the Eastman School of Music.

The Westminster College Faculty Brass Quintet will perform various compositions for brass quintet at 12:15 p.m. in Orr Auditorium.  The quintet consists of Dr. Timothy Winfield, associate professor of music, and Terry Gale, professional regional musician, on trumpet; Andrew Symington, freelance horn player and instructor, on horn; Laura Lynn Crytzer, local freelance trombonist and brass teacher, on trombone; and Kyle Grabigel, a 2105 alumnus and high school band director at Brookville (Pa.) Area School District, on tuba.

Raymond will present his masterclass at 1 p.m. in the Beel’s Music Gallery, which will be followed by two instrument-specific masterclasses—trumpets and horns, as well as trombones, euphoniums and tubas—at 2 p.m.

The day will wrap with Raymond offering a recital performance at 3 p.m. in Orr Auditorium. Westminster music faculty member Jeffrey Wachter will provide piano accompaniment, as well as regional bassist Jeff Bremer on bass and area musician Steve Marks on drums.

Raymond is one of the most promising, genre-bending musicians in jazz today. With a singular voice as a trumpeter, flugelhornist and composer, Raymond is “steering jazz in the right direction” (Downbeat Magazine) by pushing its boundaries, seamlessly incorporating indie-rock, folk and electronic influences into his music.

He has released eight albums and has received praise from Stereogum, the New York Times, Downbeat and more. He has also been associated with four Grammy-nominated albums. Raymond has performed with jazz luminaries such as Billy Hart, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Orrin Evans, Linda May Han Oh, Gilad Hekselman and Cory Wong, and has also recorded with artists including Sara Bareilles, Darnell Davis and Sandra McCracken.

The Pittsburgh-based Volkwein’s Music will also be on hand for instrument and accessory sales.

The day is free and open to brass musicians of all ages and skill levels. Lunch will be provided to participants.

For more information and to register, visit www.westminster.edu/music or contact Dr. Timothy Winfield, associate professor of music and chair of the School of Music, at winfietd@westminster.edu or 724-946-7274.

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