Second Thursday Scholarship Series closes season with UGA British Brass Band

The final concert in the 2015-2016 Second Thursday Scholarship Series puts one of the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s newest and most active ensembles on display, the UGA British Brass Band, in Hodgson Concert Hall on Thursday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m.

The program, dubbed “Rhapsody in Brass,” aims to showcase the strengths of the band, collective and individual, by pairing brass band standards with solo features that allow the student performers to shine.

The aforementioned “Rhapsody in Brass” by Dean Goffin, “Sinfonietta” by Gordon Langford, and two marches from Henry C. Goffin and T.J. Powell are old standards of the brass band repertoire. They and “All In the April Evening” by Hugh S. Robertson, a vocal transcription, are intended to show the talent of the band as a whole.

 “We are juxtaposing these with the solo features of ‘April in Paris,’ a flugelhorn reflective jazz ballad; ‘Radiant Pathway,’ a jocular tuba duet; ‘Joyous Carillon,’ a happy and light number for the cornets and trombones; and ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ a theme and variation euphonium standard,” said Phil Smith, director of the British Brass

The ensemble, UGA’s newest brass and percussion ensemble, sets itself apart from other similar ensembles with a different, more dynamic sound that originates from the instruments’ unique construction.

“Because of the conical nature of these brass instruments, the sound of the band is more lush and mellow than the typical orchestral brass ensemble,” said Smith, who is also the William F. and Pamela P. Prokasy Professor in the Arts at the School of Music.

“Because of this, our brass band can play from the most intimate to the most dynamic and vibrant of colors.”

The group has worked hard to establish a name for itself, with notable recent performances at last year’s UGA Holiday Concert, the Performing Arts Center’s Saturday Morning Club and the Chick-fil-A corporate headquarters’ Christmas Open House.

Tickets are $18 each or $5 with a UGA student ID and are available at pac.uga.edu, 706-542-4400 or by visiting the Performing Arts Center box office.

The Second Thursday Scholarship Series began in 1980 and continues the tradition of “Music Appreciation Programs” started by Hugh Hodgson in the 1930s. Proceeds from contributions and ticket sales to these concerts are among the primary means through which School of Music scholarship funds are raised each year.