The Meridian Arts Ensemble is an American chamber music ensemble based in New York City, specializing in the performance of new works for brass and percussion. Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. ... New York, NY redirects here. ... Brass is any alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses, each of which has unique properties[1]. Note that in comparison bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin. ... Percussion instruments are played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped. ...

Instrumentation

• 2 trumpets
• French horn
• Trombone
• Tuba
• Percussion

The trumpet is the highest brass instrument in register, above the horn, trombone, euphonium and tuba. ... The horn is a brass instrument consisting of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. ... The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... The tuba is one of the largest of low-brass instruments and is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the ophicleide. ... Percussion instruments are played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped. ...

History

The Meridian Arts Ensemble was founded in 1987. The original members of the group wanted an opportunity to play challenging works, to experience control of their ensemble, and to find creative outlets for their musicianship. Meridian received its early education in the American Brass Quintet's brass class at the Juilliard School, and then launched its professional career. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Juilliard School is one of the worlds premiere performing arts conservatory located in New York City, it is informally identified as simply Juilliard, and trains in the fields of Dance, Drama, and Music. ...

Awards and albums

In the late 1980s, the group won a string of four competitions: Artists International, Chamber Music Chicago, New York Brass Conference, and finally, in 1990, Concert Artists Guild. The prize for the latter was extremely important to the ensemble - not just the cachet of winning, and not just the prize money, but management by Concert Artists Guild's booking department, a commission from a composer of the ensemble's choice (Stephen Barber's work Semahane, for brass quintet, percussion, and piano), and a recording on the Channel Classics label. In 1990, Meridian traveled to Holland to record its first compact disc, part of Channel's Winning Artists Series. That CD contained works by Alvin Etler, Taxin, Alexander Arutiunian, Jan Bach, and Paul Hindemith, and was released in 1991. Stephen Barber is a British political scientist based at London Metropolitan Universitys European Research Forum. ... Holland is a region in the central-western part of the Netherlands with 6. ... Alvin Derald Etler (February 19, 1913 _ June 13, 1973) was an American composer and oboist. ... Alexander Grigori Arutiunian (b. ... Jan Bach (born December 11, 1937 in Forrest, Illinois) is an American composer. ... Paul Hindemith (16 November 1895 – 28 December 1963) was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor. ...

The group's second CD was released in 1992. Entitled Smart Went Crazy (from a poem by Allen Ginsburg), this disc established Meridian's reputation as an innovator in the field of brass chamber music and new music in general. There was substantial interest in this disc, leading to an interview with the group on NPR's Weekend Edition program. Brisk sales of the disc helped to cement Meridian's relationship with its recording label. Six more discs have now been released, all to critical acclaim. The most recent, Brink (released in 2006), is recorded in the Super Audio CD (SACD) format. Photo of Allen Ginsberg by Robert Birnbaum Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 - April 5, 1997) was an American Beat poet born in Paterson, New Jersey. ... Offical NPR logo National Public Radio (NPR) is an independent, private, non-profit membership organization of public radio stations in the United States. ... Weekend Edition is the name given to a set of American radio news magazines produced and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). ... Super Audio CD (SACD) is a read-only optical audio disc format aimed at providing much higher fidelity digital audio reproduction than the compact disc. ...

Tours

In the years since 1987, Meridian has performed in every state of the U.S. except Hawaii, and in Holland, Belgium, Germany, Taiwan, Japan, Cuba, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Colombia. The group has commissioned over fifty new pieces, performs three New York recitals every year, tours extensively, and has recently joined the faculty of Manhattan School of Music's Contemporary Performance degree program. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Manhattan School of Music is one of Americas leading music conservatories located in New York City that offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition. ...

Membership

The current membership of the ensemble is:

Trumpets: Jon Nelson and Brian McWhorter Horn: Daniel Grabois Trombone: Benjamin Herrington Tuba: Raymond Stewart Percussion: John Ferrari

Personnel changes since 1987

The trumpet chair originally occupied by Rolf Holly quickly went to Richard Kelley, who appears on Meridian's first three CDs. In the scramble following Mr. Kelley's departure, a string of trumpeters performed with the group: Alex Holton, Darryl Shaw, Kevin Cobb, Wayne DuMaine, and Terry Szor. After an audition, Josef Burgstaller won the job, and performed with the group for six years before leaving to join the Canadian Brass. After Mr. Burgstaller left the group, Brian McWhorter won the audition.

Trumpeter Jon Nelson, professor of trumpet at the University at Buffalo, is a founding member of the group. His one-year sabbatical was filled by Charles Lazarus, who is now a member of the Minnesota Orchestra. It has been suggested that The Poetry Collection be merged into this article or section. ... The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra that was founded in 1903 by Emil Oberhoffer as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. ...

Hornist Daniel Grabois came to the ensemble in 1989, following a string of horn players. Tracy Leonard was the original hornist, followed by Lisa Aplikowski, Peter Reit, and Chris Komer. Mr. Grabois' six-month sabbatical was filled by Ann Ellsworth.

Trombonist Benjamin Herrington has been in the group since its founding.

Tubist Raymond Stewart was a founding member. His half-year sabbatical was filled by Marcus Rojas. Marcas Rojas is a jazz tubist from New York City. ...

Percussion: the group was founded without a percussionist. The first drummer to play with the ensemble was Mo Roberts, who appears on the Smart Went Crazy CD. John Ferrari took over shortly thereafter, and has been with the group since.

Discography

• Winning Artists Series
• Smart Went Crazy
• Visions of the Renaissance
• Prime Meridian
• Five
• Anxiety of Infuence
• Ear Mind I
• Brink

Works commissioned by or for the Meridian Arts Ensemble (selective list)

• Albert Ahlstrom - Treelight (brass quintet)
• Peter Alexander - Ferraphunx (brass quintet and percussion)
• Mark Applebaum - Magnetic North (brass quintet, percussion, optional mouseketier)
• Milton Babbitt - Counterparts (brass quintet)
• Milton Babbitt - Fanfare for Nothing (brass quintet and percussion)
• Stephen Barber - Multiples Points on View of a Fanfare (brass quintet)
• Stephen Barber - Semahane (brass quintet, percussion, piano)
• Stephen Barber - Gone Is the River (brass quintet)
• Daniel Becker - Droned (brass quintet and percussion)
• Kim Bowman - Brass Quintet and Percussion (brass quintet and percussion)
• Josef Burgstaller - Dr. J. Geyser (brass quintet and percussion)
• Josef Burgstaller - Lullaby (brass quintet and percussion)
• Nick Didkovsky - Slim in Beaten Dreamers (brass quintet and percussion)
• John Ferrari - Baqrz Duzn (brass quintet and percussion)
• John Ferrari - Crunch (brass quintet and percussion)
• John Ferrari - MAE We Strut (brass quintet and percussion)
• Jason Forsythe - Sanctity (brass quintet)
• Gerardo Gandini - Subtangos (brass quintet and piano)
• Daniel Grabois - Migration (brass quintet and percussion)
• Daniel Grabois - Zen Monkey (brass quintet)
• John Halle - Softshoe (brass quintet)
• John Halle - By All Means (brass quintet and percussion)
• Edward Harsh - American Optimism (brass quintet and percussion)
• Melissa Hui - Bebop (brass quintet and percussion)
• Edward Jacobs - Passed Time (brass quintet)
• Phillip Johnston - Sleeping Beauty (brass quintet)
• Ana Lara - En Par de la Levante de l'Aurora (brass quintet and percussion)
• Tania Leon - Saoko (brass quintet)
• Robert Maggio - Revolver (brass quintet and percussion)
• Gustavo Matamoros - Trump(s) Card(s) (brass quintet and percussion and midi trigger)
• Marc Mellits - Groove Canon (brass quintet and percussion)
• Jon Nelson - Dream of Miles (brass quintet and percussion)
• Jon Nelson - Fanfare for Nothing (brass quintet and percussion)
• Jon Nelson - Paterson 2:35 (brass quintet and percussion)
• Jon Nelson - Sleepless (brass quintet and percussion)
• Kirk Nurock - Smart Went Crazy (brass quintet and percussion)
• Hermeto Pascoal - Timbrando (brass quintet and vibraphone)
• Tom Pierson - Brass Quintet (brass quintet)
• Belinda Reynolds - Weave (brass quintet)
• Peter Robles - Transcendent Tones, Fractured Forms (brass quintet)
• Jolie Roelofs - Lock the Door Before You Open It (brass quintet and percussion)
• David Sanford - Corpus (brass quintet and percussion)
• Elliott Sharp - Beyond the Curve (brass quintet and percussion)
• Raymond Stewart - KOHS-ska (brass quintet and percussion)
• Raymond Stewart - OK Chorale (brass quintet)
• Su Lian Tan - Mu Shoo Wrap Rap (brass quintet and percussion)
• Randy Woolf - Eucalyptus (brass quintet and percussion)
• Norman Yamada - Mundane Dissatisfactions (brass quintet)
• Carolyn Yarnell - Slade (brass quintet)

Milton Byron Babbitt (born May 10, 1916) is an American composer. ... Nick Didkovsky is a composer, guitarist, computer music programmer, and leader of the band Doctor Nerve. ... Tania León, Cuban-American composer and educator Tania León (born May 14, 1943 in Havana, Cuba), a vital personality on today’s music scene and in demand as a composer and conductor, has been recognized for her significant accomplishments as an educator and advisor to arts organizations. ... Marc Mellits (b. ... Elliott Sharp (born 1951) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and performer who has personified the avant-garde experimental music scene in New York City for over thirty years. ...

External links

• Meridian Arts Ensemble official site