(SEWELL, NJ) -- Continuing Music at Bunker Hill’s mission of bringing great performers to the heart of Southern New Jersey, American Brass Quintet (ABQ) performs on Sunday, November 10, 2024 at 3:00pm with works spanning five centuries.
The American Brass Quintet is internationally recognized as one of the era’s premier chamber music ensembles. “The most distinguished” of brass quintets (American Record Guide), the group has earned its stellar reputation through its celebrated performances, genre-defining commissioned works, and ongoing commitment to the education of generations of musicians. Since its founding in 1960, the American Brass Quintet has performed on five continents, made nearly 60 recordings, and premiered more than 150 contemporary works for brass.
In the 2023-2024 season, the Quintet can be heard in recital at Aspen, The Juilliard School, Ashland, OR, Westchester, NY, and Kalamazoo, MI. Recent season highlights include performances at University of Delaware’s Master Players Concert Series, Frost School of Music in Miami, New Orleans Friends of Music, DePaul University School of Music, Tryon Concert Association, and Chamber Music Society of Logan in Utah.
Committed to the development of brass chamber music through higher education, the American Brass Quintet has served as Ensemble-in-Residence at The Juilliard School since 1987 and at the Aspen Music Festival since 1970. In 2018, the group launched the ABQ Seminar @ Aspen, a four-week brass chamber music intensive at the Aspen Music Festival that offers the highest caliber of training for emerging brass quintets and musicians.
Among its numerous distinctions and citations, the American Brass Quintet is the 2013 recipient of the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award for significant and lasting contributions to the field, the highest honor accorded by Chamber Music America.
Concerts are held on Sundays at 3:00pm at Bunker Hill Presbyterian Church, 330 Greentree Road, Sewell, NJ. Phone (856) 494-6077. Tickets are $30 for adults and seniors, $5 for students with ID. More information is available at www.musicatbunkerhill.org.
Trumpeter Kevin Cobb became a member of the American Brass Quintet in the fall of 1998 and currently serves on the faculties of the Yale School of Music, The Juilliard School, and SUNY Stony Brook. Equally at home in the orchestral realm, he has served as guest principal trumpet with numerous orchestras throughout the United States and performs as Principal trumpet with the Orchestra of St. Lukes, as well making regular appearamces with New York organizations such as the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Originally from Bowling Green, Ohio his first solo CD entitled "One" features an all-American program of unaccompanied trumpet solos on the Summit Label. He holds a BM from the Curtis Institute of Music and an MM from The Juilliard School.
Stylistically diverse as a soloist, collaborative artist, composer, and arranger, Brandon Ridenour joined the ABQ in 2023. Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan he graduated from The Juilliard School (BM) and immediately began touring with the Canadian Brass. Simultaneously embarking on a solo career, he has been a featured soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orpheus, Orchestra of St Luke’s, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and many more. On faculty at The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and The New School, he is co-director of a performer-composer focused ensemble based in Brooklyn called Founders. He has worked with a diverse array of musicians including Sting, James Taylor, Marvin Hamlisch, Yo-Yo Ma, Esperanza Spalding, Bruce Cockburn, Caroline Shaw, Vienna Teng, and esteemed ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, International Contemporary Ensemble, the Knights, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, yMusic, Publiquartet, amongst others.
New York-based horn player Eric Reed joined the American Brass Quintet in 2014. Also a member of the Grammy award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Eric serves on the faculty of The Juilliard School, The New School and New York University. Eric also performs regularly with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and is a former member of Canadian Brass, Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect and the New Jersey, Harrisburg, Oregon and New World symphonies. A native of Indiana, he holds degrees from Rice University (BM) and The Juilliard School (MM), and resides in the Bronx with his wife, violinist Sarah Zun and their sons Oliver and Elliot.
Hailing from Torbay, Newfoundland and Labrador, trombonist Hillary Simms became the first female member of the ABQ. With her 2023 appointment, Hillary joins the faculty of The Juilliard School having previously served on faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Simms performs in both the United States and Canada with the National Arts Center Orchestra of Canada, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company. She gave her solo debut playing the Tomasi Concerto with the National Arts Center Orchestra. Hillary serves on the artistic committee for the Canadian Women’s Brass Collective and is a founding member of the Canadian Trombone Quartet, and the Saltwater Brass Quintet. Hillary holds a BM from McGill University, an MM from Yale University, an AD from The Glenn Gould School Royal Conservatory of Music and is currently pursuing her DMA at Northwestern University.
John D. Rojak joined ABQ in 1991. He is bass trombonist for the Orchestra of St. Luke's and the NY Pops, among other NY musical institutions. Rojak has shared stages with Leonard Bernstein, Wynton Marsalis, Metallica, Pope John Paul II, Cab Calloway and countless other performers. He has performed with the NY Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as playing for many Broadway shows and commercial recordings. Besides the ABQ teaching associations at Juilliard and Aspen, he is artist-faculty at the Colorado College Summer Music Festival. He has a B.M. from Juilliard and is a longtime New Yorker via the Boston suburbs. Mr. Rojak performs on a custom designed Michael Rath R9 built in 2008.
Founded in 2008, Music at Bunker Hill brings great performers to the heart of southern New Jersey, enhancing the cultural life of our community by preserving the tradition of classical music while exploring other musical genres. With outreach concerts in schools and libraries, our artists inspire the next generation with their passion for the arts and standards of excellence. Our goal is to make great music affordable, accessible, and appealing to as many people as possible.
This program is made possible in part by funding from The Gloucester County Cultural and Heritage Commission at Rowan College of South Jersey, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State and the National Endowment for the Arts.
