 |
||
 |
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
 |
|||||||||||
|
contact |
|
||||||||||
8bells 009 AMERICANTUS Meridian Arts Ensemble plays the music of Britton Theurer |
|||||||||||
Program Notes by the Composer I am an incurable fan of the Meridian Arts Ensemble. They have a passion for creative innovation and a commitment to presenting music that elicits attentive ears and open minds. A Meridian concert assumes that, deep down, a listener wants to experience beauty, coherence, humor, contrast, uncertainty, and even challenge presented in the context of virtuosity, precision, and ardent emotional persuasiveness. The relationship between performer and listener is taken very seriously. Just as the Meridians search for significance, depth, sincerity, and “stretch” in repertoire, they hope for a listening audience that seeks relief from escapist fluff and entertainment. Undivided, active participation is required, and will reward the listener with a broadened palette of emotional, intellectual, and possibly visceral artistic references. To have one’s brass chamber music presented by this remarkable ensemble is a privilege beyond comprehension. I offer this music to the listener hoping that at least some of it might indeed contain substance, sincerity, and stretch, as well as moments of unapologetic entertainment. Britton Theurer is professor of music at East Carolina University where he teaches trumpet and performs with the East Carolina Brass Quintet and the New Music Camerata. His music is recorded on MMC and Capstone Records, and has been performed in the Czech Republic, Poland, Menorca, Switzerland, Germany, China, Japan, Greece, Canada, and the United States. He recorded as trumpet soloist his Hankyu Express with the Seattle Symphony under the direction of Gerard Schwarz. His solo CD entitled Fantasia has received favorable reviews in Fanfare Magazine, ITG Journal, and NACWPI Journal. Theurer is especially active as a commissioner of new works for trumpet and for chamber winds. His primary composition instructors include Ramon Zupko and Roy Johnson. Brass Press and Spring Tree Enterprises have published his music. The Meridian Arts Ensemble is the standard bearer for contemporary brass chamber performance. With eight critically acclaimed CD’s on Channel Classics and numerous international awards, their concerts are consistently bold, polished, and ambitious. They have performed in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Japan, Taiwan, Cuba, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic, as well as in 49 states and Canada. They have been hosted in live television and radio broadcasts on PBS’s Live from Lincoln Center, NPR’s Weekend Edition, St. Paul Sunday Morning, and German, Dutch, and Austrian state television and radio. Eclecticism is a key element of Meridian performances, mixing classical and contemporary works, jazz and rock compositions, world music, and original works by Ensemble members.
Also performing on AmeriCanadian Rhapsody:
Recorded by Scott Miller in Fletcher Recital Hall, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC from April 16-18, 2007. Engineered by Brian McWhorter. Cover art designed by Michiko Theurer from her watercolor entitled Cathedral. This recording was supported in part by an East Carolina University Research/Creative Activity Grant. All works registered with BMI |
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|