KRISTEN SHULTIS
Staff Writer
On Friday night, California-based brass quintet Presidio Brass took over King Concert Hall. They brought with them some of their favorite pieces of music from famous movies.
The day started with a special concert for about 500 kindergarten-through-sixth-graders, and then moved to a lecture on musicianship for music students at the college.
The concert began with a familiar melody from “Space Odyssey” and transitioned into “Star Wars” before finally going into “Magnificent 7.”
After the first piece, the tuba and piano player, Scott Sutherland, went up to the microphone to introduce himself and the group. He then made jokes about winter and how he had no clue what the season was like, since he was from California.
Then, Presidio Brass performed two pieces from the Disney classic Fantasia.
“In ‘Sorcerer’s Apprentice,’ there is a bassoon solo, but as you can see, we ain’t got no stinking bassoon, so this is my solo!” Sutherland joked, before the pieces.
To end the first half of the concert, the group decided to play an interpretation of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” from the movie Wayne’s World. It included air guitar and air drums during some of the solo parts of the song.
After intermission, the members of Presidio came back out and answered a question that they get a lot: “Why do you guys have so many horns?”
In response, Timothy “TJ” Tesh and Steve O’Connor held up and described each horn, first talking about a standard trumpet in B-flat, then moving on to the piccolo trumpet, which is smaller and plays one octave higher. Then there was the flugelhorn, the lowest of the trumpets.
“As you can see, this instrument is green. Well, Steve got a good lesson in primary colors — he painted it blue, and the instrument is originally yellow,” Tesh said jokingly to the audience.
The quintet also played five selections from West Side Story, one of which was “I Feel Pretty.” It was played by the whole group but featured a solo on tuba as well as a set of choreography including a kick-line.
“We wanted to give a concert where people didn’t think they were going to a snooty classical music concert. We want our audience to enjoy these songs and the concert,” said Sutherland.
Their goal for the concert was to take the songs from movies that the players enjoy and turn them into something that other people could get similar enjoyment out of.
All artists have their influences, and the guys from Presidio Brass were no exception.
“I was always surrounded by music, but it wasn’t until I heard a group like ours that I decided that this was what I wanted to do with my life,” said Tesh.
“I’m [the] third generation — my mom was a drum major,” said Mike McCoy, the horn player of the group.
Each member of Presidio Brass seemed to have been influenced by a member of his family.
“One thing that you have to do as an aspiring musician is to make sure you practice early, because once you add in family, that makes it so much harder to do the things that you’ve wanted to do in this industry,” said Sutherland.
Most of the concert-goers were community members, but there were also quite a few students.
“I really enjoyed it, and I think that this was a great experience for people who don’t ordinarily like this type of music,” said sophomore music industry major Liz Roman.
“This concert series is the primary way in which the artists — like Presidio Brass — can interact with and experience SUNY Fredonia,” said Jefferson Westwood, director of the Rockefeller Arts Center.
Presidio Brass’ tour schedule will become much busier in the near future, by adding new states and universities around the nation.
“Presidio Brass was formed about six years ago, and their touring is really starting to take off. It will be great to see where they are in about 10 or 20 years,” said Westwood.
Following the concert, the group gathered in the lobby of King Concert Hall for a meet and greet. There, the group engaged in conversation with audience members, posed for photographs, and signed programs.
Presidio brass was the first concert of the DFT communications concert series for the year.