The Morrison Chamber Music Center of San Francisco State University’s College of Liberal and Creative Arts will present the London-based brass ensemble SEPTURA in concert on Sunday, February 23, 2020 at 3:00 PM. The program – One Equal Music – focuses on the music of two women composers – Barbara Strozzi and Clara Schumann – alongside works of their male contemporaries, Giovanni Gabrieli, Orlando de Lassus and Felix Mendelsson. The concert will be presented in McKenna Theatre in the College of Liberal & Creative Arts.
Septura brings together London’s leading players to redefine brass chamber music through the uniquely expressive sound of the brass septet. Septura’s members are the leading players of the new generation of British brass musicians, holding principal positions in the London Symphony, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Basel Symphony and Aurora orchestras. By creating a canon of transcriptions, arrangements and new commissions for this brand new classical configuration, Septura aims to re-cast the brass ensemble as a serious artistic medium.
Currently Ensemble in Residence at the Royal Academy of Music, London, the group is recording a series of 10 discs for Naxos Records, each focused on a particular period, genre and set of composers, creating a ‘counter-factual history’ of brass chamber music.
The first six discs have received critical acclaim, described variously as “irresistible” (Fiona Maddocks, The Observer), “dazzlingly polished” (Anna Picard, BBC Music Magazine) and “brass playing at its most exalted” (Robert Markow, Fanfare). In addition, Christmas with Septura was released in November 2016, and Septura’s unique version of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker will be released in late 2019.
Weaving this ever-increasing repertoire into captivating live events, Septura is gaining a reputation for engaging audiences with innovative and imaginative programming. In 2018-19 the group performed at festivals and venues around the UK and Europe, as well as touring to New Zealand and Japan. Highlights of the 2019-20 season will include a UK Christmas tour, a second tour across the US, and Septura’s debut at London’s Wigmore Hall.
Program: ONE EQUAL MUSIC. Marginalized, neglected, ignored for centuries, and only now coming to the fore. The fate of brass chamber music mirrors that of the female composers of the past. Our counterfactual history redresses both balances: placing the music of two female composers, Barbara Strozzi and Clara Schumann, alongside that of their historically more celebrated male contemporaries; and imagining that these women had written for brass.
Pre-Concert Talk. Representatives of Septura will participate with Artistic Director Cyrus Ginwala in a pre-concert discussion on Sunday, February 23rd at 2:00 PM in Knuth Hall (Room 132) in SF State’s Creative Arts Building, under the auspices of the Morrison Chamber Music Center. The pre-concert event is free and open to the public to observe. No tickets are required for the pre-concert talk.
Residency Activity. Septura will take a leadership role in the San Francisco State University Brass Festival on Saturday, February 22nd from 10 am – 12:30 pm under the combined auspices of the Morrison Chamber Music Center and the School of Music. The Brass Festival will bring together professional, amateur and student brass players from throughout the Bay Area for a daylong celebration of their instruments.
During the residency visiting students will be split into 7 instrumental masterclasses and brass ensemble clinics, once for each member of Septura. Small and large ensemble pieces will place high school aged students side-by-side with more experienced SFSU students. The culmination event of the SFSU Brass Festival a pre-concert talk (2:00 - 2:30) and a concert in McKenna Theatre (3:00 – 4:30)
Additional information on the Brass Festival is available from School of Music Professor Bradley Hogarth: [email protected].