Lexington Brass Band

The Lexington [KY] Brass Band has been hailed as one of the finest British-style brass band in North America. This year they are making their third appearance at the Great American Brass Band Festival. The band has been honored by invitational performances at such prestigious events as the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Illinois, the International Trumpet Guild Conference, and several conferences and gala concerts of The North American Brass Band Association [NABBA]. A special honor came to Lexington Brass Band in the year 2000 when they were featured at the prestigious All England Masters Brass Band Festival in Cambridge, England, May 28, 2000. They are the first member band of NABBA to be so honored, having been invited to perform at the Gala Concert of an event which will feature only the finest bands (by invitation) in the land where brass is king. The band took 10-day concert tour in connection with this invitation (May 25—June 5), which included a special recording for BBC Radio 2, a nation-wide Broadcast released June 30, 2000.

The band draws its membership from the brass faculties of area colleges and universities public school music educators, students, and talented amateurs from a variety of professions. Incorporated in 1992 as a non-profit arts ensemble [501C], the band is committed to the pursuit of musical excellence through the medium of the British-style brass band. The instrumentation, from top to bottom, is as follows: E-flat Soprano Cornets, B Flat Cornets, Flugelhorn, E-flat Alto Horns, B-Flat Baritones, Euphoniums, Tenor and Bass Trombones, Tubas, and an array of Percussion. The group performs a regular subscription concert series each year which has featured not only the outstanding soloists from within the group but has included some of the world’s finest brass soloists and conductors, including Philip Smith, Terry Everson, Daniel Perantoni, Geoffrey Brand, James Curnow, Torgny Hanson, and Brian Bowman.

They have made several compact discs, their most recent entitled Images In Brass, a dynamic program featuring the many talented soloists in the band, and Master Brass 2000 (Volume Eleven) released by Polyphonic Recordings in the UK and containing their critically acclaimed performances in Cambridge, England. Their first CD, Good Company, also features the outstanding soloists in the band as well as Philip Smith (Principal Trumpet - New York Philharmonic and Vincent DiMartino, Artist-in-Residence at Centre College and a founding member of the Lexington Brass Band.

The Music Director: In December 1999 the Great American Brass Band Festival awarded Dr. Ronald Holz, Ph.D., the Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to the success of the GABBF. Dr. Holz serves as professor of music literature and instrumental music at Asbury College, where he oversees the music history, composition/arranging and chamber music programs and conducts the Asbury College Orchestra. A noted music historian and author in the field of brass music, a world-traveled conductor/clinician, he has twice served as president of NABBA. He also directs the excellent Salvation Army Student Fellowship (SASF) Brass Band of Asbury College. His graduate training in historical musicology was completed at the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Connecticut.

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