General

In 2003, when the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra did not make its usual yearly tour to the United States, the American Friends of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra decided to invite the brass section to give concerts and master-classes in the United States.

The brass section had been performing in various formations for many years but never all together (trumpets, horns, trombones and tuba). As a result of a very successful tour to New York and Philadelphia with master-classes at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, the brass section was so enthusiastic that they decided to perform more often together.

The aim of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Brass is to show music students and audiences the versatile repertoire of brass instruments in various combinations by means of concerts and master classes. These formations can vary from quartet to a large ensemble of 20 players, sometimes complemented by percussion. The RCO Brass had great success in 2004 at the Canal Festival in Amsterdam, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Philips Hall in Eindhoven.

The RCO Brass was on tour again in May 2005. They were in the United States, where they played a joint concert with the famous brass section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Chicago’s Symphony Hall. In addition master-classes were given at Drake University in Des Moines and Northwest University in Chicago. Nick Woud, solo timpanist of the RCO and composer wrote a new piece for the brass ensemble especially for this tour.

When the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra was on tour in the United States In February 2006, the RCO Brass stayed on and gave two enthusiastically received concerts and a master class in New York.

In July of that of that same year they performed at the “Central European Festival”, a leading festival especially oriented towards audiences in Bavaria, Saxony and the Czech Republic. The RCO Brass played two concerts there, one of which was broadcasted live by Deutschland Kultur Radio.

Shortly after, the RCO Brass played the closing concert of the Amsterdam Canal Festival 2006. Inspired by their successful joint venture with their colleague’s from the Chicago Symphony, this concert was performed together with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Brass.
Along with these concerts they will record a CD in the fall under the Royal Concertgebouw label, which will include new repertoire as well as pieces already performed by the ensemble.

As for the future: in 2007 the RCO Brass will give a concert on March 18 in the Main Hall of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
There are also extensive plans to perform with the brass sections of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra.

Amsterdam, fall 2006