Brass Ensemble is composed by students from the National Superior Academy of Orchestra (ANSO) who play brass and percussion. This afternoon they perform at 16h00 in the auditorium of the Centro de Medicina de Reabilitação de Alcoitão, an institution that belongs to Santa Casa da Misericórdia.
“A sound explosion of versatility and quality”. The synthesis is from André Conde, musician, professor at ANSO and the responsible for the musical direction of the Brass Ensemble, which performs today at 16h00 with free admission.
This Santa Casa concert, principal sponsor of Metropolitana, brings together works by Richard Strauss (“Fanfare for the Vienna Philharmonic”), Mogens Andresen (“Three Norwegian Dances”), Paul Terracini (“Gegensätze (Opposites)”), Elizabeth Raum (“Jason and the Golden Fleece”) and Mike Forbes (“Daredevil”).
The Brass Ensemble, the new chamber music ensemble of the Nacional Academy of Advanced Orchestral Studies, the higher education school of Metropolitana, where André has been teaching since the beginning of this academic year, will be in charge of the interpretation.
“We will present an unusual formation, but very common in Germanic countries and in the United States, consisting of instruments from the family of metals and percussion,” explains the musician, who studied trombone and was himself a student of ANSO between 2006 and 2009.
“Yes, I am also a product made by Metropolitana”, underlines André Conde, highlighting the “pride” of having studied in the institution and recalling what he learned from “great teachers” and from Reinaldo Guerreiro, to whose class he belonged, in particular.
Now in the role of teacher, and after two Master degrees in Zurich (Orchestral Performance, and Specialised Performance – Soloist, both in the class of David Bruchez), André Conde appreciates the enthusiasm of the students who constitute this new Brass Ensemble. “There is great versatility and a great quality of repertoire,” he points out.
“This group already existed at Metropolitana when I was studying with Reinaldo Guerreiro. I remember that students and teachers from the corresponding classes took part and we even made a presentation at Colégio Militar”, he recalls.
Now, however, the music is different: “It is a growing formation and these types of formations are a real pedagogical asset for the students, because they have the opportunity to play live a very demanding repertoire”, explains the musician.
This new ensemble “has 17 elements plus the direction”, and integrates students from various levels of education. “They range from the first semester to final year students”. In this afternoon’s concert, “the collective will always be playing together, except for one piece that has no euphonium”.
“Vai ser uma apresentação muito diversificada e virtuosa, um repertório muito explosivo, com muitas referências sonoras”, afirma André Conde, que reforça o quão “gratificante” é ver os alunos crescerem musicalmente. “Temos trabalhado muito o balanço, a afinação, a construção da frase. São melodias muito exigentes e expostas, num concerto de 50 minutos, fisicamente difícil para os músicos, porque é necessária uma resistência física acima do normal”, conta.
“It’s going to be a very diverse and virtuosic performance, a very explosive repertoire, with many sound references,” says André Conde, who reinforces how ” rewarding” it is to see the students grow musically. “We have been working a lot on the balance, the tuning, the construction of the phrase. They are very demanding and exposed melodies, in a 50-minute concert, physically difficult for the musicians, because physical resistance is needed beyond normal”, he says.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)