Imagine the sound of a noble choir heralding triumphal greetings of the season moments after the annual illumination of Mount Vernon’s Washington Monument. Conjure up thousands of strung lights climbing a 238-foot Doric column spilling a liquid glow down Charles Street as the chords of a magnificent pipe organ reverberate behind the doors of nearby Peabody Conservatory and throughout the neighborhood.
This is not a scene from a holiday movie, although anyone can be a part of the picture.
The noble “choir” here is the Peabody Brass Ensemble — the voices of trumpets, French horns, trombones and tubas, 22 instruments in all. The players are students of the conservatory, extending an invitation to all revelers to walk across the street from the illuminated monument to Griswold Hall Thursday. The performance is free; the program, a lyrical nightcap to a Baltimore tradition.
“The program is a potpourri of various brass ensembles,” said Jim Olin, the group’s director. “I didn’t necessarily choose holiday music, but more uplifting pieces. Everything will be festive.”
And nothing less than regal with pieces that feature a trombone choir of 13 all playing simultaneously, two brass soloists — one on flugelhorn, the other on French horn — and two brass quintets, one at either corner of the hall, which will produce a stereophonic sound.
The musical repertoire will span the 16th to the 20th centuries and include a dozen short pieces from such composers as Giuseppe Verdi, Henry Purcell and Richard Strauss, whose work “Feierlicher Einzug” showcases — in addition to the double brass quintet — the hall’s huge pipe organ, which, according to Olin, adds a Christmastime church feel.
The high drama of the program is “Keystone Celebration” a short clip from 20th century American composer, John Cheetham. As the evening’s finale, the piece uses the largest ensemble — 18 horns and three percussion instruments.
“This piece is a challenge,” said Audrey Christensen, a Peabody senior trombone player. “We all have to be listening to each other, to be tuned in for it to work. But the result of all the difficult aspects is amazing.”
Peabody’s brass ensemble is composed of more horns than one would normally hear in an orchestra, with tubas, trombones and French horns nearly doubled.
“People will be surprised at how glorious a sound many brass players can make,” Olin said.
If you go
Peabody Brass Ensemble
Venue: Peabody Conservatory; Leith Symington Griswold Hall, 17 East Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Admission: Free
Info: 410-659-8100, Ext. 2; peabody.jhu.edu
Mount Vernon’s Washington Monument will be illuminated shortly before 7:30 Thursday evening.
