PCMS brass quartet to perform with the pros in upcoming Chamber Music Society concert
March 7, 2024 at 12:02 a.m.
The goal for many musicians is to perform in front of an audience who will appreciate the hours of practice and dedication needed to master their craft.
To help young musicians experience that thrill, the Westchester Chamber Music Society (WCMS) launched a youth initiative in 2023, which invites students from across the county to perform with professionals in one of the group’s regularly scheduled chamber music concerts held in the synagogue Congregation Emanu-El of Westchester at 2125 Westchester Ave. in Rye.
On Sunday, Mar. 10, WCMS will be hosting The American Brass Quintet, consisting of trumpeters Kevn Cobb and Brandon Ridenour, French hornist Eric Reed, trombonist Hillary Simms and bass trombonist John Rojak. It’s the first time the organization will be presenting a brass quartet in its 73-year history. On top of that, it’s the first time Port Chester students will be participating in the youth initiative.
Prior to the professionals taking the stage, seventh-grade trombonist Aiden Escobar, French hornist Angel Gonzales trumpeter Alan Grande, and eighth-grade trumpeter Adam Van Der Wateren will open the concert with a performance of works by composers Dmitry Bortniansky, Bedřich Smetana and Ludwig Van Beethoven. Afterwards, the Port Chester Middle Schoolers will receive feedback from the expert brass musicians as part of a mini masterclass.
“The program is to help musicians develop,” said Joshua Berrett, a board member for WCMS. “We want to diversify the genre and open doors for new listeners.” He helped create the program and, to spread it to Port Chester, contacted a local connection he had to orchestrate the performance.
“I met Joshua 10 years ago,” Ulysses Torres, an instrumental music teacher at Port Chester Middle School, said. They worked together at Songcatchers, a New Rochelle-based nonprofit that provides an after-school music program.
Berrett reached out to Torres in December 2023, asking if he could prepare some students for the upcoming concert. It was a proposal the educator jumped at.
“Exposure to world class musicians is an opportunity that Port Chester students could really benefit from,” Torres said. He described the students as a “pilot group,” and he handpicked them to be the first representatives from the schools in the program.
“I went with students that I’m familiar with,” he explained. “They’re the first through my door for early rehearsals and have a strong work ethic.” Since then, he’s been hard at work preparing the musicians for their upcoming show, practicing every day, including during their lunch period. “They’re happy as can be to do this. It’s rare to see this kind of dedication, especially at the middle school level.”
When notified of how hard the students are working during a Zoom interview on Feb. 27, Berrett beamed with excitement. “I’m committed to the generational aspect of chamber music,” he said. “You need performers to champion new music.”
He’d like to introduce a newer generation to a genre they may not necessarily have experience with. “This program, this concert, could be an opportunity for everyone. It’s always interesting to explore outliers in our lives,” he said.
Torres added he’d like to continue to expose his students to chamber music, including outside of the WCMS concerts.
“I hope to be able to advance the youth initiative,” he said. “But I’m also hoping to reinvigorate chamber music in the Port Chester community.” It’s a subject that hit close to home for him.
“One of my earliest memories of this community was when I was invited to perform for some elementary school students here,” he explained. While attending SUNY Purchase College, Torres was part of the brass quintet that gave a 30-minute master class to the King Street School band. “It really feels like I’ve come full circle.”
“I’m very grateful to Ulysses for everything he’s done,” Berrett said. “I want him to be able to have students at the ready for performances and events like these. I want to constantly mix the old with the new.”
The performance this Sunday, he added, will feature music composed from as early as the 1600s to as modern as 2022.
As the date of the concert approaches, Torres said the students have only doubled their efforts to prepare.
“The anticipation is driving them to work harder,” he laughed. “I don’t think they’ll truly realize what they’re doing until they’re actually on stage performing.”
Tickets for the Mar. 10 concert are available online at westchesterchambermusicsociety.com/tickets-donations.html and are $40 for in-person or $18 for a virtual seat. There is also a first-time attendee discount, which lowers the price of admission to $20.
Though the WCMS concert season is nearing its end, with the final performance occurring on Apr. 21, featuring a string quartet from White Plains High School, Berrett was adamant about continuing to work with Port Chester students.
“I am fully committed to this partnership,” he said. “This is not a one-time deal.”
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