The Bullock Series continues on Wednesday, Feb 4 at 7:30 pm in the Dalton Center Recital Hall with a brass concert featuring guest artists as well as WMU faculty players. Professor Scott Thornburg, trumpeter Brandon Ridenour and trombonist Marshall Gilkes join Cara Lieurance to preview the concert.
Ridenour and Gilkes co-lead Brassology, a brass octet that bridges classical and jazz traditions. The duo, who first met at Juilliard two decades ago, reunited during the pandemic for Gilkes' album Cyclic Journey before deciding to combine their complementary musical approaches.
"If you listen to Marshall's music, there's a strong jazz foundation, but there's also hints of neo-classicism," Ridenour explains. "With my music, it's maybe the opposite—a little more classical background with lingerings of jazz creeping in."
Their self-titled album features eight brass players performing original compositions and inventive arrangements, including Ridenour's "Brahms 3/3/3," which transforms the composer's Third Symphony into a jazz waltz vehicle. "I was walking down the street in Park Slope, Brooklyn one day, and this melody popped into my head," Ridenour recalls, eventually recognizing it as Brahms before adapting it to feature Gilkes' virtuosity.
Tonight's 7:30 p.m. performance at Dalton Center Recital Hall brings together four Brassology members with WMU faculty from the Western Brass Quintet. The collaboration holds special significance as a reunion between Ridenour and his former teacher, Scott Thornburg, WMU's longtime trumpet professor who retires this semester.
"Having Brandon come back and being able to collaborate in this way is an incredible privilege," says Thornburg. "I watched Kip Hickman taking a selfie with Marshall Gilkes yesterday and thought, 'That's kind of how we're all feeling'—kind of pinching ourselves."
The concert, part of the Bullock Performance Series, features the entire Brassology album plus additional repertoire. Tickets are available through the School of Music website or at the door.
The interview was summarized by Claude AI and edited by the author.
