Humboldt Bay Brass Band: Renaissance Fanfare to Contemporary Promenade With the New Band Within the Band


The Humboldt Bay Brass Band has established itself as Humboldt County’s only all-brass ensemble in the traditional configuration of 27 brass and three percussion players. But the concert on Saturday, April 10 in Fulkerson Recital Hall marks the premiere of the new band within the band: the Humboldt Bay Brass Quintet.

Comprising the Quintet are Gil Cline and Frederic Belanger (trumpets and cornets), Matthew Morgan on horn, Toshi Noquchi on trombone and Kearney VanderSal on bass trombone.

The Quintet starts out displaying its range, from Renaissance to contemporary. Beginning with several rousing Renaissance fanfares, the Quintet plays a madrigal by English composer Thomas Weelkes and a canzona by Giovanni Gabrieli (both Weelkes and Gabrieli were organists as well as composers.)

The Quintet continues with several selections from the following Baroque era, beginning with a dance suite by Johann Hermann Schein, a German composer who was the first to absorb elements of the Italian Baroque in his music.

Moving to the modern, the Quintet plays “Morning Music” by 20th century German composer Paul Hindemith. The Quintet concludes with a very contemporary piece—“Rhododendron Promenade,” composed by leader Gilbert Cline, which was first performed at the 2008 Rhododendron Festival Concert at the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts.

The full Humboldt Bay Brass Band concludes the concert with three works selected from among audience favorites from the past several years.

The Humboldt Bay Brass Band, featuring the new HB Brass Quintet performs on Saturday, April 10 at 8 p.m. in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $7 general, $3 students/seniors, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Free to HSU students with ID. Conducted by Gil Cline; produced by the HSU Department of Music.

Media: TriCity Weekly, Humboldt State Now, Humboldt Beacon, Arcata Eye, North Coast Journal.