Three Ensembles Evoke the 19th Century in “Alcatraz Brass Plus” 

 Two brass quintets play 19th century works on period instruments, and join in a grand finale performing a Eureka-made march with the Humboldt Bay Brass Band in the “Alcatraz Brass Plus” concert on Saturday April 23 at Fulkerson Recital Hall. 

 A quintet from Sacramento, the 5th California Volunteer Infantry Regiment Band, specializes in 19th century brass band music. At Alcatraz Island, they recently reenacted a performance of a military band based in San Francisco in the 1800s. As guest performers for this concert, they play 19th century works with a California flavor, including “Crossing the Grand Sierras,” “Pacific Rail Road Polka” and “Banks of the Sacramento.” 

 The brass project for HSU students this semester is the 19th Century Quintet, which also performs on period instruments. This group plays works by 19th century German composer Ludwig Maurer and Russian composer Victor Ewald. “This music is ‘symphonic’ in tones, and chamber music in setting,” said HSU brass professor Gilbert Cline.

 The two quintets combine for two famous 19th century works, Stephen Foster’s “Maggie By My Side” and “Hail, Columbia” which for much of the 19th century functioned as the American national anthem. 

 They are joined by the entire Humboldt Bay Brass Band for a Humboldt County finale: “Sequoia Carnival March,” composed in 1895 for a summer festival in Eureka. “This one is part John Philip Sousa, and part Scott Joplin,” Cline said.

 “Alcatraz Brass Plus” is performed on Saturday April 23 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $8, $5 seniors and children, free to HSU students with ID, from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. Produced by HSU Music department.

Alcatraz Brass Plus: The Program

5th California Volunteer Infantry Regiment Band

Banks of the Sacramento based on Stephen Foster
 Arranged by Conrad Ray Hicks and John Moore Jr.

 Banner Of the Sea by G. Hewitt
 Crossing the Grand Sierra’s by Henry Clay Work
 Adapted by John Moore Jr.

Pacific Rail Road Polka arranged by Ken Brungess
 Edited by John Moore Jr.

Santa Anna’s Retreat from Buena Vista by Stephen C Foster (1848)
 Edited by John Moore Jr.

 Overture to “Patience” (or “Bunthorne’s Bride”) Sir Arthur Sullivan 1881 Arranged by John Moore Jr.

HSU 19th Century Quintet 

 Suite (1881) by  Ludwig Maurer (1789-1878)

 Quintet by Viktor Ewald (1860-1935)

 The HSU 19th Century Quintet is using historic brass instruments (all from the Cline collection) : ca. 1865 E-flat rotary valve soprano cornet (US) ca. 1895 B-flat rotary valve mezzo cornet (Germany) ca. 1885 E-flat rotary valve alto horn (US) ca. 1895 B-flat piston valve baritone horn (France) ca. 1896 E-flat piston valve bass horn (England) (and also, for the Ewald, a B-flat rotary valve mezzo cornet of my own construction, affectionately called "The FrankenCline Trumpet" because of all the parts I took from older, out-of-service trumpets ! )

Both Quintets

"Maggie By My Side" by Stephen Foster
"Hail, Columbia": music by Philip Phile, lyrics by Joseph Hopkinson

Both Quintets with Humboldt Bay Brass Band

Sequoia Carnival March

   Assistant Conductor Audrey McComb with members of the Humboldt Bay   Brass Band 

 Humboldt Bay Brass Band in “Destiny of Knights & Cossacks”

 From opera overture to musical comedy, a Veterans Day tribute to a holiday season preview, Humboldt Bay Brass Band presents its autumn mash-up and its only HSU concert of the school year, “Destiny of Knights and Cossacks,” on Saturday November 14 at Fulkerson Recital Hall. 

 After the stirring overture to the opera Force of Destiny by Verdi, and selections from the musical Oklahoma, HBBB tackles Call of the Cossacks by contemporary British brass band composer Peter Graham that employs musical styles from Gypsy to Klezmer. 

“This five movement work tests all sections of the band,” notes director Gil Cline. “It highlights five soloists—one brandishing our so-called Cossack Horn.” 

Knights Templar by 20th century British band composer George Allen is “a roller-coaster major-minor masterpiece in counterpoint,” Cline said. Blades of Toledo by Trevor Sharpe, long-time musical director of the Coldstream Guards, “shreds notes at a furiously fast tempo, as if brandishing the famous swords of Toledo, Spain.” It features the HBBB trombone section.

  Also on the program are contemporary composer John Rutter’s “What Sweeter Music” anticipating the December holidays, and a special version of Taps to commemorate Veterans Day.

 HBBB is the only authentic British-style brass band in northern California, featuring 25 brass instruments plus percussion. Assisting conductor Gil Cline is Audrey McCombs. 

 Humboldt Bay Brass Band performs on Saturday November 14 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $8, $5 seniors and children, free to HSU students with ID, from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. Produced by HSU Music department.

Media: Mad River Union, Eureka Times-Standard Urge, North Coast Journal, Humboldt State Now

Humboldt Bay Brass Band Concert Notes

Concert Notes by Dr. Gil Cline, director and conductor

Kicking off the concert is the powerhouse overture Force of Destiny by Giuseppe Verdi.

 Following is Raymond Burkhart’s tone poem “Ozark Point,” and then a selection of Rodgers and Hammerstein melodies from Oklahoma.

 Ending the concert's first half is the tour-de-force Call of the Cossacks by Peter Graham. This 5-movement work tests all sections of the band, and highlights five soloists (one brandishing our so-called “Cossack Horn”) from within the band.

 The second half of the concert begins with Knight Templar, a roller-coaster major-minor masterpiece in counterpoint by George Allan.  John Rutter's “What Sweeter Music,” anticipates the December holidays.

HBBB’s stellar trombone section is featured in Blades of Toledo -- shredding notes at a furiously fast tempo, as if brandishing the famous swords and sabres of Toledo, Spain.


 Closing is HBBB’s observance of Veterans Day, this year with an echo version of Taps, then our custom arrangement of songs of six of the US military service branches. Encores are typical!

 Humboldt Bay Brass Band is directed and conducted by HSU professor Dr. Gil Cline, with assistant conductor Audrey McCombs. HBBB is the only true U.K.-style Brass Band in the North of California with 25 brass and four percussion. Far from some old “summer-park-concert-brass-band,” HBBB plays a very wide variety of music: very old to very new; marches to movies; and Gabrieli to grooves.

HBBB has recorded a full-length CD, performed often locally and on tour in Oregon while on the way to a festival in Seattle, re-introduced local historic music, and contributed newly-written works to current literature for “world band.”

Sail Away with Humboldt Bay Brass Band

 Sail away with the Humboldt Bay Brass Band in its 10th anniversary concert on November 15, featuring music with a watery theme, and a Veterans Day segment that includes an unusual version of the Star Spangled Banner. A splendid maritime is guaranteed for all! 

 The concert begins with three works featured in the very first HBBB performance in 2004: the British symphonic overture “Prelude for an Occasion” by Edward Gregson, and two watery-themed pieces, the lush “Moon River” and the lively “Fantasy on British Sea Songs.” 

 The band then performs one of its unique numbers: “Sunken Rock,” a lost 1865 piano composition commemorating the sinking of the coastal steamer Brother Jonathan off the coast of Crescent City, in HBBB director Gil Cline’s band arrangement. “It features the singing voice of our solo cornetist, Molly Harvis,” Cline said, “accompanied by a small brass band of the sort that would have been heard in that era.” 

 Along with Irish and British melodies, the concert includes several characteristically American works, some with a military theme to commemorate Veteran’s Day, highlighted by an unusual but historically based rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. Using the original introduction and transition by composer John Stafford Smith, the band presents three seldom-heard verses by Francis Scott Key.

 Humboldt Bay Brass Band players are HSU advanced music students plus recent graduates, community musicians and music teachers. It is northwest California’s only all-brass band in the traditional British format. “One of our slogans is ‘25 brass plus three percussion equal sustained intensity,’” said director Cline. “And that equals ecstasy!” This is the band’s only HSU concert until next fall. 

The Humboldt Bay Brass Band performs on Saturday November 15 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall at HSU. Tickets from HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door: $8 general, $5 seniors and children, HSU students with ID admitted free. Directed by Gilbert Cline, produced by HSU Music Department.

Media: Mad River Union, North Coast Journal The Setlist, Humboldt State Now, Times-Standard Urge

HBBB: Program and Notes

Humboldt Bay Brass Band musicians in Fall 2014 (not in order pictured; click on photo to enlarge): on Cornet: Molly Harvis, Ari Davie, Ryan Brown, Matt Scott, Jesse Burns, Monica Dekat, Leon Hamilton, Melissa Gussin, Tom Cover, & Gary Ross; Flügelhorn: Lauren Strella; Tenor Horn: Matt Morgan, Anwyn Halliday, & Hannah Lambrecht; Baritone Horn: Toshi Noguchi & Chris Joe; Trombone: George Epperson, Matthew Brown, & Corey Tamondong; Euphonium: Phil Sams & Bret Johnson; Basses (Tubas): Audrey McCombs, Jerry Carter, Ryan Egan, & Charles Hollowell; Percussion: Grace Kerr, Nev Mattinson, Kevin Amos, & Niamh Mercer. Music Director & Conductor: Dr. Gilbert Cline; Assistant Conductor: Audrey McCombs.

Program
with notes by Gilbert Cline

 HBBB repeats the very first three concert works from our very first concert, of April 2, 2004. (and we thought it wouldn’t last!) Those three are:

 1- Prelude for an Occasion (1972) by Edward Gregson
 This is a British symphonic overture, with cornets and trombones sounding as if they were in the Chicago Symphony. The tones are 20th century vertical harmonies, including pyramids and polychords. After an classic overture-type slow beginning, the music really takes off -- even the basses getting to saw away at fast-moving 16th notes; timpani and the other percussion brighten the total effect.

 2- Moon River (1961) by Henry Mancini
 We’ve always enjoyed this arrangement of the film score, and the music is extremely tender and expressive. First heard in the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” the theme and underlying chords are so very American -- for HBBB’s director, his earliest and most impressionable sounds of major- seven chords and flatted-fifths -- all under a completely gorgeous melody.

 3- Fantasy on British Sea Songs:traditional arranged by Gordon Langford
 This one begins as if on a genuine tall ship like a British Man ‘o War, with truly heroic sounds. The tunes in this music, essentially a medley, are classic, and even partly comical; the trombones shine in a distinctive interpretation of “Who’s Afraid of a Drunken Sailor?” (! not our trombonists!)

4- Sunken Rock (1865) by E. Russell / P. R. Nicholls, arranged by Gil Cline.    Here is a rarity, and “proprietary” so far to HBBB. Recorded on our 2005 CD, this arrangement is based on piano sheet music published in San Francisco composed to commemorate the tragic loss of life resulting from the sinking of the large coastal steamer Brother Jonathan which struck the sunken rocks of St. George Reef off the coast of Crescent City.

  The HBBB arrangement of the music, somewhat Gilbert & Sullivan in nature, features the singing voice of Miss Molly Harvis (HBBB’s solo cornetist), accompanied by a small brass band of the sort which would have been hear in San Francisco during that year, and includes an historic circa 1865 E-flat rotary valve cornet of the very type in use then. We also use an 1895 tuba (the “Bayside Bombardon”) once owned by Leonard Yocum, Humboldt County bandsman, County Supervisor, and one of the founders of HSU.

 5- O.R.B. (contest march) by Charles Anderson

 O.R.B. stands for Oldham Rifles Brigade, which existed in Manchester, England from the 1860s to perhaps the 1930s. A civilian band, they served local volunteer military units, regiments and battalions; the sense of national defense in a small island nation is strong beyond the belief of those in the United States. Anderson was one of the original directors of the band and is best known for this particular march, serving to this day as a required test piece contest march in the UK. Musically it is distinctive for the flurry of chromatic 16th notes heard at the very beginning, followed by a serious sounding melody in minor. We use the proper British stride-tempo of 112 beats per minute. Assistant conductor Audrey McCombs takes the baton for this one.

 6- Gaelforce (2000) by Peter Graham Quite popular with bands in Great Britain these days, this music uses folk tunes of the Irish type -- with a lilting, almost Riverdance effect. Included are “The Rocky Road to Dublin”, then “The Minstrel Boy,” and as a finale “Tossing the Feathers.” Featured along the way are the cornets as a section, and a very sweet trombone solo, a virtuoso euphonium solo -- along with force-of- a-Gale percussion.

7- Post Horn Galop (1928) by Koening
 In the band world, these are at “Quick Step” tempo--160 beats per minute! This  march is “The Post Horn Gallop,” the first time HBBB has performed this famous work. Genius in simplicity and concept (even Mozart wrote a “Posthorn Serenade”), the instrument intended is the straight, short, 30-inch posthorn. For this performance, Gil Cline has the privilege of playing “the Genuine Article,” on loan directly from London and trumpet-maker David Edwards, former trumpeter and soloist with the Queen’s Life Guard Band.

 8- Shenandoah (ca. 1870)  arranged by Matthew Morgan
 One of the great songs in Americana, the various lyrics and usages reference a variety of settings including not only the Shenandoah Valley but also the Missouri River, river boatmen, clipper ship sailors, westward-bound settlers, and even escaped slaves. In this arrangement, the melody is taken not only by tenor horn, but also by the combined HBBB bass and baritone elements.

The next works pertain to the Veterans Day and in recognition of those among us, as well as family members and others before us, who have served in the various branches of military service.

 9- Images for Brass (2001)by Stephen Bulla
 Excellent brass band writing is not confined to the UK only. American composer Stephen Bulla for almost 30 years has served as Chief Arranger for “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band and White House Orchestra. This particular work was written upon the 50th Anniversary of the very important, and deadly, World War II battle of Iwo Jima, a seaborne landing invasion of an island crucial to ending the war in the Pacific against Japan. According to the composer's notes, the four movements depict “the quiet anticipation before conflict, the arduous journey into the scene of the battle, a time of introspection and prayer (the hymn tune “Melita” is featured), and finally the hostile confrontation.”

 Taps (1864)

In recent years of research and performance on natural trumpet (baroque and renaissance trumpets), Professor Cline has come to the conclusion that what we term “bugle” is actually a natural trumpet which gradually became shorter and shorter for various reasons. Each year, an example from his personal, modest collection is employed for the playing of Taps; this year it’s an unmarked low F trumpet/bugle of the sort favored by cavalry units of the 1880s and also by John Philip Sousa.

 11- The Star Spangled Banner (1814 / 2014)
This presentation is the result of some research and some creative activity here at HSU. We know the words, so famously penned by Francis Scott Key; fewer know that the music is by John Stafford Smith. But how many people these days know, or have ever heard, all FOUR verses?! HBBB’s Director first saw them on a statue in Golden Gate Park. After some research at a band music archive in Minnesota and some further digging at the Smithsonian, it was decided to present the singing of three verses (in reverse order) so seldom heard, and based on the original 1814 published music.

 12- U.S. Service Songs. Arranged by Gilbert Cline.
We offer our custom arrangement of US Service Songs, with not only Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force, but also Coast Guard --and-- the forgotten personnel in harms way, the U.S. Merchant Marine. We invite audience members to elect the option to stand at the appropriate time (for the music of that particular branch of service) if you are a veteran, or if you are family, or even relative in any generation. We do this out of respect to the considerable sacrifices made in service.

         Humboldt Bay Brass Band Cornet section.
Legends of Brass with the Humboldt Bay Brass Band 

 With the brass band classic “California Legends” as its centerpiece, the Humboldt Bay Brass Band’s April 5 concert continues its romp through musical history during Humboldt State’s centennial year. 

 This time five separate brass quintets awaken musical nostalgia with radio hits of the 1920s through the 1960s. In addition to familiar tunes from Hoagy Carmichael to Dave Brubeck and the Beatles, there’s a song by Humboldt County composer Joseph Byrd about “Cockeyed Florence,” a town character in Trinidad. 

 Then the full 25-member brass band plus three percussionists perform Brahms’ “Academic Festival Overture,” which he wrote to acknowledge an honorary degree from the University of Breslau. “We like to start with an overture,” HBBB director Gil Cline said. “We very much like that Brahms wrote this music for a University, and that it was first performed in that setting.” 

 The band continues with the Scottish tune “John Peel” (It’s just simply a beautiful song” Cline commented) and the second local work on the program, “Redwood Highway,” written by Professor Frank Flowers and arranged by Cline. “It was an effort deciphering Flower’s handwritten manuscript,” he said. “We have new percussion parts and basslines, and polished counterpoint by internal instruments. But we preserve the beautiful cornet solos in the trio, and the bass solo. The bass and baritone instruments play the melody, a la Johann Sebastian Bach. The final result is a very, very good march.”

 “California Legends” by Bruce Broughton the major work on the program, is conducted by Audrey McCombs, a recent HSU graduate just returned from a year studying in England. “She was able to immerse herself in the highly competitive but also highly social world of UK brass bands,” Cline said. “She performed with a number of top bands in the west of England which during her time won contests.”

According to Broughton’s dedication, this piece was inspired by a literary work published in Spain in 1510. It recounts fictional adventures in the New World that included visiting a “Terrestrial Paradise.”

"Broughton was a highly successful American composer who wrote this for the standard Brass Band found in the UK,” Cline said. “HBBB follows that standard instrumentation, so we can tackle works like this one.” 

 Rounding out a reflective evening is “25 or 6 to 4,” a tune recorded by the legendary 1970s jazz-rock group, Chicago. “I enjoyed arranging it, “Cline admitted. “It reminds me of playing all around Humboldt County in a cover band in the 70s called Open Road. We did lots of hits by Chicago, Tower of Power and Blood, Sweat & Tears.” 

 The Humboldt Bay Brass Band performs on Saturday April 5 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $8/$5, free to HSU students with ID, from HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door.  An HSU Music Department production.

A Musical Century with the Humboldt Bay Brass Band

 Many events celebrate the HSU centennial but few will have this authentic touch: a locally created tune from the era of the school’s founding, played on the actual instrument of one of its founders. That’s part of the Humboldt Bay Brass Band concert on Saturday November 9 that features a signature tune from every decade of the past hundred years.

 The first is Eureka March, composed in 1914. The Band will use several vintage instruments of the time, including a tuba once owned by Leonard Yocum, whose name is enshrined as a Humboldt Founder in Founders Hall.

 Humboldt Bay Brass Band director Dr. Gil Cline, who arranged the band’s version of “Eureka March,” recently found some film from 1914 which he believes shows this very tuba being played in Sequoia Park.

 Yocum gave the tuba to Arcata High School musician Margaret Monroe, who graduated in 1938. A few years ago she sent it to Cline. “We will use this tuba in our concert,” he said, “as well as a cornet dating to 1914 and a local bass drum dating to the early 1920s.”

 In addition to Cline’s arrangement of the “Eureka March,” the Band plays “Ja-Da” from the 1920s from actual music sheets used in Humboldt for dances of that decade.

 Other tunes representing subsequent decades—mostly on the light and popular side--include Glenn Miller’s “Pennsylvania 6-5000,” Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man, “South Pacific,” “Day Tripper,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Thriller.”

 The Humboldt Bay Brass Band performs its only local concert of the year on Saturday November 9 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $8/$5, free to HSU students with ID, from HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Directed by Gilbert Cline. An HSU Music Department production.

Media: Tri-City Weekly, Mad River Union, HSU Now

Humboldt Bay Brass Band Nov. 9 Concert Notes

   HBBB joins the planking craze, indicating perhaps that this is a particularly light-hearted program!

"I am extremely proud of what this band has been able to accomplish in the past ten years. We made a CD. We traveled to Seattle for a big festival.  And much more.

 But the very name "Brass Band" is very much misunderstood in the U.S. including here in Humboldt County. In our HSU concerts we've played music ranging from ancient Greek times to the most recent compositions, including some daring ones. In between has been all manner of  Renaissance works that few other groups tackle, and in playing Baroque music we've often used historically accurate instruments. Then there have been all the overtures, marches, true UK brass band music and so on. The "range" of HBBB is incredible. The interest of the musicians has been keen. I hope audiences get a chance to hear this 'band.'"
--Gil Cline

Notes on Two Historical Tunes

 Ja-Da (1920s) The sheet music we will play from was donated to us by Charlotte Nisky in 1984, who for decades taught piano lessons to many, many young local musicians. As young Charlotte Barkdull, she played piano for dances all over Humboldt County ( including the town of Falk!) along with her Barkdull brothers. We're playing directly from the early 1920s publication, without any sort of modern arrangement, using the very pages used by this group.

Eureka March  (1914)  This piece, found in the HSU Library, was originally for piano.  G. Cline arranged it for HBBB. The Intro we have, bars 1-4, were not in the original. All bass lines, countermelodies, percussion parts, and dynamics (and all interior part-writing) is by GC … in the same manner as anyone scoring such music.

Here's more on the history (from an article by G. Cline published in Humboldt Historian 2006):

"The first dozen years of the new century had incredible advances of technology affecting the lives of Americans. There was an explosion of recordings issued for gramophone, and an explosion of railroad lines. The automobile was well on the way; Ford introduced the Model T in 1908 and manufactured 300,000 in 1914. Local high schools were established.

The single year 1914 saw the founding of what would become Humboldt State University, then the beginning in Europe of a world war, then the completion of a railroad south over what was termed “the gap” in rail service.

Local newspapers provide specifics of the cost and availability of recorded music. In January 1914 there were advertisements for “Victors $10 to $100, Victor-Victrolas, $15-$200 at the Pioneer Piano House, 433 F.” In the same month is an ad for Pierce Piano House, for “Columbia “Double-Disc [platter-type] Records -- 65 cents. Still in the same year is the indication of the “talkies” to later arrive, in an advertisement for “Edison Talking Pictures, at Margarita Theater, One week, 10 to 50 cents.

 Local festivities were important. And the clue to the purpose of “Eureka March” is provided in The Humboldt Standard on July 1, 1914. The news reads: “SPEND THE FOURTH IN EUREKA. Grand Fourth of July Celebration. Three Days -- July 3, 4, 5 -- Under the Auspices of the Hupa Tribe of Redmen. Hose Races, Day and Night Fireworks, Tug of War, Music by Columbia Park Boys’ and Professor Flowers’ Military Bands, Monster Parades, Patriotic Exercises, Barbecue, Races, Ball Games and Dozens of Other Features.” The dedication page of “Eureka March” is dedicated to this fraternal organization.

On July 3rd we read on page 1 “GREAT CELEBRATION OF JULY THE FOURTH IS OPENED IN EUREKA. BAND CONCERT IS FOLLOWED BY BABY CARRIAGE PARADE. “During these races the band concert from the stand at Third and F streets by Flowers’ military band will be in progress. In fact the band concert will continue during the day until 5 o’clock p.m.”

About Bert Pasco, composer of Eureka March:

 "The name Bert Pasco exists in enough local written records to provide some glimpses of a musician making his way in life. At the Clarke Museum there exists a simple business rate card, with his address as Box 506, Eureka. Dated Jan. 1st, 1923 there is information about rates ($1 - $2 per hour) and conditions for payment for his music lessons, including piano and harmony. He also offered lessons on pipe organ, so these lessons most likely were held at a nearby church, unless he was one of the rare people to have a pipe organ (not a reed organ, or electronic organ) in his residence

 Pasco was indeed an organist (and also choir director) at Christ Episcopal Church, then located at Fourth & E streets. There is no mention of Pasco [in newspaper accounts], so it is likely he was not commissioned for writing the music. Perhaps he wrote it as volunteer service to IORM or to Eureka; certainly he depended on its sale in order to pay printing expenses. There is no indication that it was performed in any format other than the original piano version.

 “ The last big news of 1914 for Humboldt County residents was the completion of the long-awaited railroad “across the gap.” A Humboldt Times article of July 12, 1894 had predicted that trains over such a line would travel at an incredible 50 mph.

 It was the author’s guess that “Eureka March” may have been written for and played for that occasion. At the Humboldt County Historical Society Barnum House in collections there is a printed “programme” for Friday October 23, 1914 with information and credits. At last, there is mention of a band. On October 23rd there was a “... a crowd of 350 people ...” and “The ceremony of driving the gold spike and speech making lasted two hours and a moving picture operator and an official photographer were on hand ...” All this was part of a three-day celebration. Our “programme” lists for the next day, Saturday October 24, 1914, an automobile parade to Sequoia Park; again, a band is mentioned as beginning the event.

Venetians and Volcanoes with the Humboldt Bay Brass Band

 Humboldt Bay Brass Band presents Venetians and Volcanoes as its annual HSU concert on Friday April 5 in Fulkerson Recital Hall.

 Five brass quintets will honor the Venetians of the late Renaissance with the seldom heard multi-choral sounds of Giovanni Gabrieli, the foremost practitioner of the 16th century Venetian School. 

Volcano by contemporary composer Robert Simpson highlights the second half of the concert. Director Gil Cline describes it as “ very substantial and very difficult. At times it’s very transparent, with thin and clear ethereal chord voicings, and at other times very thick in terms of stacked chords and flurries of running 16th notes. Beautiful in sort of a scary way, and scary in a beautiful way!” 

 Among other selections are Cline's original composition, Tower Bells in the Firmament, and a return to Venice for music from Verdi’s opera, Rigoletto. 

 Humboldt Bay Brass Band performs its spring concert on Friday April 5 at 8 p.m. in the in Fulkerson Recital Hall. Tickets are $7 general, $3 students/seniors, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Free to HSU students with ID. Directed by Gilbert Cline, produced by the HSU Music Department.

Media: Humboldt State Now, Arcata Eye, KHSU Artwaves.

 The Cornet section of Humboldt Bay Brass Band. Back, left to right: Chris Cox, Sean Gill, Tom Cover, Leon Hamilton, & Ryan Brown. Front, left to right: Fredéric Bélanger, Molly Harvis, Victoria Sacramento, and John Ferreira. Similar to an orchestra, the cornet section is one-third of an entire brass band.

Heroes and Warriors with the Humboldt Bay Brass Band

The Humboldt Bay Brass Band salutes veterans and the Olympics in its “Heroes and Warriors” concert on Saturday, November 10 in Fulkerson Recital Hall.

The concert will include several familiar tunes, including the Colonel Bogey March from The Bridge on the River Kwai, and Bugler’s Dream, which includes the famous theme used by ABC for its Olympic coverage. It is played on natural (no valve) signal trumpets by the group within the band, Trumpet Consort von Humboldt, which performed it this summer at the international symposium of the Historic Brass Society in New York.

  Other selections carrying forward the themes include Old Comrades, a quick-step march by William Rimmer, Heroes and Warriors by contemporary British composer Rodney Newton and Requiem and Prayer by Anton Bruckner, which Humboldt Bay Brass Band director Gilbert Cline describes as “calm and reflective.”

The Light Cavalry Overture by Franz von Suppe is another well-known tune, familiar from numerous soundtracks and advertisements. In addition, four cornet soloists combine on “Bugler’s Holiday,” the 1950s hit by Leroy Anderson, and the band plays a brass version of the Dave Brubeck Quartet classic, “Take Five.”

Humboldt Bay Brass Band performs on Saturday November 10 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets: $7/$3/free to HSU students with i.d. from HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Directed by Gilbert Cline, produced by the HSU Music Department. 

Media: Humboldt State Now, Arcata Eye, Tri-City Weekly

The Program
Humboldt Bay Brass Band
with brief notes by director Gilbert Cline


 Light Cavalry Overture by  F. von Suppe

 Classic that references veterans of collective ancestry.

The Golden Hinde (tone poem) by Drake Rimmer

In music, describes voyages of Sir Francis Drake. A golden hinde is a doe. "The Golden Hind or Hinde was an English galleon best known for its circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir Francis Drake. She was originally known as the Pelican, but was renamed by Drake mid-voyage in 1578.

The Dam Busters by Eric Coates

Music from the 1955 movie of the same name, about a British air operation in World War II. Begins with the sound of four-engine heavy bombers. Ends with the addition of pipe organ.

Colonel Bogey by Kenneth Alford

Used in the 1957 British World War II movie, Bridge on the River Kwai. Be prepared to whistle along!

Take Five by Dave Brubeck

The classic cool jazz tune, written by a great Californian, joining world dance music with jazz. Complete on this concert with jazz solos.

A L’Etendard by  F. Buhle / Bugler’s Dream by Leo Arnaud

The themes heard on ABC sports from the 1960s but here with the complete first suite. Based on the 1830s cavalry signal trumpet theme by Buhle.

 Heroes and Warriors by Rodney Newton

Exciting single movement work featuring timpani, and mini-fugues.

Requiem and Prayer by Anton Bruckner

Beautiful; calm; vocal in nature; reflective.

Old Comrades by William Rimmer

A “quick step” march, tempo 140 beats per minute!

Bugler’s Holiday by Leroy Anderson

The famous 1950s American hit, here featuring four cornet soloists!

The Humboldt Bay Brass Band:

E-flat Soprano Cornet: Chris Cox; B-flat Cornets: Fréderic Bélanger, Ryan Brown, Tom Cover, McKenna Smith, Sean Gill, Victoria Sacramento, John Ferriera, Leon Hamilton, & Molly Harvis; Flügelhorn: Gary Ross; Tenor Horns: Matt Morgan, Anwyn Halliday, & Spencer Hitzeroth; Baritone Horns: Toshi Noguchi & William Zoller; Trombones: George Epperson, Matthew Brown, & Corey Tamondong; Euphoniums: Phil Sams & Joshua Perkins; Basses (tubas): Jerry Carter, Ryan Egan, Matt Farquar-Leicester, Wilson Bowles, and Joyce Carter. Percussion: Grace Kerr, Nev Mattinson, & Dylan Williams, & Molly Newkirk; Organ: Joe Welnick.

Natural Brass in HBBB Spring Concert at HSU

The Humboldt Bay Brass Band and its related ensembles—including the first U.S. student group to be invited to a prestigious event in New York City—perform classics and familiar tunes on Saturday April 7 at Fulkerson Recital Hall, under the direction of Gilbert Cline.

The ensemble called Trumpet Concert von Humboldt performs on natural (valveless) trumpets, as played in the Baroque era. The group will play at the Historic Brass Society international symposium in New York this July—an event described as “the largest and most important gathering of early brass performers and scholars ever assembled.” The only student group ever invited before was from the Royal Conservatory of Music in London, more than a decade ago.

But on April 7 the North Coast audience will hear the ensemble perform a bolero. Among selections by another ensemble, the Brass Quintet, are Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer” and the Rondeau by Jean-Joseph Mouret, familiar as the Masterpiece Theatre theme on PBS.

The Humboldt Bay Brass Band itself performs several classical pieces, including Suite from The Royal Water Music by Handel, Finlandia by Jean Sibelius and Mille regretz from the early 1500s by Josquin des Prez.  Popular melodies on the program include “American Patrol” (made famous by the Glenn Miller Orchestra) and the Beatles’ “Day Tripper,” as well as selections from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music and a selection from the ever-popular John Philip Sousa.

As for the ensemble Trumpet Concert von Humboldt, Professor Cline notes that it is one of the few ensembles anywhere to perform on authentic reproduction natural trumpets. He incorporates research of historic brass music in the HSU ensemble, as played in the upcoming concert.

Humboldt Bay Brass Band and ensembles performs its spring concert on Saturday April 7 at 8 p.m. in the in Fulkerson Recital Hall. Tickets are $7 general, $3 students/seniors, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Free to HSU students with ID. Directed by Gilbert Cline, produced by the HSU Music Department.

HBBB and Ensembles: The Program

1- Finlandia by Jean Sibelius

2- Mille regretz by Josquin des Prez

3- Brass quintet: Sonata from Bankelsangerlieder by Daniel Speer

4- Suite from The Royal Water Music by G. F. Handel

5- Brass quintet: Rondeau by Jean-Joseph Mouret

7- Sousa On Parade by J P Sousa

Intermission

- TCvH: Bolero anonymous

- Brass quintet: The Entertainer by Scott Joplin

- Selections from The Sound of Music by Rodger & Hammerstein

- American Patrol by F W Meacham

- Day Tripper by Lennon-McCartney (The Beatles)

- Hide & Seek by Imogen Heap

Media: Tri-City Weekly, Humboldt State Now, Arcata Eye, North Coast Journal, Lumberjack.

Humboldt Bay Brass Band Plays Tribute to Veterans Day

Brass bands and Veterans Day seem to naturally go together, so the Humboldt Bay Brass Band highlights the connection in its concerts on Friday and Saturday, November 11 and 12 in Fulkerson Recital Hall.

After an opening set that includes the classic National Emblem march and the “Parade of the Charioteers” from the Academy Award-winning score for Ben-Hur, the Humboldt Bay Brass Band presents its new ensemble, the Fort Humboldt Brass Band, which plays authentic brass band arrangements of Civil War era American tunes during intermission. Carrying on the HBBB tradition of reviving vintage instruments, the group uses a recently acquired soprano “saxhorn” from 1860, and an 1895 E-flat tuba, which hasn’t been heard in Humboldt County since the 1940s.

Then the Veterans Day emphasis begins in earnest, with the HBBB playing the “Mars” section of Gustav Holst’s The Planets, “Let Nothing Ever Grieve Thee” by Johannes Brahms, and American Salute by Morton Gould (based on “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.”)

The concert concludes with “Hymn for the Fallen” by John Williams, from the film Saving Private Ryan, and “Dona nobis pacem,” the last movement of J.S. Bach’s Mass in B-Minor.  This music was selected, said HBBB director Gilbert Cline, "to allow individuals in the audience to find a personal meaning."

Humboldt Bay Brass Band performs on Friday and Saturday, November 11 and 12 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. Directed by Gilbert Cline, produced by HSU Music Department.

Media: Humboldt State Now, The Lumberjack, Tri-City Weekly, Humboldt Beacon, North Coast Journal

Venetians and Dragons with Humboldt Bay Brass Band

“Venetians and Dragons,” the Humboldt Bay Brass Band concert on April 2 in Fulkerson Recital Hall, features music ranging from some of the oldest known works for brass to the premiere of an original composition combining elements of classical and jazz by HSU professor and HBBB director Dr. Gilbert Cline. And of course, dragons.

The concert begins at the beginning of brass music, with three works by 16th century Flemish composer Tylmann Susato. “These are partly ceremonial, partly Renaissance dance music,” Cline notes. Natural trumpets—eight-foot long, with no valves—add to the authenticity for one of these works.

Then comes the Venetian component: a brass quartet by Giovanni Gabrieli and “The Battle” by Adriano Banchieri, which features a two-sided musical battle between choirs of brass and percussion. These compositions exemplify the polychoral music of 16th century Venice, with players arrayed to create stereophonic and surround-sound effects.

Closer to home, an 1865 work commemorates the loss of a paddlewheel steamer, Brother Jonathan, off the northern California coast at St. George’s Reef near Crescent City, before its famous lighthouse was built. “The Sunken Rock” features guest singer Philip de Roulet as well as a recently re-discovered 1896 soprano cornet.

Then after intermission come the dragons, in an adventurous three-movement piece by contemporary British composer Philip Sparke. “’The Year of the Dragon’ is a major work, and a tour de force for brass,” Cline said. “It’s not only serious concert music but has served as a required test piece for brass band competitions around the globe.”

The Fulkerson Recital Hall audience will be the first to hear Gil Cline’s 2011 composition, “Contrapuntus in Pastel Minor.” Originally written for Cline’s Midnight Jazztet, this setting for brass maintains its Bach-like counterpoint in a 1950s jazz groove, with jazz solos by Branden Lewis on cornet and George Epperson on trombone.

With 25 brass and four percussion instruments, the Humboldt Bay Brass Band is northern California’s only true brass band in the British and American tradition. Their only local concert of the spring is Saturday April 2 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. Directed by Gilbert Cline; produced by the HSU Department of Music.

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

Humboldt Bay Brass Band: The Program

Susato Echoes (1551) ...................................................... published by Tylmann Susato (ca. 1500 -1561)
I - Ronde (entrance)-- segue -- arranged by G. Cline
II - Mohrentanz (natural trumpets & timpani) -- segue --
III - Battaglia Die Schlacht(full band).

Ricercar (ca. 1580?) ....................................... quartet ........................... Andrea Gabrieli (ca. 1510-1586)
Gil Cline, E-flat soprano cornet; Branden Lewis, B-flat cornet;
George Epperson, tenor trombone; Toshi Noguchi, F attachment trombone

Sonata octavi toni (1597) .............................. á 12 ........................... Giovanni Gabrieli (1558-1613)
two choirs, left & right -- á 6 each edited by G .C.

Nunc dimittis servum tuum domine (1597) Giovanni Gabrieli (1558-1613)
three choirs edited by G .C.
Canzon septimi toni #2 (1597) ............................. á 8 ........................ Giovanni Gabrieli (1558-1613)
two choirs, left & right -- á 4 each edited by G .C.

The Battle (1596) ................................................. á 8 ........................... Adriano Banchieri (1568-1634)
two choirs, left & right -- á 4 each edited by G .C.

The Sunken Rock (1865) . Premier live performance. Eugene Russel & P. R. Nichols
Philip de Roulet, tenor ;arranged by G. C.

The Australasian march ...William Rimmer (1862-1936)

INTERMISSION

Year of the Dragon (1985) suite . Philip Sparke
I - Toccata
II - Interlude
III - Finale

Contrapunctus in Pastel minor (2011)... Premier performance ............................ Gilbert Cline
jazz solos by Branden Lewis & George Epperson

Doyen... Goff Richards


Humboldt Bay Brass Band Personnel

Cornets --
Solo B-flat : Branden Lewis
E-flat Soprano : Joe Severdia
1st B-flat : Ari Davie, Alex Fonseca, & Tom Cover
2nd B-flat : William Zoller & Leon Hamilton
3rd B-flat : Sean Gill & Joyce Carter
Repiano Cornet : John Ferreira
Flügelhorn : Ryan Brown
E-flat Tenor Horns -- Matthew Morgan, Anwyn Halliday, & Kate Williams
B-flat Baritone Horns -- Toshi Noguchi & Frédéric Bélanger
Euphoniums -- Phil Sams & Derek Woodward
Trombones -- George Epperson & Melissa Gussin
Bass Trombone : Dick LaForge
Eb Basses -- Elizabeth Cruz & Wilson Bowles
BBb Basses -- Jerry Carter & Ryan Egan
Percussion -- Grace Kerr, Nev Mattinson, Cassie Moulton, & Molly Newkirk
Pipe Organ -- Molly Newkirk
Musical Advisor -- George Ritscher
Director: Dr. Gilbert Cline

A Double Fantasy at Humboldt Symphony and Singers Christmas Concert

Special guests join the annual combined concert of the Humboldt Symphony, University Singers and Humboldt Chorale on Friday and Sunday December 9 and 11 at Fulkerson Recital Hall, in a program that includes a double fantasy. But the emphasis as always is on music for the holiday season.

The first fantasy--Ralph Vaughan Williams’ soaring Fantasia on Christmas Carols--makes full use of the orchestra and singers. Beginning modestly with a single cello and a single voice (baritone soloist Kevin Richards) it expands into richly rendered elements of traditional Christmas melodies. “It’s beautifully strong writing for orchestra and voices,” noted Symphony conductor Paul Cummings, “and a very audience-friendly piece.”

The second fantasy--Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy--also exploits the full potential of orchestra and chorus, but with an addition of solo piano, which originally was played by Beethoven himself. “This is one of the few works in all of music to include chorus, orchestra and piano,” Cummings said. “We’re excited to have Daniela Mineva join us as piano soloist, especially on this piece because Dr. Mineva studied with teachers who trace their lineage back to Beethoven. She brings some real insights as to how Beethoven would have performed this improvisatory piano part.”

Another seasonal work on the program is the Christmas Cantata by American composer Daniel Pinkham. Though written in 1957, it was heavily influenced by early baroque sacred music. “This is Pinkham’s most popular choral work,” Cummings said. In addition to the University Singers and Humboldt Chorale, it features ten members of the Humboldt Bay Brass Band, with HBBB founder Gil Cline playing the trumpet lead.

The Humboldt Symphony alone performs two works for the first half of the concert: the complete Ballet Suite by Jean Baptiste Lully, and the complete Peer Gynt Suite by Edvard Grieg, including the familiar melody of “Anitra’s Dance.”

Paul Cummings conducts the Humboldt Symphony, Harley Muilenburg directs the HSU University Singers, and Carol McWhorter Ryder directs the Humboldt Chorale, a community group.

The combined Humboldt Symphony, University Singers and Humboldt Chorale Christmas concert is Friday December 10 and Sunday December 12 at 8 pm 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. Produced by the HSU Music Department.

Media: Humboldt State Now, Tricity Weekly

Kevin Richards, baritone soloist for Fantasia on Christmas Carols

December 10 & 12: The Program

Humboldt Symphony:

Jean Baptiste Lully - Ballet Suite
arranged by Felix Mottl

Edvard Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite

Intermission

Daniel Pinkham - Christmas Cantata
University Singers, Chorale, Symphony, and members of Humboldt British Brass Band

Ralph Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on Christmas Carols
University Singers, Chorale, and Symphony
Kevin Richards, baritone

Ludwig van Beethoven - Choral Fantasy, opus 80
University Singers, Chorale, and Symphony
Daniela Mineva, piano

Humboldt Bay Brass Band—Plus 50 Vuvuzelas—Honors World Cup and Veterans Day

Humboldt Bay Brass Band concerts are known for adding audience fun to the musical menu. On November 13 in Fulkerson Hall the prime candidate is “Groovuzela,” an original piece that features some 50 vuvuzelas—the instrument that millions around the world learned about during this year’s World Cup.

“What can I say?” said HBBB director Dr. Gilbert Cline. “This is about the only time in a century that a brass instrument has gotten such public attention. So we had to do this.” The piece will feature jazz solos by Branden Lewis and George Epperson, as well as all the vuvuzelas the HSU bookstore could find. “However, it will not be nearly as loud as the World Cup!” Cline promises.

In addition to this World Cup tribute, HBBB honors Veterans Day, with an original arrangement of “American Patrol,” a nineteenth century tune that Glenn Miller turned into a World War II swing hit. The theme continues with “The Liberty Bell” by John Philip Sousa, a battle of the timpanis in the sixteenth century piece “Die Schlacht,” and a somber chorale commemorating December 7, 1941.

After what Cline describes as the “fantastic crescendos” of Rossini’s “Overture to the Barber of Seville,” HBBB plays its major work of the evening, the three-movement “Pageantry” by twentieth century English composer Herbert Howells.

The band also presents another Cline composition, “Four Dot Flourish,” the second work in a series that began with his tribute to San Francisco columnist Herb Caen, “Three Dot Fanfare.” It is included on the Humboldt Bay Brass Band CD, which is on sale at the concert to help defray travel costs to the Northwest Brass Band Festival in Seattle in January.

Another tradition of these concerts is the return of a vintage instrument to active playing. This year it’s an 1895 tuba that once belonged to Humboldt County Supervisor Len Yocum, brought back from its Missouri exile. “I now have a half dozen of these nineteenth century instruments,” Cline said. “When playing them I feel we’re bringing them back to life. How cool is it to play an instrument 115 years old which still sounds great?”

Humboldt Bay Brass plays on Saturday November 13 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. Directed by Gilbert Cline and produced by the HSU Music Department.

Media: Humboldt State Now, Tri-City Weekly, Humboldt Beacon

Humboldt Bay Brass Band

The Humboldt Bay Brass Band, featuring the new HB Brass Quintet, performs a Renaissance-to-contemporary program 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.