Meridian Arts Ensemble
Encyclopedia
The Meridian Arts Ensemble is an American
chamber music
ensemble based in New York City
, specializing in the performance of new works for brass
and percussion.
, and then launched its professional career. The ensemble performs regularly as part of the Festival of New Trumpet Music
, which is held annually in New York City.
. The prize for the latter was extremely important to the ensemble - not just the cachet of winning, and not just the prize money, but management by Concert Artists Guild's booking department, a commission from a composer of the ensemble's choice (Stephen Barber
's work Semahane, for brass quintet, percussion, and piano), and a recording for Channel Classics Records
. In 1990, Meridian traveled to Holland to record its first compact disc, part of Channel's Winning Artists Series. That CD contained works by Alvin Etler
, Taxin, Alexander Arutiunian
, Jan Bach
, and Paul Hindemith
, and was released in 1991.
The group's second CD was released in 1992. Entitled Smart Went Crazy (from a poem by Allen Ginsberg
), this disc established Meridian's reputation as an innovator in the field of brass chamber music and new music in general. There was substantial interest in this disc, leading to an interview with the group on NPR's Weekend Edition
program. Brisk sales of the disc helped to cement Meridian's relationship with its recording label. Seven more discs have now been released, all to critical acclaim. The most recent, Brink (released in 2006), and Timbrando (released in 2008) were recorded in the Super Audio CD
(SACD) format.
, and in Holland, Belgium, Romania, Germany, Finland, Taiwan, Japan, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. The group has commissioned over fifty new pieces, performs three New York recitals every year, tours extensively, and has recently joined the faculty of Manhattan School of Music
's Contemporary Performance degree program.
Trumpets: Jon Nelson and Tim Leopold
Horn: Daniel Grabois
Trombone: Benjamin Herrington
Tuba: Raymond Stewart
Percussion: John Ferrari
Trumpeter Jon Nelson is a founding member of the group. His one-year sabbatical was filled by Charles Lazarus, who is now a member of the Minnesota Orchestra
.
Hornist Daniel Grabois came to the ensemble in 1989, following a string of horn players. Tracy Leonard was the original hornist, followed by Lisa Aplikowski, Peter Reit, and Chris Komer. Mr. Grabois' six-month sabbatical was filled by Ann Ellsworth.
Trombonist Benjamin Herrington has been in the group since its founding.
Tubist Raymond Stewart was a founding member. His half-year sabbatical was filled by Marcus Rojas
.
Percussion: the group was founded without a percussionist. The first drummer to play with the ensemble was Mo Roberts, who appears on the Smart Went Crazy CD. John Ferrari took over shortly thereafter, and has been with the group since.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
ensemble based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, specializing in the performance of new works for brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
and percussion.
History
The Meridian Arts Ensemble was founded in 1987. The original members of the group wanted an opportunity to play challenging works, to experience control of their ensemble, and to find creative outlets for their musicianship. Meridian received its early education in the American Brass Quintet's brass class at the Juilliard SchoolJuilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
, and then launched its professional career. The ensemble performs regularly as part of the Festival of New Trumpet Music
Festival of New Trumpet Music
The Festival of New Trumpet Music supports new trumpet music in all forms, and provides a platform for emerging artists and creative pioneers. Its primary goal is to celebrate the excellence of the current music scene by hosting a broad array of new trumpet music performances...
, which is held annually in New York City.
Awards and albums
In the late 1980s, the group won a string of four competitions: Artists International, Chamber Music Chicago, New York Brass Conference, and finally, in 1990, Concert Artists GuildConcert Artists Guild
The Concert Artists Guild is an American musical institution, based in New York City and established in 1951. It is dedicated to discovering and nurturing musical talent and helping musicians start careers...
. The prize for the latter was extremely important to the ensemble - not just the cachet of winning, and not just the prize money, but management by Concert Artists Guild's booking department, a commission from a composer of the ensemble's choice (Stephen Barber
Stephen Barber
Stephen Barber is a British political scientist / political economist, and author based at London South Bank University. He is also a Senior Fellow at London Metropolitan University's Global Policy Institute. He has also worked in the European Research Forum...
's work Semahane, for brass quintet, percussion, and piano), and a recording for Channel Classics Records
Channel Classics Records
Channel Classics Records is a record label from the Netherlands, specializing in classical music. The managing director and producer is C. Jared Sacks, who grew up in Boston. Sacks was schooled as a professional horn player at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam...
. In 1990, Meridian traveled to Holland to record its first compact disc, part of Channel's Winning Artists Series. That CD contained works by Alvin Etler
Alvin Etler
Alvin Derald Etler was an American composer and oboist.-Career:A student of Paul Hindemith, Etler is noted for his highly rhythmic, harmonically and texturally complex compositional style, taking inspiration from the works of Bartók and Copland as well as the dissonant and accented styles of...
, Taxin, Alexander Arutiunian
Alexander Arutiunian
Alexander Grigorevich Arutiunian , also known as Arutunian, Arutyunyan, Arutjunjan or Harutiunian Alexander Grigorevich Arutiunian (Arm. Ալեքսանդր Գրիգորի Հարությունյան), also known as Arutunian, Arutyunyan, Arutjunjan or Harutiunian Alexander Grigorevich Arutiunian (Arm. Ալեքսանդր Գրիգորի...
, Jan Bach
Jan Bach
Jan Bach is an American composer. He taught at the University of Tampa from 1965 to 1966 and at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois from 1966 to 2002. His primary performing instrument is the horn, and he is especially renowned for his horn pieces and especially well-known among...
, and Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
, and was released in 1991.
The group's second CD was released in 1992. Entitled Smart Went Crazy (from a poem by Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
), this disc established Meridian's reputation as an innovator in the field of brass chamber music and new music in general. There was substantial interest in this disc, leading to an interview with the group on NPR's Weekend Edition
Weekend Edition
Weekend Edition is the name given to a set of American radio news magazines produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It is the weekend counterpart to Morning Edition. It consists of Weekend Edition Saturday and Weekend Edition Sunday , each of which airs for two hours, from 8 a.m. to 10...
program. Brisk sales of the disc helped to cement Meridian's relationship with its recording label. Seven more discs have now been released, all to critical acclaim. The most recent, Brink (released in 2006), and Timbrando (released in 2008) were recorded in the Super Audio CD
Super Audio CD
Super Audio CD is a high-resolution, read-only optical disc for audio storage. Sony and Philips Electronics jointly developed the technology, and publicized it in 1999. It is designated as the Scarlet Book standard. Sony and Philips previously collaborated to define the Compact Disc standard...
(SACD) format.
Tours
In the years since 1987, Meridian has performed in every state of the U.S. except HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and in Holland, Belgium, Romania, Germany, Finland, Taiwan, Japan, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. The group has commissioned over fifty new pieces, performs three New York recitals every year, tours extensively, and has recently joined the faculty of Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
's Contemporary Performance degree program.
Membership
The current membership of the ensemble is:Trumpets: Jon Nelson and Tim Leopold
Horn: Daniel Grabois
Trombone: Benjamin Herrington
Tuba: Raymond Stewart
Percussion: John Ferrari
Personnel changes since 1987
The trumpet chair originally occupied by Rolf Holly quickly went to Richard Kelley, who appears on Meridian's first three CDs. Following Mr. Kelley's departure, a string of trumpeters performed with the group: Alex Holton, Darryl Shaw, Kevin Cobb, Wayne DuMaine, and Terry Szor. After a national audition, Josef Burgstaller joined and performed with the group for six years before joining the Canadian Brass. Brian McWhorter joined in 2001 and departed abruptly in 2010 for unknown reasons. Tim Leopold, a NYC freelance artist joined immediately after, and is a full fledged member of the Ensemble.Trumpeter Jon Nelson is a founding member of the group. His one-year sabbatical was filled by Charles Lazarus, who is now a member of the Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Emil Oberhoffer founded the orchestra as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, and it gave its first performance on November 5 of that year. In 1968 the orchestra changed to its name to the Minnesota Orchestra...
.
Hornist Daniel Grabois came to the ensemble in 1989, following a string of horn players. Tracy Leonard was the original hornist, followed by Lisa Aplikowski, Peter Reit, and Chris Komer. Mr. Grabois' six-month sabbatical was filled by Ann Ellsworth.
Trombonist Benjamin Herrington has been in the group since its founding.
Tubist Raymond Stewart was a founding member. His half-year sabbatical was filled by Marcus Rojas
Marcus Rojas
Marcus Rojas is a tubist from New York City, best known for his work in jazz.He is a graduate of New York City's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and holds a B.M. degree from the New England Conservatory of Music.A longtime member of Spanish Fly, he has played...
.
Percussion: the group was founded without a percussionist. The first drummer to play with the ensemble was Mo Roberts, who appears on the Smart Went Crazy CD. John Ferrari took over shortly thereafter, and has been with the group since.
Discography
- Winning Artists Series (Renamed and re-released 2011 as GO)
- Smart Went Crazy
- Visions of the Renaissance
- Prime Meridian
- Five
- Anxiety of Influence
- Ear Mind I
- Brink
- "Americantus"
- Timbrando
Works commissioned by or for the Meridian Arts Ensemble (selective list)
- Albert Ahlstrom - Treelight (brass quintet)
- Peter Alexander - Ferraphunx (brass quintet and percussion)
- Mark Applebaum - Magnetic North (brass quintet, percussion, optional mouseketier)
- Milton BabbittMilton BabbittMilton Byron Babbitt was an American composer, music theorist, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music.-Biography:...
- Counterparts (brass quintet) - Milton Babbitt - Fanfare for Nothing (brass quintet and percussion)
- Stephen Barber - Multiples Points on View of a Fanfare (brass quintet)
- Stephen Barber - Semahane (brass quintet, percussion, piano)
- Stephen Barber - Gone Is the River (brass quintet)
- Daniel Becker - Droned (brass quintet and percussion)
- Kim Bowman - Brass Quintet and Percussion (brass quintet and percussion)
- Josef Burgstaller - Dr. J. Geyser (brass quintet and percussion)
- Josef Burgstaller - Lullaby (brass quintet and percussion)
- Nick DidkovskyNick DidkovskyNick Didkovsky is a composer, guitarist, computer music programmer, and leader of the band Doctor Nerve. He is a former student of Christian Wolff, Pauline Oliveros and Gerald Shapiro....
- Slim in Beaten Dreamers (brass quintet and percussion) - John Ferrari - Baqrz Duzn (brass quintet and percussion)
- John Ferrari - Crunch (brass quintet and percussion)
- John Ferrari - MAE We Strut (brass quintet and percussion)
- Jason Forsythe - Sanctity (brass quintet)
- Gerardo Gandini - Subtangos (brass quintet and piano)
- Daniel Grabois - Migration (brass quintet and percussion)
- Daniel Grabois - Zen Monkey (brass quintet)
- John Halle - Softshoe (brass quintet)
- John Halle - By All Means (brass quintet and percussion)
- Edward Harsh - American Optimism (brass quintet and percussion)
- Melissa Hui - Bebop (brass quintet and percussion)
- Edward Jacobs - Passed Time (brass quintet)
- Phillip Johnston - Sleeping Beauty (brass quintet)
- Ana Lara - En Par de la Levante de l'Aurora (brass quintet and percussion)
- Tania LeonTania LeonTania León is a Cuban composer and conductor who has been recognized as an educator and advisor to arts organizations.-León's Music:...
- Saoko (brass quintet) - Robert Maggio - Revolver (brass quintet and percussion)
- Gustavo Matamoros - Trump(s) Card(s) (brass quintet and percussion and midi trigger)
- Marc MellitsMarc MellitsMarc Mellits is an American composer and musician.Mellits was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He studied at the Eastman School of Music from 1984 to 1988, the Yale School of Music from 1989 to 1991, Cornell University from 1991 to 1996, and at Tanglewood in the summer of 1997...
- Groove Canon (brass quintet and percussion) - Jon Nelson - Dream of Miles (brass quintet and percussion)
- Jon Nelson - Fanfare for Nothing (brass quintet and percussion)
- Jon Nelson - Paterson 2:35 (brass quintet and percussion)
- Jon Nelson - Sleepless (brass quintet and percussion)
- Kirk Nurock - Smart Went Crazy (brass quintet and percussion)
- Hermeto Pascoal - Timbrando (brass quintet and vibraphone)
- Tom Pierson - Brass Quintet (brass quintet)
- Belinda Reynolds - Weave (brass quintet)
- Peter Robles - Transcendent Tones, Fractured Forms (brass quintet)
- Jolie Roelofs - Lock the Door Before You Open It (brass quintet and percussion)
- David Sanford - Corpus (brass quintet and percussion)
- Elliott SharpElliott SharpElliott Sharp is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and performer.A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released over eighty-five recordings ranging from blues, jazz, and orchestral music to noise, no wave rock,...
- Beyond the Curve (brass quintet and percussion) - Raymond Stewart - KOHS-ska (brass quintet and percussion)
- Raymond Stewart - OK Chorale (brass quintet)
- Su Lian Tan - Mu Shoo Wrap Rap (brass quintet and percussion)
- Randy Woolf - Eucalyptus (brass quintet and percussion)
- Norman Yamada - Mundane Dissatisfactions (brass quintet)
- Carolyn Yarnell - Slade (brass quintet)