Free concerts take place at the Koger, Richland County Library and Johnson Performance Hall
C Street Brass, winner of the Savvy Musician in ACTION Chamber Music Competition in 2013, is back in Columbia this month for the last week of their residency program at USC. Sponsored by Spark: Carolina's Music Leadership Laboratory, the brass quintet’s residency is funded with a USC Provost Visiting Scholar Grant. The group is known for their wide-ranging repertoire and energetic performances.
The final week of their 2014-2015 residency is February 11–18, and in addition to public performances, C Street will conduct master classes and coachings with USC music students and do outreach programs at AC Flora High School and Crayton Middle School.
We could not be happier to be back at what feels like our home away from home here in Columbia, SC. After meeting David Cutler for the first time in 2013 at the Savvy Musician in Action workshop, we could not have imagined having the relationship we do now with the University of South Carolina and the community in Columbia. – Gabriel Colby
C Street has been acquiring accolades since they began their residency with USC. Jude Fox wrote about them in Free Times in 2014, “The group’s outgoing charms and irrepressible humor shine through during its energetic performances. It’s clear that they have a blast, one-upping each other with their improvised solos, the horn players dodging the occasional jabs of the trombonists’ slides.”
About performances in their hometown, Pittsburgh Symphony’s principal trumpet, George Vosburgh, said, “C Street is the new sound, look, and feel of the modern brass quintet.” The Pittsburg Post-Gazette said, “The concert was a welcome opportunity to see innovative musicians testing out ways to illustrate their art and to share it with the audience.”
C Street Brass, ensemble in residence at Carnegie Mellon University, is equally as comfortable in the sound world of baroque music as it is in dubstep. Internationally, they have toured in Tbilisi, Georgia as resident ensemble of the Traveling Notes Music Festival in 2012 and to Doha, Qatar in 2013 as ambassadors for Carnegie Mellon University. C Street members are Gabriel Colby, Scott Nadelson, Joe Hughes, Kyle Anderson and Hakeem Bilal.
The group collaborates with other artists to create new exciting concert atmospheres for audiences. One such collaboration is with DJ Jakeisrain, blending different genres of classical music with current electronic dance music. The expanded group, called Beauty Slap, adds electronic music, a saxophone, guitar and DJ, and will play at Conundrum Music Hall on Friday, February 20.
C Street Brass Public Events
Sat., Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m.
C Street Brass joins USC Symphonic Winds
Koger Center for the Arts – FREE
Sun., Feb. 15, 3:00 p.m.
Plink, Rattle, Toot! Words Meet Music
Richland County Library Children’s Room (Assembly St) – FREE
C Street Brass joins MOO!@USC to play original compositions by USC student composers
for young readers at the public library. Plink, Rattle, Toot! is a collaboration between
MOO!@USC, a student-run musical outreach organization, and the Richland County Public
Library. USC student composers and musicians write and play original compositions
to accompany the library's Story Hour, a picture book reading for children.
Tues., Feb. 17, 7:30 p.m.
C Street Brass Concert
Johnson Performance Hall (Darla Moore School of Business, Level 1) – FREE
Features Bernstein's Westside Story and an eclectic assortment of audience favorites.
Fri., Feb. 20, 10:00 p.m.
Beauty Slap Concert
Conundrum Music Hall (626 Meeting St., West Columbia, SC)
The expanded group, called Beauty Slap, combines brass with electronic music, guitar
and a DJ.
$12 advanced tickets / $15 at the door
Buy tickets online