PREVIEW
Mission Hill Brass Band Gala Concert
With special guest Demondrae Thurman
Saturday, April 14 at 7 p.m.
Arden Theatre
5 St. Anne Street
Tickets: $25 general admission, $20 seniors/children Call 780-459-1542 or www.ticketmaster.ca
Throughout the past decade Mission Hill Brass Band has been part of a local renaissance of British style music that has provided audiences with fresh experiences.
For many, the band’s breadth and variety of concert repertoire has been a pleasure to hear. But each season, the bar is set higher.
At the band’s inaugural gala concert Saturday, April 14 at the Arden Theatre, music director Daniel Skepple Jr. introduces one of North America’s musical luminaries.
Alabama based euphonium soloist Demondrae Thurman, renowned internationally for his ability to transcend the ordinary, is hailed as a star of his generation of brass soloists.
Currently he is professor at Samford University. Thurman has appeared as guest conductor with many bands and symphony orchestras.
A highly skilled technician, Thurman is also an active chamber musician who plays both euphonium and trombone in Sotto Voce Quartet.
The internationally celebrated quartet towers above stereotypes and has raised concerts to new levels performing everything from Bach and Debussy to Astor Piazzolla and Frank Zappa.
Thurman joins Mission Hill Brass for the world premiere of Jeff Christmas’ Variations on a Euphonious Melody. He will also showcase his technical mastery and flawless execution in Philip Sparke’s rhapsodic Harlequin and his own arrangement of the languid spiritual Deep River.
A larger-than-life personage, Thurman was originally invited to attend a brass band event Mission Hill was organizing in 2017. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the project was cancelled and Thurman opted for a raincheck performance.
Born and raised in Alabama, Thurman was surrounded at an early age by spirituals, hymns and R&B.
“By the time I was six or seven, I was into early rap and I did beat box sounds with my mouth,” Thurman said.
He experimented with several different instruments before discovering the euphonium in middle school.
“I wanted to be in a band and landed on the euphonium. I learned to play it quickly and I learned to play it well. I liked it and the more I played it, the more curious I became about it. The sound was warm, thick, velvety and really smooth like a human voice. It was one of the most agile instruments I’d played. With its sound and dexterity, it made it nice to play.”
A strong student in math, Thurman’s mother hoped her son would become an engineer. “But there was just something about music I couldn’t let go.”
While an undergraduate student at the University of Alabama, the dedicated musician looked ahead to potential job opportunities.
The best ones turned out to be with the United States military bands. In 1996, he auditioned, but was rejected.
“Because of my height and weight, I couldn’t meet military specs.”
Heavily disappointed, but unwilling to quit, Thurman opted to increase his skill level at the University of Wisconsin where he studied with composer-arranger and brass pedagogue John Stevens.
“He was one of the most prolific composers and arrangers of low brass and he fostered success among students.”
It was at Wisconsin that Sotto Voce Quartet was formed into an unprecedented breakthrough ensemble.
“Even back then, we were a significant threat playing classical concertos, recitals, sonatas. We won a few competitions and received some professional performance opportunities.”
At the moment, Thurman is a university professor, however his main identity is as a musician. With Sotto Voce, he released four CDs, and as a soloist, he’s put out three. In addition, the high-energy musician plays with Brass Band of Battle Creek. There’s no stopping him.
Mission Hill Brass Band’s eclectic program also features music from the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves soundtrack, Canadian composer David Foster’s The Prayer as well as Canadian composer Mike McCourt’s arrangement of the Welsh hymn Hyfrydol.
Thurman asks music fans to attend the concert with an open mind.
“Don’t be put off by an instrument you may not have heard of before. I hope people will give the euphonium a chance and listen to its music.”
