News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu Spring 2004 news releases Public Information home News archive Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 2/1/05   Click on image for publication quality photo  SAINT LOUIS BRASS QUINTET OPENS SOUTHEASTERN’S “ENCORE! 2005”       HAMMOND – The Saint Louis Brass Quintet, renowned for a unique combination of virtuoso performance and entertaining showmanship, is the opening act for “Encore! 2005,” the Southeastern Louisiana University Department of Music and Dramatic Arts’ spring performing arts series.       The quintet will present a varied, humorous program of American jazz and classics at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 9, at the Pottle Music Building Auditorium. The concert is free.       Founded in 1964, the Saint Louis Brass Quintet has presented workshops, master classes, and children’s programs throughout the United States and abroad. In their highly successful and entertaining concerts they perform the great music for brass -- from the works of the baroque to today’s composers, including Ellington, Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Stephen Foster.        The musicians will also host a master class at 4 p.m. on the day of their performance. Open to the public, the class is scheduled for the Pottle Music Building Auditorium.       The Saint Louis Brass Quintet’s Encore! program will include “Arias” by James DeMars, a piece commissioned for the ensemble; Anthony Plog's “Aesop's Fables,” which weaves music with the clever, well-known stories; three tangos by the noted Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla; and jazz arranger Joey Sellers’ “Tribute to Pops” and “Sweet Georgia Brown.”        The Saint Louis Brass Quintet is one of America's longest standing brass quintets. Originally formed by members of the St. Louis Symphony to play children's concerts around the St. Louis area, the group soon expanded to present full length concerts funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Missouri Arts Council and the Mid-America Arts Alliance.        In addition to recording and touring internationally, the Saint Louis Brass Quintet now performs three 10-day concert tours throughout the United States each year. They were featured at the Norway Brass Band Festival in 1994 and at a festival in Bombay, India, in 1995. The quintet has toured Japan, Mexico, Germany and Sweden.       Members of the group include founding member Melvyn Jernigan, formerly with the Saint Louis Symphony, who plays trombone. Trumpet players are Allan Dean from Yale University, and Ray Sasaki from the University of Texas. Horn player Thomas Bacon now solos with the Houston Ballet, and tuba player Daniel Perantoni is currently an instructor at Indiana University Bloomington. The members are well-known as soloists and clinicians and have collectively traveled around the world, performing at various venues, festivals and with first-class ensembles.        The Encore! concert is funded by the Southeastern Arts and Lectures Committee, and Bach/Conn-Selmer. For additional information and an Encore! brochure listing the entering season’s offerings, contact the Department of Music and Dramatic Arts, 985-549-2184.