The UNLV Chamber Music Society proudly presents the Gateways Brass Collective, featuring UNLV School of Music director Isrea Butler, at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 6. in the Rando-Grillot Recital Hall of the Beam Music Center.
Members of the quintet include Herbert Smith and Courtney Jones, trumpet; Larry Williams, horn; Isrea Butler, trombone; and Jerome Stover, tuba. The Gateways Brass Collective is a resident ensemble of the Gateways Music Festival, whose mission is to support and connect professional classical musicians of African descent and enlighten and inspire communities through the power of performance.
The quintet has been featured at music festivals across the US including the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, the Ravinia Festival, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Show, the Conn Selmer Institute, the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Band Director’s Consortium, and the International Trombone Festival.
Equally fluent in classical, jazz, and contemporary music, members of the Gateways Brass Collective have performed with Frank Sinatra, Arturo Sandoval, Ray Charles, Count Basie Orchestra, Mingus Big Band, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Earth Wind & Fire, The Roots, Rochester Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Boston Symphony, New World Symphony, among others.
Tickets are $30 and available at the Performing Arts Center Box Office, online, or by calling 702-895-ARTS (2787). Discounts are available. In addition, all students with a valid Rebel Card may receive one free ticket an hour before this and future Chamber Music Series performances.
History
The UNLV Chamber Music Society was created in 2012 to fill a void in the chamber music community in Southern Nevada. Until this society was introduced, there were no established chamber music societies in all of Southern Nevada, despite the community of artists and students who could appreciate and benefit from it.
Among the many ensembles who have performed in the six-year history of the society include the Parker String Quartet, the American String Quartet, the Fry Street String Quartet, Boston Brass, Zephyros Winds, Horszowski Trio, and the Dorian Wind Quintet.
Chamber Music Society
Educational outreach is an important feature of our society, and each invited chamber ensemble performs masterclasses and clinics where students work with these talented artists. Students learn the essential techniques of chamber music playing from some of the best musicians in the country. In addition to the invited ensembles, the UNLV Chamber Music Society also showcases local musicians, giving them a world-class stage and an established venue through which they can create and perform. This society is devoted to classical music, executed at the highest level, and delivered to audiences who are unable to attend anything similar at a local venue.
About the UNLV College of Fine Arts
The College of Fine Arts educates, empowers, and engages creative people to become visionary change-makers in the arts through acts of imagination. At UNLV we believe the arts are an essential good for society. We make education relevant and accessible through our programs and outreach. We create new knowledge in the arts. We celebrate independent thought and the power of bringing people together to foster creativity.
