Music from eras of the Civil War through the Civil Rights will be presented at Jackson State University by Brothers on the Battlefield: The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass. The free event will be at 7 p.m. Monday, March 23, in the F.D. Hall Music Center – Jimmie James Jr. Recital Hall.
A master class presentation will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 24, also in the music center’s Jimmie James Jr. Recital Hall.
Widely considered one of the world’s leading brass ensembles, The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass is a theatrical stage production that includes a historically informed narrative and multi-media presentation in honor of the 150th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War. Six virtuoso brass musicians (plus a narrator and piano) will perform a broad range of period music.
The group reflects the diverse makeup of men and women in the American culture and is dedicated to the notion that music is a gift to be enjoyed by everyone. Performances are especially dedicated to the world’s youth to inspire them to reach for their dreams.
A veritable “dream team” of virtuoso brass players and associate artists of the group have appeared on the world’s most prominent stages and performed with such groups as the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Baltimore Symphony, the Sao Paolo State Symphony Orchestra, the Imani Winds, Canadian Brass, Empire Brass, Dallas Brass and Boston Brass.
The group burst onto the music scene with a debut performance in Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center in Verizon Hall, a residency for the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, and a special feature on NPR’s “All Things Considered.”