MGTrumpet

A 2:00 PM concert. It should be a great concert. At the High School Auditorium.

They'll be doing several other concerts around Minnesota this next week. Alexandria on the 27th.

Tootsall

Based on their DVD, DO NOT MISS THEM!

Jimi Michiel

MGT-
Could you post a little more information? Website possibly? I'm really interested...

-Jimi

Manny Laureano

My daughter's in a recital. I'll have to miss it.

ML

Jhorn229h

Matthias Hofs is AMAZING!

J

Johntpt

Are they doing a USA tour or just MN? Matthais Höfs is amazing - he'll make you a believer again! They played here in Toluca a couple of years ago. Possibly the best trumpet playing I've ever heard!

JU

josephus07

Mathias Hoffs is one of the greatest piccolo playing musicians ever, hands down. Do not miss it if you can help it!

MGTrumpet

The information on this whole tour was pretty sketchy in the first place. Originally, I found it on the German Brass website - I almost fell over when I saw they were coming to Minnesota. The website listed a phone number that turned out to be in Plymouth. When I called that number for ticket info, they told me I had to call the "local" organizations about tickets and gave me an Albert Lea number. I called that person and she routed me to another person that was handling tickets - and I had to get a hold of her at either 7:30 in the morning or late at night. I finally got her and was able to get tickets - I sent a check and she sent the tickets ($35 each). She said they usually sell "rush" tickets for $15 if the house isn't full or sell the individual tickets (this is part of a series) for $35 for people who want to guarantee a seat - when they drive a long way.

A friend that is going with me said that when he did a search on the German Brass and Albert Lea, it didn't look like much advertising had been done in Albert Lea - perhaps the series is pretty much booked - I don't know. Considering tomorrow looks like great weather, I wonder how well attended the concert will be. Anybody who hasn't heard the German Brass would have NO IDEA what they are missing if they don't show up.

Also, the German Brass website indicated the time of the concert as 20:00 - that would be 8:00 PM. However, the concert is actually at 2:00 PM - must've been some miscommunication there. I believe the doors to the auditorium open at 1:30 PM. At this point, the best bet (if you want a nice Sunday drive) is to go there and try to get the "rush" tickets for $15. I know of at least two other people that are going to do that.

The Plymouth number for info is 763-559-8019 (this is for the entire tour) and they will give you the contact name in each place they're playing.

Other concerts in the area are - Antigo, WI on the 24th, Virginia, MN on the 25th, Alexandria, MN on the 27th and Fergus Falls, MN on the 28th. Then they go to SD, NE, KS, CO and MT.

Hope this helps.

Johntpt

Sounds great! Enjoy the concert and please give us a report afterwards!!

Let us know if they play the "Comedian's Dance" from Bartered Bride!

JU

MGTrumpet

The concert was absolutely STUNNING!!!

I was pleased to see the auditorium pretty full. However, it was mostly senior citizens - not many young people, sadly. I wish every brass student in the area had been there. Actually, every music student should have been there. You didn't have to be a brass player to enjoy it and learn from it.

The musicians were superb! It was obvious they were really enjoying themselves. Great stage presence - wonderful humor - even some great singing!

The arrangements and compositions just left me speechless. There were so many times that I heard things and could only say, "that was sooooooo beautiful" - the kinds of sounds you don't want to end (even from the TROMBONES!!) - they just reach down to the core of your being.

The tuning was wonderful - the playing so effortless - the taste was impeccable.

Tuba - Walter Hilgers (oh! - what a player!!)
Horns - Klaus Wallendorf, Wolfgang Gaag
Trombones - Uwe Fussel, Alexanger Erbrich Crawford, Enrique Crespo
Trumpets - Joroen Berwaerts, Christoph Baerwind, Werner Heckmann, Uwe Koller

Matthias Hofs isn't on the tour. I was hoping to hear him play. However, the trumpet and piccolo playing was phenomenal. The piccolos were played as though there is no limit on range - it seemed effortless - and perfectly in tune. There wasn't a weak (or weaker) player on the stage - all of them were true artists.

Their encore will knock you over - it was amazing - the instrumentation left me speechless.

Johntpt - they didn't do the "Comedians Dance".

The first half they did:
Handel: "Ouverture" from "Royal Fireworks Music"
Crespo: "Concerto alla Pergolesi"
Bach: Choralvorspiel "Ich ruf zu Dir Herr Jesus Christ"
Strauss: Tritsch-Tratsch Polka
Verdi: "Triumphal March" from "Aida"

After intermission they did selections from Around the World - Jazz, Big-band, Dixieland combo, Film music and Folklore. There were so many TASTEFUL arrangements! I loved the first half, but the second was even better!

If you are anywhere within driving distance of any of their concerts, I highly recommend you do everything you can to get to the concert. Check their website and call the number (763-559-8019) for contact information.

Trust me, you DON'T want to miss this concert. Heck, if you don't believe me, believe what the other people have said about them. You may never get this chance again.

Also, you might want to bring some cash/check - they've got six different CDs - they're $15 each - off the Canadian Brass website you'll pay $18 plus postage. Since they were different ones than the ones I already have, I bought all six.

I might even decide to try Alexandria on Thursday night - it's only 100 miles the other way. I could be back by midnight - that'd give me at least 5 hours of sleep.

Just in case I wasn't clear, I really very much enjoyed the concert.

One final note - DON'T MISS IT!!