Our first outdoor concert of this year was in the courtyard next to the Heights Community Church in Grandin Village. We played an informal and free concert during a very pleasant noon-time under the shade of the trees at the intersection of Memorial and Grandin. The program was mostly American music to go with the patriotic theme of the Memorial Day weekend. Here are some highlights from our time by the Heights:
Easter is a big time for brass players. Every church wants a group to add to their worship service, and each of our members probably had to turn down a couple of churches this year. It’s nice to see things coming back from the scary pandemic years. Our Easter 2024 was spent with the inaugural service of the Messiah Lutheran congregation that meets at the Rosalind Hills Baptist church facility. So we were very excited to play for two congregations….
Last night we played New Orleans and Dixieland styles for Fat Tuesday/Mardis Gras for the great folks at The Glebe. We prepared such classic selections as Basin Street Blues and Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans, and more that weren’t all necessarily strictly NO style, but fun music nonetheless. Kansas City is at least on the Mississippi, and also full of jazz. We also played the classic latin tune La Bamba and the Jamaican island feel…
For the second year in a row, the Star City Brass was asked back to perform again at St. Andrew’s Catholic church in Roanoke. Recently St. Andrews has been upgraded by the Catholic church to a Basilica. I’m not entirely sure what that means, but they will have more prominence due to the new designation. Star City Brass Quintet was happy to help them celebrate the Christmas season in this new phase for the church. Along with this performance we’ve…
Every year Roanoke puts on December Dickens of a Christmas nights downtown. Star City BQ got on the performance list this year, so we were caroling at the Center In The Square Building as well as on the community performance stage. In this photo we were down one member, but managed to pull off some carols anyway. From a performer point of view, Dickens is a bit of chaos, but I have to say that I personally had a lot…
Star City Brass Quintet recently had the opportunity to play the National Anthem at a Railyard Dawgs hockey game. We were excited to play for the largest crowd we have ever played for. And if you have ever been to a Dawgs game, we got a huge ovation. This is more than a performance of a ceremonial tune for 3700+ fans, it is participation in the community. Of course I had to wear my Dawgs jersey to the performance to…
Star City Brass Quintet is going to play in Grandin Village at the intersection of Grandin and Memorial on the walk way to the Heights Community Church on Saturday July 1, around lunch time. Come listen to us as you enjoy the many shops and businesses around the area and maybe drop a couple buck in the open trombone case covered with local stickers. Donations go toward buying new music and keep us playing live music for free in public….
Brass quintet is an iconic sound closely associated with dignified events, especially weddings. The wedding circuit can be difficult to break into unless you get introduced to the main players in the field. So we had the crazy idea of getting started by playing for a wedding show. It just took a little research to find that Roanoke had a bridal expo in February, and a little more to get connected to the organizer. From there, the Star City Brass…
Our most recent event was Christmas Eve at St. Andrews Catholic church in downtown Roanoke. St. Andrews is the unmistakable church on the hill in Roanoke that you see as you travel down I581. It was a privilege for us to be asked to play there on Christmas Eve. Star City Brass provided prelude music in the Fellowship Hall for the afternoon mass. We performed selections that ranged from simple Christmas carols to Bach’s Sheep May Safely Graze and the…