History
Zenith director Mark Petty has had many musical interests in his life including piano, percussion, singing, marching bands and drum and bugle corps. He has had an interest in British brass bands dating back to his college days at the University of Michigan. Studying that movement through books, scores and recordings, he came to appreciate the potential of the large brass ensemble. A trip to London for the 1975 International Brass Band Championships in Royal Albert Hall provided a first hand view of the brass band movement.
When Petty concluded his long career with outdoor marching groups, he wanted to dedicate his efforts to concert music in the form of a brass ensemble. He founded the Zenith Brass Ensemble in 1995 to provide an opportunity for outstanding area youth brass players to make music together and develop their skills in the homogeneous atmosphere of similar instruments.
Starting in 1995 with sixteen players recruited from private teachers' studios, the organization has grown to its current size of 35 members. The Zenith Brass Ensemble has become well known and respected among the area's band directors, private teachers and professional musicians. The Ensemble continues to attract and recruit the very best youth brass players in the area and strives to make continuous improvement in its performance levels.
Although the literature for brass ensemble is small compared to orchestra and wind band, Zenith Brass has found and performed over 365 selections for brass ensemble in its short history.
TENTH ANNIVERSARY
On May 20, 2006, the Zenith Brass Ensemble celebrated its Tenth Anniversary Season with a concert including alumni. Pictured is the combined group of 66 musicians following their performance of Stars and Stripes Forever.
Read more about this topic: Zenith Brass Ensemble
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