About the Artist
BRASS 5, one of America’s most successful educational ensembles has been an active part of the MidAtlantic arts scene for 29 years. The “5” offer a vast repertoire from Renaissance, Classical, Dixieland, Swing, Jazz, Rock to Country and more, they easily have something for everyone, young and old alike. BRASS 5 performances have been featured on numerous television and Public Radio and TV programs and have been broadcast live on National Public Radio. Eager to create exciting music, Brass 5 has been featured in concerts throughout Europe and the Mid-Atlantic area.
Every place is a potential performance hall for BRASS 5. In addition to public performances, BRASS 5 also presents excellent curriculum based educational programs that your area music teachers can utilize in their classrooms. BRASS 5 has been included in the Virginia Commission for the Arts, Arts-in-Education Residency Program. BRASS 5 develops an educational program each year to be presented at the pre K-12th grade levels. By utilizing the public school teaching experience possessed by members of the ensemble, they relate the material in the program to the specific grade level’s curriculum. BRASS 5 has also performed educational programs as one of Young Audiences of Virginia performing ensembles. BRASS 5 has performed more than 3600 concerts and educational programs for over a half a million students in the eastern United States and Europe. Letters, pictures and phone calls received clearly indicate the ability of this ensemble to excite the audience of not only students, but also teachers, parents and administrators. Think ahead, it is never too early to plan your event – a large demand and a limited performance schedule can make it difficult to secure that important date for your special event. BRASS 5 is currently accepting engagements for their 2019 and 2020 concert seasons.
Educational Programs
The Science of Sound
This 90-minute program is offered to 5th graders only.
Program is only available in the morning.
This is a special Science & Sound Unit based on Virginia 5th grade Science SOLs. In this 90 minute in-class program, two members of the Brass 5 team talk about and explore the elements and characteristics of sound and sound energy. We present new vocabulary and concepts of the elements of sound, promoting a general understanding with practical applications. We will actually show first hand how an oscilloscope and decibel meter work as they are not usually available to classrooms. We also use a variety of materials to demonstrate the properties of sound that we have discussed. We will actually make an instrument from each of the four families of instruments to show how the physical properties of the materials work in conjunction with the basic characteristics of sound. Some of the vocabulary and concepts covered are: energy, sound wave, amplitude, wavelength, decibel, frequency and oscilloscope.
