You don’t have to be Canadian to become part of the
Canadian Brass.
That’s one of the things I learned while chatting with tuba player and Canadian Brass founding member
Chuck Daellenbach. He’s originally from Wisconsin, but as a new professor at the University of Toronto in the 1970s, he teamed up with other brass musicians in the city, and the Canadian Brass was born.
Their new CD is called
“Legends” and rightly so. Between touring, recording, arranging and commissioning music for brass, the Canadian Brass have defined the modern brass quintet (and double quintet). You’ve certainly heard their recordings on the radio over the years, and music from this new CD has been featured on West Virginia Public Radio over the past few weeks, including
Mozart’s Queen of the Night aria,
music by William Byrd, and the
Beatles’ Penny Lane. (the links give you brief samples of each piece).
We started out chatting about the group's history and their legendary status:
Listen to Chuck Daellenbach talk about the Canadian Brass and their new CDOur conversation then turned to the music—favorite selections, the variety of music for brass quintet, and the important, but sometimes overlooked, role of the tuba:
Listen to Chuck Daellenbach talk about music played by the Canadian BrassFuture plans include a European tour, managing their new record label
“Opening Day,” and continuing to play and teach music around the world.
Do you have a favorite recording by the Canadian Brass? Let us know in the comments below, and keep your ears open for selections from “Legends” on
Classical Music with Jim Lange.Special thanks to Max Horowitz of Crossover Media for arranging this interview.