By ABBY SHIFLEY
BG Independent Correspondent
“I see the graduate brass quintet as this great bridge for the university, and the town, the College of Musical Arts with the university. It’s one of the few musical ambassadors in the College of Musical Arts,” Andrew Pelletier, faculty director of the quintet and BGSU professor of horn, said.
In three out of four BGSU commencements, the graduate brass quintet will be performing music ranging from “easy listening” to the National Anthem. BGSU Firelands’ commencement will be the only ceremony to miss out on the music.
The quintet has some jazz music prepared, and simple, catchy tunes that audiences can listen to comfortably in the background.
“Stuff that puts you in a good mood,” Pelletier said, which is appropriate considering many graduates and their friends and families will be in high spirits during the ceremony.
The quintet performs at the commencement ceremonies in both the fall and spring, has a full concert performance each semester and has professional recording sessions at the end of the semester. These high quality recordings can be used by the students professionally later in their lives.
The quintet started in 2013. It was “born out of necessity,” Pelletier said.
Before the graduate brass quintet existed, the commencement involving College of Musical Arts graduates was done by one of the BGSU bands, and the other commencements were done by non-BGSU ensembles. However, the president’s office wanted to switch over to BGSU ensembles only, and because commencements were moved to the Stroh Center from Anderson Arena, a group smaller than the Concert Band or Wind Symphony was needed because of the lack of space.
“It was an opportunity for us in the CMA to kind of go into partnership with the university,” Pelletier said.
It was a chance to not only provide music for commencement but also create a graduate-level ensemble that brings in some of the best brass students in the country. The quintet has also performed at the Toledo School of the Arts and the Toledo Museum of Art, and presents concerts and hosts master classes when high school honors band come to BGSU. That further contributes to its “CMA ambassador” reputation.
“They’re a good public face for the college in the community,” Pelletier said.
