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“We are going to do something a little different tonight,” said Jennifer Serda, as she introduced herself and the Mag 5 Brass Quintet.  “We are going to switch instruments.”  This brought a small laugh from part of the crowd, and a scared silence from the rest of the audience. 

They must have done something right, as Mag 5 put on the most relaxed and practiced display of the Brass Bash show on Nov. 29 in Harbeson Hall.

Serda, who played the euphonium, Aldo Granda and Enrique Fernandez played trumpet, Melissa Archer on tuba and Raul Arenas on horn performed “Quintet No. 1, movement 1” by Victor Ewald and “After You’ve Gone” by Creamer and Layton.

Beth Mitchell, brass coach for PCC and master of ceremonies for this evening, announced that the musicians choose their own music, and that this show was like Navy Seal Training in that everyone is a soloist, unlike large bands where the players are performing together.

“I think they did wonderfully well, absolutely fabulous. … It’s really nice to have a culmination of the semester in a concert. It really does show off the groups very well.”  said Mitchell after the show.

The evening was full of the smooth yet distinctive sounds of the wind instruments.  The Trombone Ensemble, coached by Steven Williams, comprised of eight trombones moving individually, but all in harmony.  They played “Alla Riva Del Tebro” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and “Over the Rainbow” by Harold Arlen.

The Brahms Quintet playing “The Hungarian Dance, No. 1 and 2” displayed the two trumpets of Austin Kowalczyk and James Hurwitz performing with and around each other, with each playing off the other in perfect harmony.

Mitchell was correct that it was like Navy Seal Training, where each of the players needed to work by themselves, but also work with each other.

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