Quintet Presidio Brass performed on Saturday April 6 in the Wadsworth Auditorium. The band brought life to the show with humor and coordination (courtesy of Nicole Boyle).
Students and community members came together to view the third Limelight and Accents show of the year, Presidio Brass, in Wadsworth Auditorium on Saturday April 6.
Since forming in 2006, Presidio Brass has provided the world with a bold new perspective on brass entertainment. The group is a brass quintet that uses piano and percussion instruments to captivate their audience.
Presidio Brass has Josh Bledsoe on the trombone, Geoff Durbin on the euphonium and trombone, Mike Frasier playing piano and tuba and Steve O’Connor and Miles McAllister on the trumpet.
Communication major junior Leah Sherman co-coordinated the show.
“I think that working with agents for months and months and months and finally having the band come to campus is a very different experience,” Sherman said. “This group of gentlemen were really easy to work with and very nice.”
Presidio Brass came together with the mission to promote music education and appreciation to a younger crowd.
“I think brass specifically is not seen a lot and I know our generation lacks in that and I think it’s important to bring that in and show different aspects of that music,” Sherman said.
Presidio Brass gave a great performance with various pieces from musicals and some of their favorite pieces while providing the crowd a touch of humor.
Adding in amusing arguments of whose instrument and solo was the audience’s favorite and wearing a mask during their “Phantom of the Opera” piece made the show highly entertaining.
“I think it is fun to get a well-rounded, diverse group of people to come onto campus and give that experience that we don’t have normally,” Sherman said.
Math and adolescent education double major junior Jane Baranello was the show’s other co-coordinator.
“Leah and I attended a conference in New York City this January, and we saw them perform a 15-minute quick snip-it of their performance,” Baranello said. “We were captivated by them and thought they sounded amazing.”
Baranello continued to address why they found Presidio Brass so important to have as an addition to Geneseo’s entertainment options.
“We really liked their interest in outreach and their interest in helping their community,” Baranello said. “They brought in a high school band to perform with them, and so that is something we tried to incorporate into Geneseo’s campus with our music department.”Presidio Brass are greatly interested in sharing their music with students as they seek to educate.
“We were able to get them into a classroom helping out,” Baranello said. “It was a great way to connect the performance to the community and Geneseo’s students.”
The five men who make up Presidio Brass were all talent and charm as the audience laughed and applauded each joke and piece.
“I hope the audience can see that there are other things out there, and have a greater appreciation for music,” Baranello said. “A brass group is not something you see every day, not a lot of people listen to that type of music so I hope they can take away an understanding they haven’t previously known.”