LANCASTER, Pa.- The Rodney Mack Philadelphia Big Brass will kick off the 2007-08 Franklin & Marshall Sound Horizons Concert Series on Friday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. in the Barshinger Center for Musical Arts.
The concert will include selections from Tylman Susato, Gioacchino Rossini, Joaquin Rodrigo, Georges Bizet, Jean Baptiste Arban, Rafael Méndez, and Bill Conti. Ticket prices for Sound Horizons are $10 for the general public, $5 for college employees, and $1 for students and can be purchased at the box office located in the Roschel Performing Arts Center. Tickets can also be purchased by calling 358-4858 or visiting the online box office at www.fandm.edu/boxoffice.xml. The box office in the lower lobby of the Barshinger Center is open one hour before performance times. The Rodney Mack Philadelphia Big Brass is a collection of Philadelphia's top brass and percussion players who regularly perform with the area's most prestigious musical organizations including The Philadelphia Orchestras, The Delaware Symphony, The Opera Company of Philadelphia, and The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. Performing a variety of musical styles from Renaissance to Jazz, the members of The Philadelphia Big Brass are widely sought out for the majestic sounds and sparkling, virtuoso performances they bring to each and every concert. The Rodney Mack Philadelphia Big Brass is a diverse ensemble of musicians dedicated to bringing the joyous experience of listening to sparkling brass and percussion playing to a wide range of audiences. Mack was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he began taking classical trumpet lessons with his cousin Wynton Marsalis at age eleven. Macks solo debut was at the age of 15 with the New Orleans Symphony. After having won various solo competitions, he received national attention at the age of nineteen performing as soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra. He has also performed as soloist with the San Diego Symphony, the Tenerife Symphony, the Orquestra Sinfonica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and many orchestras throughout the United States and Europe. Mack has made several world premiere recordings, including Sonata for Trumpet and Piano by Adolphus Hailstork and In Our Own House by Alvin Singleton with saxophonist Branford Marsalis and concert pianist Karen Walwyn. In 1998, Rodney Mack made the premiere and critically acclaimed recording of Franz Waxman’s Carmen Fantasy for Trumpet and Orchestra with conductor Lawrence Foster on the Koch International record label. Regarding Mack’s best-selling solo CD Spirit of the Trumpeter, cornet virtuoso and renowned conductor Gerard Schwarz says, "Rodney Mack is a superb trumpet player and musician. I have no doubt that this CD will make an important addition to the catalogue of sublime trumpet performances." Rodney can be heard as soloist and principal trumpet on more than 30 different orchestral recordings with labels such as Decca, Naxos, Koch International Classics, and Albany Records. In the course of his more than 20 years as an orchestral musician, Mack was the winner of several competitions for titled orchestral chairs including positions with the New Orleans Symphony, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfonica de Tenerife, the Barcelona Symphony, and the Richmond Symphony. He has recently been invited to give master classes at the Julliard School, the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the North Carolina School for the Arts, the National Trumpet Competition and the International Trumpet Guild Conference. His year is split between his duties as Principal Trumpet with Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, founder of the Rodney Mack Philadelphia Big Brass, and various master classes and solo engagements in the United States and abroad. -30- |
