Wisconsin Brass Quintet

Performing on Thursday, November 30 at 7:00 PM — the Wisconsin Brass Quintet! Doors will open at 6:00 PM for this show. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students (ticket prices increase by $5 on the day of the show) plus Eventbrite fees. Friends of the MPOH can purchase tickets starting July 10 and the general public can purchase tickets on July 24.

Regarded as one of the “superb brass ensembles in the USA” (Musicweb International) and praised for “remarkable musicianship and versatility” (International Trumpet Guild Journal), the widely acclaimed Wisconsin Brass Quintet (WBQ) has maintained a position at the forefront of brass chamber music since the group’s founding in 1972. In addition to its regular concert series on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Quintet performs extensively throughout the Midwest and nationally, including appearances in New York at Weill Recital Hall and Merkin Concert Hall. Its players have been members of the Seraph Brass, Empire Brass Quintet, and Meridian Arts Ensemble. 

The WBQ’s commitment to commissioning and performing new music has attracted the attention of many renowned composers, including Verne Reynolds, Jan Bach, Karel Husa, John Harbison, and Daron Hagen. The Quintet’s premiere recordings of works by these composers and others can be found on the Summit, Mark, and Crystal record labels. American Record Guide reviewer Barry Kilpatrick writes: “The WBQ is a remarkable ensemble that plays with more reckless abandon, warmth, stylistic variety and interpretive interest than almost any quintet in memory.” 

In demand for its engaging educational programs and master classes, the WBQ has presented clinics and residencies at such prestigious institutions as The Juilliard School, the Yale School of Music, the University of Michigan and Northwestern University. The WBQ has hosted several Brass Festivals, featuring concerts, master classes, and seminars held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Guest artists have included Stockholm Chamber Brass, Western Brass Quintet, Axiom Brass Quintet, tubist Øystein Baadsvik and composer Anthony Plog. 

The Wisconsin Brass Quintet, with a graduate student on second trumpet, is one of three faculty chamber ensembles in-residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music. Deeply committed to the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea, the group travels widely to offer its concerts and educational services to students and the public in all corners of the state. 

Current members of the Wisconsin Brass Quintet are Jean Laurenz and John Wagner, trumpets; Daniel Grabois, horn; Mark Hetzler, trombone; and Tom Curry, tuba.