Love is theme of Feb. 28 Sassy Brass concert

Sassy Brass, a student brass quintet based at Skidmore College, will present a concert titled “Exploring Love” at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28, in Filene Recital Hall on the Skidmore College campus. Admission is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.

The event marks the debut performance for the group. The full-length program features a series of transcriptions about love in all its variations (familial, fraternal, parental, romantic, unrequited, love of place, and love of nature) built around Jack Gale’s eight-movement transcription of Leonard Bernstein’s music from West Side Story. The program also includes Delibes’ “Flower Duet” from Lakme, Grainger’s “Londonderry Air,” and several tunes made famous by Brazil ’66: “Girl from Ipanema,” “Mas Que Nada,” and “Brazil.”

Guests Rigel Harris ’16 and Matt Beckstrom ’16 will accompany during the West Side Story piece of the program. Patrice Malatestinic is coach of the quintet.

Background on group members:

Schuyler Borden ’16, a potential biology major, plays French horn in Sassy Brass Quintet and in the Skidmore College Orchestra. He also plays piano and sings with the Skidmore Bandersnatchers, the wildly popular male a cappella group. He hails from Farmington, Conn.

Ben Cope ’16, a Massachusetts resident, is studying business management and government at Skidmore. He has been studying trumpet for 10 years and has performed in various ensembles including the Boston Symphony Youth Orchestra. Currently Ben performs in the Skidmore Orchestra, Concert Band, and Sassy Brass.

Roslyn Wertheimer ’16 is majoring in psychology with a music minor.  She has been playing trombone for 12 years and has studied with Blair Bollinger, Matt Vaughn, and Joe Alessi. She has appeared with a youth orchestra in both Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. She is a member of the Skidmore College Orchestra and Big Band.

Betsy Baker, currently a junior at Queensbury High School, plans to major in music education. She held the principal chair in the Empire State Repertory Orchestra and the Conference All-State Symphonic Orchestra, and is currently the co-principal in the Empire State Youth Orchestra. She has been studying with Matthew Schwartz for three years. This is the second year of her involvement in the Skidmore music department (the first year being in the People’s Brass Republic) and her first year in Sassy Brass.

Sarah Baker, also a junior at Queensbury High School, has been playing tuba for three years, and is active in her school band and chorus.  She also participates in the Empire State Youth Orchestra.  This past December, she was selected to perform as the principal tuba of the 2013 NYSSMA Conference All-State Orchestra. This is Sarah’s second year of performing with Sassy Brass.