Why You Should Attend The Next Fredericksburg Brass Institute

"[E]veryone deserves the experience of being surrounded by world-class, inspirational music making." - Austin Boyer (read more)

It's no surprise that the 2nd Annual Fredericksburg Brass Institute - founded by directors Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler - had a 100% retention rate from the 1st year to the 2nd year (that's right, every participant from the first year returned for the second year), or that the number of participating members nearly tripled in that single year's time. I had the pleasure of devoting a week of my summer to this Institute, and I highly recommend it to any and all brass students - from middle school through college - who are looking for a high-energy experience saturated with great music and the possibility to build lifelong friends and connections in the business.

About the Fredericksburg Brass Institute
All over the world, summer brass institutes, festivals, conferences, and competitions are held where passionate musicians gather together and share unforgettable experiences with each other and create lifelong memories while learning valuable lessons about music and about themselves. In order for someone in Virginia to attend one of these events - most of which last anywhere from 3 to 7 days - this musician would likely pay an excess of $1,000 between tuition, plane tickets or other travel expenses, and many other hidden expenses to travel out of state for this experience.

As veteran participants of many of these events, Austin and Buddy thought there should be a viable alternative for brass musicians in and around Fredericksburg who deserve to share the same experiences. As a result, they have managed to produce much (if not all) of the same high-quality experiences at a dramatically reduced price. This summer, the 6-day experience - complete with 7 faculty members, 5 world-class guest artists and ensembles, and the valuable opportunity of meeting and working with peers who share the same passions - was shared with participants for the tuition price of only $300, with early registration bringing the price to as low as $250!

I've certainly been to some of these other brass-related seminars and conferences, but I have tremendous respect for the careful attention to detail and high level of commitment the directors of Fredericksburg Brass put into making this the best experience it could be. Many of these other events have taken place for many, many years, and needed quite some time to develop into the wonderful experiences they are today. The Fredericksburg Brass Institute, on the other hand, has just finished its second year, and the experiences are already world-class and rapidly growing. In addition, Fredericksburg Brass focuses on what I quite strongly believe to be the most musically enriching type of ensemble: the small ensemble, also known as the chamber ensemble (come back to my blog later this summer, and I'll explain in detail why I have felt this way for years).

Keep the Fredericksburg Brass Institute on your radar. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to follow their updates and prepare for next year. If you're a college student, your collegiate chamber brass ensemble may be able to attend the Institute free of tuition as the "ensemble in residence". If you're a high school or middle school student, you can dramatically enhance your experience by preparing a high quality recording of your playing and sending it to them with an early registration discount and possibly some other incentives as the Institute continues to grow rapidly. Know what that means? Start preparing for next year NOW. You'll have a blast.

Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic

Previous blog post: Making the World A Better Place: Why Music Education?