Orcas’ Own Five Bells Quintet Performs a Lively International Program

The Five Bells Quintet

As part of its Spotlight in the OffCenter series, Orcas Center presents the Five Bells Quintet on Sunday, February 7 at 2 pm. The ensemble will perform memorable melodies and exciting rhythms that will be enjoyable for both the audience and the players.

Five Bells brass quintet was formed in 2006 for the purpose of reading and preparing challenging music in a collaborative environment. The ensemble plays a wide variety of brass chamber music including everything from early Renaissance to Cuban jazz. All of the members are classically trained and multi-talented. The musicians are Steve Alboucq and Ginni Keith (trumpets), Bruce Kelley (horn), Molly Johnson (trombone), and Dimitri Stankevich (tuba). The group rehearses weekly throughout the year and performs multiple concerts annually. The five players appreciate the collaborative nature of chamber music. “It calls upon all our skills as individuals and it demands attentive listening and collaboration, which makes our rehearsals a lot of fun” says Johnson. “There is time to stop and play with different tempos, argue about rhythms, and speculate on the composer’s stylistic intentions.”

Some of the ensemble’s favorite pieces are works recently commissioned by other professional brass quintets that highlight, and challenge the players to excel on their particular instruments. One such piece, the “Suite from the Monteregian Hills” by Morley Calvert, is a four-movement work consisting of a sprightly march, a melancholy tune, a rhythmically quirky waltz that reprises the march melody, and a bouncy peasant dance. Other works to be performed are Arutinian’s “Armenian Scenes,” two dances by Paquito d’Rivera, arrangements of Duke Ellington and Rafael Mendez, as well as traditional tunes from around the world.

The quintet often donates the proceeds of their performances to local causes. For the past three years Five Bells has participated in the “brown bag” series at Emmanuel Episcopal Church to support their music scholarship fund. The quintet will be donating its fee for the February 7 performance to the upcoming residency with Dallas Brass on March 13.

The Five Bells performance will begin promptly at 2 pm on Sunday, February 7. Tickets for the Five Bells performance are $13 and $5 for students. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.orcascenter.org or call or 360/376-2281 ext 1.