Sunday, May 13, 2012

1:00 pm

The Landmark Center
75 West Fifth Street
Saint Paul, MN 55102

Franck - Symphony in D minor

Hummel - Trumpet Concerto

Ansel Norris, trumpet soloist

Gershwin - An American in Paris

Franck

Symphony in D minor

The Symphony in D minor is the most famous orchestral work and the only symphony written by the 19th-century Belgian composer César Franck. After two years of work, the symphony was completed 22 August 1888. It was premiered at the Paris Conservatory on 17 February 1889 under the direction of Jules Garcin. Franck dedicated it to his pupil Henri Duparc.

Hummel

Hummel - Trumpet Concerto

Ansel Norris, trumpet soloist

Johann Nepomuk Hummel wrote his Concerto a Trombe Principale (Trumpet Concerto in E Major) for Viennese trumpet virtuoso and inventor of the keyed trumpet, Anton Weidinger (as had Joseph Haydn). It was written in December 1803 and performed on New Year's Day 1804 to mark Hummel's entrance into the Esterházy court orchestra as Haydn's successor. There are places, primarily in the second movement, where Weidinger is believed to have changed the music because of the execution of the instrument. It is unknown whether this was in agreement with Hummel. Originally this piece was written in E major. The piece is often performed in E-flat major, which makes the fingering less difficult on modern E-flat and B-flat trumpets.

Gershwin

An American in Paris

George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known. Among his best known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), as well as the opera, Porgy and Bess (1935).

Ansel Norris

Ansel Norris, Trumpet Soloist

Ansel is a native of Madison, Wisconsin. He is a Music Performance major at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University.

Ansel has won prizes at various young artist competitions, most recently taking first prize in the National Trumpet Competition’s undergraduate Solo division, as well as the Ensemble division playing in an octet of Northwestern trumpet students.

Ansel has performed as soloist with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Interlochen Philharmonic, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra, East High Sinfonietta, among others, and he is also an experienced orchestral performer, having recently been named an associate member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the training ensemble of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has performed as principal trumpet with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, and with the Aspen Festival and Chamber orchestras, Milwaukee Symphony and Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. In 2010, Ansel was named a substitute for the New World Symphony in Miami, Florida. This summer he will attend the National Orchestra Institute in Maryland.