In 2017, Downeast Brass played during Wiscasset Holiday Marketfest on the sidewalks in freezing temperatures. Hear them play in warmer weather from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 29, during Wiscasset Art Walk. Photo by Bob Bond
WISCASSET — The Downeast Brass quintet is to perform from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 29, during the Wiscasset Art Walk.
The group plans to use the new sidewalks as performance space and perform throughout the village.
Dwight Tibbetts, group founder and director, said, “These guys are the best in brass,” according to a news release from artwalk organizers. The musicians include Tibbetts and Andy Forster playing trumpet, Mike Peterson on trombone, Mark Mumme on tuba, and Loren Fields on French horn.
Tibbetts, a graduate of Wiscasset High School and the school’s band, has been playing in brass quintets for about 35 years. He says the moment has arrived: “Brass quintets are hip. The days of community bands and big bands are long gone, and brass quintets fill the gap.”
The Downeast Brass quintet, in particular, has an extensive repertoire, he explains, and is extremely versatile. “We do parades, concerts, everywhere a big band or community band might perform.” In 2017, Downeast Brass performed at Wiscasset Holiday Marketfest, entertaining shoppers while playing on the sidewalks in freezing temperatures.
Tibbetts describes the sound of Downeast Brass as “full and complete.” He explains that when arranging, he takes a big band score and “boils it down” for a quintet by eliminating the doubling of sounds – different instruments playing the same notes – so that all the basic notes of the score are played, resulting in that aural completeness. In addition, Downeast Brass is “updating all the time. We’re always moving forward with new music and new arrangements. We don’t want to date ourselves with the music we play.”
Wiscasset Art Walk 2021 is made possible by lead sponsors Donna and Frank Barnako and First National Bank. Major sponsors are Ames True Value, Big Barn Coffee, Carriage House Gardens, Cod Cove Inn, Fogg Art Restoration, Industrial ME, J. Edward Knight Insurance, Newcastle Realty, Peter H. Eaton Antiques, Red’s Eats, Rock Paper Scissors, Sarah’s Café, and Tim Dunham Realty.
For more information, visit wiscassetartwalk.org or send a message to wiscassetartwalk@verizon.net. Wiscasset Art Walk is a program of Wiscasset Creative Alliance.
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