Announcement Release
Great American Brass Band Festival salutes one of its own in 2012
Danville, KY — Back for a 23rd year, the Great American Brass Band Festival will honor one of its finest planners and performers.
The festival, set for June 7-10, will celebrate and salute one of America’s most renowned performers, Vincent DiMartino, co-founder of the GABBF, on the occasion of his retirement at Centre College.
Subtitled TRUMPETISSIMO in honor of this virtuoso on the cornet and trumpet, the GABBF will draw some of the world’s finest trumpeters, including Doc Severinsen, Allen Vizzutti, Jens Lindemann, and an amazing array of other outstanding soloists. The famed Herald Trumpets of the U.S. Army Band from Washington, DC, return to add their pomp and pageantry, and they will be joined by specially-formed trumpet and cornet choirs featuring top professional players and former students of DiMartino.
The GABBF always offers an eclectic blend of brass styles and performing combinations, and this year will be no exception. Among the notable combinations will be several outstanding New Orleans’ style jazz brass bands, the all-female brass quintet Stiletto, Federal Brass (brass quintet and percussion) from the U.S. Army Field Band, the Kentucky Baroque Trumpets, and two outstanding British-style brass bands: Atlantic Brass Band, champions of North America, and the excellent North York Band, Toronto, of The Salvation Army.
The preliminary events on Thursday, June 7 feature a Chautauqua Tea at the Presbyterian Church titled “Tea with the DiMartinos.” Enjoy a traditional tea with a special performance by Vince and Gabriel DiMartino.
The full-on festival weekend begins on Friday, June 8, with a new twist, The Brass Symposium, held at Centre College in place of the traditional Band History Conference. Many of the above-named outstanding performers and scholars will provide a highly entertaining and informative day focused, naturally, on the trumpet and the cornet.
The Brass Symposium is the one event of the GABBF that requires a registration fee. All other events throughout the three days, June 9-11, are free and open to the public. Live performances begin on Friday evening, concurrent with the annual Gallery Hop, and end with exciting New Orleans jazz in Wiesiger Park.
An added attraction this year will be the gathering for the first time of four fine Central Kentucky area community wind bands, each of which will be featured individually during the festival, and then come together, with guests soloists and conductors, for a Grand Finale salute to DiMartino at 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon in Newlin Hall, Norton Center for the Arts. Advocate Brass Band (out of Danville), Capitol City Band, (Frankfort) Central Kentucky Concert Band (Lexington), and Madison County Community Band (Richmond) are all scheduled to take part in the event.
