Tower Music: Festive!

Tuesday, July 23 at 6:45PM, Sunset Center Terrace


Program

Suite | Samuel Scheidt
Duxbury Fanfare | Lauren Bernofsky
Inaugural Marches | Daniel Pinkham
Canzon III | Giovanni Gabrieli

 

Tower Music is one of the oldest traditions at the Carmel Bach Festival. It began in 1936 with the Heralding Trombones, led by two generations of the Stewart Family, Chandler and son Gordon, and the trombone quartet opened every Festival in the early days. The Stewart Family performed well into the 1960’s until the Festival Orchestra brass section was asked to carry on the tradition as it does today. They played from the balcony window of the old Sunset Auditorium which opened onto the parking lot – the window is still there, overlooking the foyer – and from the Carmel Mission bell tower, thus earning the nickname “Tower Music.”

Tower Music is a centuries-old tradition dating to the Middle Ages. Musicians utilized ancient trumpets, trombones, horns, and drums to call or signal attention to events and situations for the better (the arrival of royalty, weddings, pageants, hunts, jousts, and the hours) or for the worse (invading or marauding armies and other serious and life-threatening actions).

Our repertoire spans five centuries, from the Renaissance to present day. Tower Music is thrilling, exciting, and fun, lending a festive and joyful prelude to the Main Concert on Saturdays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Join us on the Sunset Terrace or at the Mission Courtyard (see schedule above) for a free 20-minute concert in a relaxed atmosphere. Bring the family, including the dog(s)!

This year on the Friday Tower Music program, we honor Cyril Yansouni for his tireless work and leadership as Board President the last 8 years. As a teenager in Alexandria, Egypt, he was quite a fan of John Philip Sousa and had heard nearly all of the marches that Sousa wrote. Thus, we have programmed The Thunderer to honor him. He has been one of Tower Music’s biggest fans and we are grateful for his dedication to the Carmel Bach Festival!

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Director

Suzanne Mudge
Suzanne Mudge

Event Info

Free

Date

Jul 23 2024

Time

6:45 pm - 7:15 pm

Featuring

  • Leonard Ott
    Leonard Ott
    Trumpet
  • Greg Smith
    Greg Smith
    Trumpet
  • Dominic Favia
    Dominic Favia
    Trumpet
  • Alex Camphouse
    Alex Camphouse
    Horn
  • Tom Hornig
    Tom Hornig
    Alto & Tenor Trombone
  • Wayne Solomon
    Wayne Solomon
    Bass Trombone
  • Kevin Neuhoff
    Kevin Neuhoff
    Percussion

    Kevin Neuhoff, whose performances as a symphonic timpanist and percussionist have been hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “virtuosic” and “remarkably sensitive” is a steady presence on the San Francisco Bay Area music scene.

    A concerto competition winner and graduate of the St. Louis Conservatory of Music, Kevin is the Principal Timpanist with the San Francisco Opera Center Orchestra, the Berkeley and Fremont symphonies, the Carmel Bach Festival Orchestra, and Principal Percussionist with the Marin Symphony. Kevin also plays frequently with orchestras throughout Northern California including Oakland, Silicon Valley, California, Santa Rosa, Monterey, Sacramento, and San Francisco symphonies. He performs and has recorded with Philharmonia Baroque, New Century Chamber Orchestra, Opera Parallele, West Edge Opera, Castleton Opera with Lorin Maazel, Live Oak Baroque, the Albany Consort, Jubilant Baroque, Marin Baroque, and the California Bach Society. At the invitation of Music Director Kent Nagano, he played with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal in the Canadian premiere of Messiaen’s challenging opera St. François d’Assise.

    A versatile musician, Kevin also performs Broadway shows at Cinnabar Theater, contemporary chamber music with San Francisco’s Earplay Ensemble, and music on demand with the Skywalker Symphony where he has performed with numerous artists such as The Who, Placido Domingo, Andre Bocelli, Weird Al Yankovic, the symphonic concert presentation of Zelda: Symphony of a Goddess, Disney’s Finding Nemo, and a variety of video game scores. His recordings can be found on Harmonia Mundi, Koch, Triloca, Wide Hive, New Albion, and Nonesuch labels. Kevin has also performed with the festivals of Aspen, Cabrillo, Mendocino, Other Minds, and the Festival of the Americas in Montréal. Kevin’s Baroque timpani are recently made by Aehnelt Lefima of Cham Germany.

  • Tim Dent
    Tim Dent
    Percussion
  • Suzanne Mudge
    Suzanne Mudge
    Tenor Trombone

Location

Sunset Center Terrace
San Carlos St between 8th and 10th Ave, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93923
Website
https://www.sunsetcenter.org/

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