Common Heroes, Uncommon Land speaks of the glory of the everyday. It celebrates the human spirit in its daily routine and uncrushable work ethic. Based on five short poems by various poets, each movement explores a particular facet of the American experience.  The first movement describes the urban heroes in their dogged morning trek towards work and sustenance. The second honors the farmers in their rural struggle with the land. The third and fourth movements celebrate our common quest for joy and the noble act of holding fast to dreams. The last movement serves as an epilogue to the work offering an ode to the everyday heroes and heroines of our land as they create the future.

 

About American Brass Quintet
Hailed by Newsweek as “the high priests of brass,” the American Brass Quintet is internationally recognized as one of the premier chamber music ensembles of our time, celebrated for peerless leadership in the brass world. As 2013 recipient of Chamber Music America’s highest honor, the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award for significant and lasting contributions to the field, ABQ's rich history includes performances in Asia, Australia, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Canada and the United States; a discography of nearly 60 recordings; and the premieres of over 150 contemporary brass works. Committed to the development of brass chamber music through higher education, the American Brass Quintet has served as Ensemble-in-Residence at The Juilliard School since 1987 and the Aspen Music Festival since 1970.  Its latest album, Perspectives, released in January 2017 on Summit Records, is described by the American Record Guide as “another outstanding ABQ release”; The Gramophone opines, “the American musicians bring utmost cohesion, balance and expressivity to each of the scores they perform with ear-catching intensity and finesse.”  From "blowing the roof off" in San Francisco to educating the next generation of musicians at the Juilliard School, the American Brass Quintet are captivating audiences, students, critics, and presenters throughout the country on their 18-city U.S. tour in support of their newest release, Perspectives, on Summit Records.