The Deal

• $25 for one ticket for reserved seating in rows K–R (up to $50 value)

Hannaford Street Silver Band Presents: Entre Amis

Every year, the HSSB’s three-day Festival of Brass ushers in the Toronto spring with a delightful bloom of trumpets and tubas. Thanks to an appearance by Canadian trumpet virtuoso and Los Angeles Philharmonic soloist Stéphane Beaulac—plus the solid leadership of HSSB Principal Guest Conductor Alain Trudel—this year’s festival will culminate in a stylish Sunday-afternoon finale. Before wetting any mouthpieces or whittling any batons, though, Beaulac and Trudel will take the stage at 2:15 p.m. with an informal pre-concert chat.

• Johnny Cowell—Trumpet Concerto: Johnny Cowell was largely self-taught. His father and uncles were all members of the Tillsonburg Town Band, however, so music is practically in his genes—which might explain why he was performing his first trumpet solo at age six. Thus, this concerto—a piece that journeys between strict romanticism and rollicking discovery—challenges the soloist to match its author’s 50-plus years of trumpet mastery.
• Kevin Lau—Concerto for Brass Band: With assistance from the Ontario Arts Council, the HSSB commissioned this piece from one of Canada’s rising composers. This performance marks the world premiere and is certain to demonstrate why the Classical Music Sentinel claims Lau has a “masterful control over his idiom.”