By Command Performance, A Concert By Empire Brass

By Shannon Hicks

DANBURY — This weekend will mark the debut concert program sponsored by Command Performance, an organization formed by Danbury area residents in June. Empire Brass, an award-winning quintet that has been delighting audiences for 27 years, will perform at Danbury High School on Saturday, September 23.

The concert will begin at 8 pm. Tickets are $25 for adults, or $7 for students. For additional details concerning the concert, contact Command Performance at 203/825-3131.

Command Performance (CP) was formed to sponsor high-caliber classical and jazz music and dance events throughout the Danbury area. The organization’s president, Steven Pichiarallo, says that while this weekend’s inaugural performance happens to be taking place at Danbury High School, future concerts can be held at other Danbury locations such as The Amber Room or Ethan Allen Inn as well as venues in surrounding towns.

The non-profit organization was formed not to replace any of the already-existing special interest groups that bring concerts into the area, including Newtown Friends of Music, which sponsors five classical music concerts per season, but to work together with other musical associations in order to widen the audience for all events in this area, according to the group’s mission statement.

Additional goals for CP include seeking individuals who have enjoyed similar events in the past while also locating and encouraging newcomers to such artistic events. High school through college students and senior citizens are of particular focus for Command Performance. By gaining corporate and community support, CP also hopes to have ticket prices that are low enough for these groups to afford.

A board of 21 volunteer directors, four of whom serve as officers, runs Command Performance. In addition to Mr Pichiarillo in the role of president, the executive board also contains Danbury resident Paul J. Nicholloff, who serves as secretary. The vice president and treasurer positions remain open at this time.

Twelve board members had been named as of mid-August, including Mr Pichiarallo’s father, Joseph Pichiarallo, a music educator in Danbury for 27 years before retirement, and Gail Pichiarallo, Steven’s wife.

“Music is very close to my heart,” says Steve Pichiarallo, who has been a deputy sheriff for Fairfield County since 1987. “My wife isn’t necessarily musical, but she’s very organizational. This is a case where you ask your family to help you with something and they are there for you.

“Command Performance,” he continued, “is not a Pichiarallo family organization. We’re here, along with the board members, to get it going. This is a community involvement. Anyone who is interested in joining us, we would love to have them.”

Richard Aronson, a music educator for 35 years before retirement (he now serves as a consultant for teacher recruitment), is also on the board of directors. Mr Aronson was one of Steve Pichiarallo’s former music teachers, in fact.

Jose Vivaldi Martinez, Esq, Kimberly Lubus, Raymond C. Lubus, and Newtown resident Eleanor Miller all serve on the current board of directors as well.

The Performers: Empire Brass

“I’ve seen Empire Brass four times, and they are just terrific,” Steve Picciarallo mentioned this week.

Empire Brass enjoys an international reputation as North America’s finest ensemble. The quintet is renowned for its brilliant virtuosity and the unparalleled diversity of its repertoire. Saturday’s program is a perfect example of that multiplicity: selections range from Baroque to jazz.

The musicians of Empire Brass are Rolf Smedvig, trumpet; Marc Reese, trumpet; Gregory Miller, French horn; Mark Hetzler, trombone; and Kenneth Amis, tuba. The performers have all held leading positions with major American orchestras, and as a quintet perform over 100 concerts a year.

Saturday evening’s concert will feature works of William Byrd, Tylman Susato, Johann Pachelbel, Claude Debussy, Sergei Prokofiev, Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, and Kenneth Amis for the first half of the evening.

Following the intermission, the concert will continue with works of Henry Purcell, Anthony Holborne, an unattributed 14th Century Irish jig, Tommaso Albinoni, Antonin Dvorak, Eric Satie, Manuel de Falla, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Raphael Mendez, and Ludwig van Beethoven. The concert will conclude with a tribute to the music of Duke Ellington.

“These guys take a piece and explain something about it, either its background or the instrumentation they will be approaching it with, and then they play it,” Mr Picciarallo noted. “Their brass playing is noted because it is so polished and clear. They’re really a great ensemble.”

“So far, with a lot of advance publicity and word of mouth, there seems to good interest,” Mr Picciarallo said this week. The organization has a few hundred advance ticket reservations, and Mr Picciarallo said Wednesday afternoon that he has no doubt “we’ll come very close to filling that 1,000-seat auditorium.”