The Milwaukee Festival Brass will conclude its 40th Season with a concert entitled “Legendary Brass.”

“The stories we tell one another are profoundly important in helping us contextualize the world we live in” said Dr. Mark A. Taylor, the Music Director of Milwaukee Festival Brass. “Myths, legends, epic tales of adventure… these all have an impact on us as we grow up, and continue to inform our view of the world as we journey through life.”

The first half of the concert will feature three movements from Johann de Meij’s Symphony No. 1, inspired by the great Tolkien novels “The Lord of the Rings.” Composed well before the award-winning film cycle, this music was inspired directly by the legendary tales in the novels themselves. The sweep and grandeur of the music capture the emotional journeys of the characters through their adventures.

The second half opens with a transcription of one of the great “newspaper marches” of the late 19th century, “Milwaukee Sentinel March,” which honors one of our city’s journalistic standard-bearers. Philip Sparke’s “Aria” will feature our own solo horn, Ben Perthel, in a composition of lyricism and simplicity. Finally, legendary American composer Duke Ellington is honored in a brass band rendition of his big band classic, “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing.”

The Milwaukee Festival Brass will present “Legendary Brass” on Saturday, May 3, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. at the Father John Carney Performing Arts Center at Pius XI HS in Milwaukee. Doors open at 6:30. See ticket prices below. Group rates are available. For more information, please visit the band’s website at www.mfbrass.org.