Concert Features The New York Trumpet Ensemble
Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present the Sixth Annual Gene Yevich Memorial Concert, featuring the New York Trumpet Ensemble, on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center.. Yevich’s grandson – area native Joseph Boga – is a member of the ensemble.
Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present the Sixth Annual Gene Yevich Memorial Concert on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center. This year’s concert, honoring the late Gene Yevich who served as fire chief for the City of Scranton during the Wenzel administration, features the internationally acclaimed New York Trumpet Ensemble, directed by legendary trumpeter Mark Gould. Yevich’s grandson – area native Joseph Boga – is a member of the ensemble. The performance is sponsored by former Scranton Mayor Dave Wenzel and his wife, Janet. Admission is free, the concert is open to the public, and seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis.
Gene Yevich, who passed away in 2005, served with the Scranton Fire Department for decades before retiring in 1989. He was a popular and talented local musician and had many close connections to the University. He was married for almost 50 years to the former Julia Pucher, with whom he had three children, University graduates Michael Yevich and Cynthia Yevich, and Cheryl Yevich Boga, director of Performance Music at The University of Scranton. His grandchildren are Joseph Boga and Magdalyn Boga, who earned a master’s degree from the University, and is a member of the History Department faculty and Performance Music staff there.
The New York Trumpet Ensemble was formed and founded in 1974 by Gerard Schwarz in order to record its first of many recordings, A Festival of Trumpets, for NoneSuch records. It was the first recording of many newly discovered works for multiple trumpets by Heinrich Bieber, Samuel Scheidt, Giovanni Gabrieli and other baroque era composers. In the 1990’s Gould assumed the leadership of the ensemble and changed the direction of the music, and in 1991, The New York Trumpet Ensemble recorded Trumpets In Stride (Summit Records; iTunes) and a new era was born. The ensemble is known for demonstrating great versatility in its performances of both classical and jazz music, ranging from Hoagy Carmichael and Duke Ellington to Herbert L. Clarke and Palestrina. Trumpeters in the ensemble are Mark Gould, Caleb Hudson, and Joseph Boga.
Gould served as principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera from 1974 to 2003. An active soloist and conductor, he has conducted and performed with a wide variety of orchestras, wind groups and other ensembles. He has also performed as a chamber musician with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The MET Chamber Ensemble, Empire Brass, Canadian Brass, Summit Brass and many others. Gould has performed as a soloist on many recordings, most recently “Café 1930,” an album of trumpet and guitar music on the Angel/EMI label. As principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, he performed in more than 40 “Live from Lincoln Center” performances on PBS and numerous audio recordings of operas and symphonic works under the direction of James Levine, including a number of Grammy Award-winning recordings. Gould serves on the faculty of The Juilliard School and The Manhattan School of Music. He also co-founded and co-directs The Scranton Brass Orchestra, and is the senior member of the trumpet section of Kyle Athayde Dance Party.
One of the most highly acclaimed and accomplished young trumpeters of his generation, and the newest member of the world-acclaimed Canadian Brass, Caleb Hudson completed his Bachelor of Music degree in 2010 and his Master of Music degree in 2012, both at The Juilliard School, where he was a student of Raymond Mase and Mark Gould. He has been a participant in the Verbier Festival Orchestra, Music Academy of the West, and the Aspen Music Festival and has performed with a wide variety of prestigious orchestras and chamber groups throughout the U.S. and abroad. In addition to being a member of The Canadian Brass and The New York Trumpet Ensemble, he also performs with Kyle Athayde Dance Party.
Scranton area native Joseph Boga has performed throughout the United States and abroad with a variety of established and emerging jazz and classical artists and ensembles. Scheduled to complete his degree from The Juilliard School in May 2014, he is a trumpet student of Mark Gould, Joe Magnarelli and Wynton Marsalis. A member of The New York Trumpet Ensemble since 2010, he also performs regularly with Kyle Athayde Dance Party; The Wycliffe Gordon Big Band, Quintet and Septet; and others. Also a composer and arranger, Boga has had numerous works premiered and performed in the U.S. and abroad.
The ensemble also includes Kyle Athayde on piano and Dan Chmielinski on bass.
For additional information, email music@scranton.edu or visit www.scranton.edu/music.
