 |
 |
|
|
The Maritime Brass, Atlantic Canada's new professional brass ensemble, is comprised of Maritime musicians with varied backgrounds ranging from symphony and opera orchestras to big bands and Broadway musicals. The members of Maritime Brass have studied throughout North America and have performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company, The Phantom of the Opera (Toronto), Symphony Nova Scotia and the CBC Toronto Jazz Orchestra, to name a few.
For Nova Scotians Gina Patterson (horn), Curtis Dietz (trumpet), and Prince Edward Islanders Dale Sorensen (trombone) and Bob Nicholson (bass trombone/tuba), the Maritime Brass fulfills a dream of establishing a permanent brass ensemble in the region.
Projects of the Maritime Brass include recitals, school shows, collaborations with artists, commissioning works from Maritime composers, and performing with choirs, organists and other musical organizations. Click here for Upcoming Performances
A native of Hanover, Ontario, Curtis Dietz began playing the cornet at the age of 7 in the town band. After switching to the trumpet in high school he won grand prizes in many Ontario Music Festivals, as well as a scholarship to study at the Banff Centre for the Arts with David Hickman and Allan Dean. Further studies took him to the University of Toronto and the Orchestral Training Program of the Royal Conservatory of Music. As a freelance musician, Curtis has performed with I Musici de Montréal, L'Orchestre Metropolitain, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and the Montreal Symphony, with whom he participated in a recording for London Decca. Currently Curtis holds the position of second trumpet with Symphony Nova Scotia and lives in Dartmouth, NS.
Bob Nicholson, bass trombone and tuba, recently escaped from five years with the Toronto production of the Phantom of the Opera. A native of Prince Edward Island, he studied at the University of Prince Edward Island, the University of Toronto, the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. As a freelance musician he has performed with the Hannaford Street Silver Band, The CBC Toronto Jazz Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, National Ballet of Canada, Elmer Iseler Singers, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, as well as the orchestra pits of Beauty and the Beast, Showboat, Crazy for You, Miss Saigon and Les Miserables. Bob now lives in PEI where he performs with the Charlottetown Festival Orchestra and the Jive Kings.
Gina Patterson, horn, performs regularly with Symphony Nova Scotia and for 18 weeks of the year is at her post with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra in Toronto. A finalist in the 1993 National Music Festival, she has performed with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Hannaford Street Silver Band, I Musici de Montréal, Thunder Bay Symphony and the Canadian Brass. A native Nova Scotian, Gina received her education at Acadia University, the University of Toronto, the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Montréal Conservatory of Music, with summer studies at the Orford Centre for the Arts and Le Domaine Forget Brass Program.
Dale Sorensen, trombone, holds degrees from the University of Prince Edward Island and Northwestern University in Chicago. Currently principal trombonist with Symphony Nova Scotia and the Windsor Symphony, Dale has also performed as a freelance musician with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Tafelmusik, Orchestra London, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and the National Ballet of Canada. In addition to frequent recital performances, he has been featured as soloist with the Windsor Symphony and the PEI Symphony, and has premiered several works for trombone by Canadian composers. Dale spends every summer performing with the Charlottetown Festival Orchestra.
E-mail the Maritime Brass at <dalesorensen@hotmail.com>.