New York Brass Arts Trio
Brass Trio
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Three world-class virtuoso soloists have come together to revolutionize the brass trio. Joe Burgstaller (trumpet), David Jolley (french horn), and Haim Avitsur (trombone) have forged together unique Classical and Jazz masterworks of all eras and have adapted these pieces for their innovative instrumentation. Of the New York Brass Arts Trio, Classical Sonoma wrote “Every now and again a performance comes along that takes you by surprise with its brilliance… and makes you realize you’ve witnessed something special.”
The members of the New York Brass Arts Trio each bring great experience to the table. Burgstaller is a former featured trumpeter and arranger with the legendary Canadian Brass, has performed in front of more than 40 orchestras, and has recording credentials that include solo CDs, three Top-10 Billboard hits, and a Top-50 JazzRadio hit. Jolley is a pre-eminent horn soloist of his generation, performing as a soloist with major orchestras, collaborating with major string quartets (Guarnieri, Orion and American), and is a founding member of the Grammy-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Avitsur is the only trombonist named a 2005 and 2007 Emerging Artist by Symphony Magazine and has premiered over 80 compositions.
In addition to their individual performance accomplishments, the members of the Trio all maintain teaching posts at major American musical institutions (Peabody Institute, Manhattan School, Mannes, North Carolina School for the Arts, Queens College and Westchester University).
JOE BURGSTALLER
American trumpet soloist Joe Burgstaller has thrilled audiences throughout the world with his dazzling virtuosity, musical sensitivity and engaging personality. Formerly with Canadian Brass (8 years as a featured trumpeter/arranger) and the avant-garde Meridian Arts Ensemble (6 years), he toured his solo project, Joe Burgstaller: The Rafael Mendez Project, for many years.
Burgstaller has performed with more than forty orchestras (Philadelphia, Minnesota, Detroit, Houston, Baltimore, New Jersey, Virginia, to name a few), in more than fifty music festivals, and has performed and taught at over eighty universities, conservatories and colleges. His extensive discography includes solo CDs (The Virtuoso Trumpet and Music from 18th Century London) and three Top-10 Billboard hits with Canadian Brass. His last two CDs with his classical/jazz-hybrid crossover group BM4 (Bach’s Secret Files and Mozart’s Blue Dreams) were Top-50 on the JazzRadio charts and the Roots Radio Report (under Paul Simon but right above the Beastie Boys).
Mr. Burgstaller tours worldwide as a soloist, with his crossover group, BM4 (BurgstallerMartignon4), with the New York Brass Arts Trio, and as a clinician and teacher. He is on the faculty at the Peabody Institute, where he teaches trumpet, chamber music and a special masterclass series for all instruments called “Change Your Mind, Change Your Playing”. Every summer he teaches at the Music Academy of the West (Santa Barbara, CA). He is the inaugural recipient of Distinguished Alumnus Awards from both Arizona State University and the Eastern Music Festival. Joe Burgstaller is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
DAVID JOLLEY
David Jolley has been described as “a soloist second to none” by Gramophone Magazine and hailed for his “remarkable virtuosity” (New York Times). He has traveled extensively in North and South America, Europe, East Asia, and Japan. A chamber artist of unusual sensitivity and range, Mr. Jolley has frequently collaborated with such groups as the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, the Guarneri Quartet, the American String Quartet, the Beaux Arts Trio, Musicians from Marlboro, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Mr. Jolley is a member of the virtuoso quintet “Windscape”, and he is also a founding member, now Emeritus, of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, with whom he toured widely and made over two dozen recordings for the Deutsche Grammophon label.
A frequent soloist with orchestra, Mr. Jolley has appeared with symphonies across the US, including Detroit, Rochester, Memphis, San Antonio, Phoenix, Florida West Coast, New Mexico, and Vermont. Internationally, he has appeared with the National Symphony of Brazil in Rio de Janiero, the Kamerata Orchestra of Athens, the Israel Sinfonietta, and the Israel Kamerata in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Mr. Jolley’s keen interest in enlarging the solo horn literature has led to the composition of many new works for him, including Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Concerto, which Mr. Jolley premiered with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. He has performed in many summer festivals, including Marlboro, Sarasota, Aspen, Mostly Mozart, Bowdoin, and the Music Academy of the West. Mr. Jolley has six solo recordings on the Arabesque label, including Mozart Concerti and Strauss Concerti with the Israel Sinfonietta. Mr. Jolley is on the faculties of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Mannes College of Music, and Queens College-CUNY.
HAIM AVITSUR
Haim Avitsur has premiered over eighty new pieces encompassing a broad range of styles from solo trombone to chamber music and orchestra. Mr. Avitsur is the Trombone Professor at West Chester University School of Music (PA) and at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, NY. He has also served on the faculty of the University of Virginia and was the Principal Trombonist of the Charlottesville Symphony Orchestra.
In 2005 he founded the Summer Trombone Workshop, which has a US residency at Temple University, and recently enjoyed a second residency in Taiwan. Due to the ongoing success, other trombone workshops have followed. Haim Avitsur premiered a trombone/shofar concerto composed by Meira Warshauer with orchestras including the Dayton Philharmonic, the USC Symphony Orchestra, the Brevard Philharmonic, the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra and the Western Piedmont Symphony Orchestra.
Avitsur was the only trombonist named an Emerging Artist (in 2005 and 2007) by Symphony Magazine. His book, “The Avitsur Method”, is now available through Design for Lightning Publishing. His most recent solo CD, featuring sonatas for trombone and piano by David Loeb, is available on the Vienna Modern Masters Label. Mr. Avitsur is a clinician for the Edwards Instrument Company.
*Updated December 2022
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CHORALE, SINGERS CREATE BEAUTIFUL HARMONY WITH ORCHESTRA
The Lancaster Chorale, given a workout throughout the piece, was never less than assured in occupying the same sonic space as the orchestra and soloists. Among the individual singers, mezzo-soprano Nims, with her refined, lilting tone, was particularly impressive.
– Peter Tonguette, The Columbus Dispatch
‘PETER GRIMES’ A HIGH-WATER MARK
“Equally superb dramatic and vocal contributions are made by mezzo Ann Murray, as Auntie, the owner of the local pub; soprano Nikki Einfeld and mezzo Abigail Nims as her precocious nieces.”
– David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle
ASO, SOLOIST BEAUTIFULLY PERFORM BEETHOVEN, BERLIOZ AT CROSWELL
“Nims gave a first-rate interpretation of every one of the songs in the cycle, demonstrating a depth of connection with the music that was quite remarkable. This was the first time she had performed this work in concert, but it was very obvious that she had thought long and hard beforehand about the meaning of the poetry itself. At the same time, she more than proved herself to be a singer of considerable talent, with superb control and vocal range, and sang the French-language lyrics beautifully and clearly.”
– Arlene Bachanov, Daily Telegram
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