Fountain City ‘Wows’ at International Trombone Festival

The Fountain City Brass Band made its debut performance at the International Trombone Festival in Conway, Arkansas. For many in a packed Reynolds Performance Hall, it was would be their first opportunity to hear a live British-style brass band….and was it ever to witness as a first!

With guest soloists Tony Baker, Michael Dease, Brian Hecht, Yu Tamaki Hoso, and the incomparable Christian Lindberg as a guest conductor, they ‘wowed’ the audience on the festival’s Concerto Night.’ Under the direction of Dr. John Falskow, the band thrived off of the electricity of the audience from their very first notes. It was surely an evening that will not soon be forgotten.

Last Row Music wrote of the concert:

• Holy Sh88! was right, Brian Hecht! Moments before he plays a difficult solo, Hecht commented on the grand Fountain City Brass Band, and the fire they brought to John Mackey’s Fanfare for Full Fathom Five. This brass band is easily one of the absolute top brass bands in the United States, and maybe even the world.
• Hecht did something here before playing his solo that was a strong reminder of why speaking about the music is necessary for a recital, and this goes beyond program notes. Hecht wanted the audience to know what was going through his mind while he was playing so we, the audience, could join along for the journey that he is also traveling during the performance. It was memorable for exactly that reason. Thank you for that moment of humanity through Wim Bex’s Vademecum.
• Tony Baker’s rendition of Mandrake in the Corner was stylistically and technically on point. The acrobatic playing alongside his Jazz chops from yesterday shows that he is giving his all at this Festival. He is that good.