On Oct. 10, the Edina High School Concert Band combined in a concert with the Dallas Brass Band. The Dallas Brass is a professional band founded in 1983 by the current director Michael Levine. The Dallas Brass incorporates traditional brass instruments as well as percussion, making the ensemble exceptionally unique with its arrangements. “Our goal is to entertain and enrich by playing great music while showing our audience how much we enjoy what we do,” the Dallas Brass states in their biography. The Dallas Brass has not only played locally, but have performed in well-respected stages such as Carnegie Hall, overseas in Europe, and the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
In 1970, Levine attended an Edina High School Concert Band Pops Concert, which inspired and changed him for the rest of his life. While attending the concert, Levine became inspired by the Edina students as well as the performance level. Levine then became a performance major and moved to Dallas, while starting to compose his band based off of the model of the Edina Concert Band and their Pops Concert.
Another prestigious figure in the band world is Scott Crosbie who was a student at Edina High School in 1970, who Levine saw performing on stage at the 13th annual Pops Concert. Crosbie composed the entire Pops Concert that year, motivating and inspiring Levine. Crosbie performed with the Dallas Brass as well, showing alumni support and contribution to the Edina band. Scott now runs the John Philip Sousa first Memorial band, while also running his own small ensemble.
As well as Levine and Crosbie, 1962 Edina graduate Sanford Freese performed with the Dallas Brass, filling the role of the tuba. Freese’s career spans across multiple facets, as he was the director of entertainment for the entire Disney Corporation for over 40 years. Additionally, music runs in the Freese family; his son is the current lead drummer for the Foo Fighters, while his youngest son tours with Green Day.
The Dallas Brass travels all over the country to perform and engage with high school and middle school bands as one of their main goals: influencing the young in many ways. “It was less of learning and more of inspiration. Like the possibilities, there’s so much you can take away from it. It is also just a delight,” senior Kaitlyn Hou said. The Dallas Brass tries to connect with the students before the show, making the night that much more special. “I’ve seen professionals play plenty of times, but it’s a very different experience, really getting to know them and playing with them the days before the concert. We played with them, and we got to talk with them personally, so it felt really different,” Hou said.
The Edina Concert Band joined the Dallas Brass up on stage for one song, “American Tableau.” The Dallas Brass prepared days before with the Concert Band, assisting the band in learning the music as a whole. “‘American Tableau’ is very much a patriotic attitude sort of thing. The goal when the Dallas Brass comes out and performs is they want to inspire by performing all genres of music, from classical, to swing, to jazz, to pop music,” Concert Band Director Paul Kile said. Performing with the Dallas Brass is prestigious and takes time to learn. “The fact that they play at such a high level for the students is significant because they model how to play so well. So now, students get inspired,” Kile said.
