All-female Brass Group Seraph Brass

Grass Valley, Calif. – Seraph Brass will be gracing InConcert Sierra’s stage as part of the Third Sunday Concert series.  As the most prominent all-female brass group in the county, and a proponent of diversity in the arts, Seraph draws from a roster of America’s top brass musicians that identify as female.  This extraordinary group will be performing on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, 2pm with a pre-concert forum at 1:15pm.

InConcert Sierra’s principal horn player, Cara Jones, said, “When I heard that ICS was bringing in Seraph Brass, I was so excited. I have been a professional female horn player for 20 years, and I’ve never had a female trumpet, trombone, or tuba colleague in the Grass Valley area.  The fact is that female brass players continue to be under-represented in orchestras everywhere. I am delighted for the ICS audience to not only be treated to this world-class brass quintet, but also to show aspiring female musicians and the entire audience what is possible.  Thank you, ICS, for bringing this incredible opportunity to the community!”

Historically, women have not been a part of professional orchestras.  Sir Henry Wood, then conductor of the Queen’s Hall Orchestra, was the first in Europe to allow women into a symphony orchestra in 1912 but would only hire female violinists stating, ‘I do not like ladies playing the trombone or double bass, but they can play the violin.’ Not until as recently as 1997 did the Vienna Philharmonic, one of the last bastions of all-male ensembles, achieve some equality after introducing blind auditions.  While changes are continuing to take place, Seraph is making strides showing what a powerful all female brass ensemble can achieve in their musical performance awareness.

Mary Elizabeth Bowden, the founder of Seraph Brass, said that Seraph is one of many excellent all-female brass quintets in the USA. Uniquely, the ensemble is passionate about presenting new works from underrepresented composers and has funded commissioning projects to bring new music to life. In its 10th anniversary season, Seraph is one of the oldest established all-female groups in the USA. Bowden says the oldest established group is most-likely Stiletto Brass, which was founded in 2010.

Seraph’s mission states that the group is a  proponent of diversity in the arts, drawing from a roster of America’s top brass musicians that identify as female. Seraph Brass  performs a diverse body of repertoire with many new commissions that were recently recorded for an album that will be released in 2024. Some recent commissions by underrepresented composers include “Dust” by Jennifer Jolley, “Miracles of The Human Condition” by Lillian Yee and “Showcase” by Jeff Scott.” The latter two will be performed on Sunday!

Join InConcert Sierra for an afternoon of exceptional music.  Seraph Brass is part of InConcert Sierra’s Third Sunday Concert Series, featuring performances on the third Sunday of each month. A comprehensive list of upcoming events, artists, discounted passes (youth 18 and under are free) can be found at our website: www.inconcertsierra.org or contact us at 530-273-3990.