THE QUINTET
The American Brass Quintet is internationally recognized as one of the premier chamber music ensembles of our time. “The most distinguished” of brass quintets (American Record Guide), the group has earned its stellar reputation through its celebrated performances, genre-defining commissioned works, and ongoing commitment to the education of generations of musicians. Since its founding in 1960, the American Brass Quintet has performed on five continents, made nearly 60 recordings, and premiered more than 150 contemporary works for brass.
The American Brass Quintet has premiered works by leading composers including Elliott Carter, Eric Ewazen, Jennifer Higdon, Anthony Plog, Huang Ruo, David Sampson, Gunther Schuller, William Schuman, Joan Tower, Charles Whittenberg, and John Zorn, among many others. These works have contributed significantly to both contemporary chamber music and the foundation of the modern brass quintet repertoire. The Quintet’s Emerging Composer Commissioning program, with grant assistance from the Jerome Foundation, produced brass quintets by rising stars Gordon Beeferman, Jay Greenberg, Trevor Gureckis, and Shafer Mahoney. Recent commissions include David Biedenbender’s Sacred Geometry, Ching-chu Hu’s A Distant Hope, premiered at Chamber Music Columbus, Jennifer Higdon’s Book of Brass, debuted at Bowling Green State University, and Largo by Tyshawn Sorey, premiered at The Juilliard School in 2025.
The group’s latest recordings include two digitally released EPs: Jennifer Higdon's Book of Brass and David Biedenbender’s Sacred Geometry, both released in 2025. Perspectives (2017) is the latest of 12 full length albums with Summit Records and features music by Robert Paterson, Jay Greenberg, Sebastian Currier, and Eric Ewazen. It garnered praise for bringing the “utmost cohesion, balance, and expressivity to each of the scores they perform with ear-catching intensity and finesse” (Gramophone).
"What the American Brass Quintet seemed intent on proving was that anything their instrumental relatives can do, they do as well, or better. No texture, speed, tonal color or dynamic seems to be beyond their means."
Highlights of the 2025-2026 season include performances at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC; the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston; Five Boroughs Music Festival in New York City; Chamber Music Society of Louisville; Chamber Music Raleigh; In Concert Sierra in Grass Valley, CA; Chamber Music Society of Logan in Utah and Bradley Hills Presents in Bethesda, MD, as well as concerts and educational work at Interlochen Arts Academy and Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Committed to the development of brass chamber music through higher education, the American Brass Quintet has served as Ensemble-in-Residence at The Juilliard School since 1987 and at the Aspen Music Festival since 1970. President Emeritus Joseph Polisi has said of the group’s residency at Juilliard, “With intelligence, artistry, and imagination, the American Brass Quintet has exemplified the highest standards of chamber music for brass instruments during its remarkable existence.” In 2018, the group launched the ABQ Seminar @ Aspen, a four-week brass chamber music intensive at the Aspen Music Festival that offers the highest caliber of training for emerging brass quintets and musicians. Since 2000, the Quintet also has shared its expertise in chamber music coaching and performance through a program of short residencies that feature regularly in the group’s touring schedule. Offering young musicians an intense chamber music experience over several days, the Quintet’s residencies have been embraced by schools and communities throughout the United States and in a dozen foreign countries.
Among its numerous distinctions and citations, the American Brass Quintet is the 2013 recipient of the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award for significant and lasting contributions to the field, the highest honor accorded by Chamber Music America.
